Hershey

Hi. my s2000 had been sitting in the garage for the winter now and i just though i would sanded it down and repaint the car before i sold my cf fender and got different color fender and i got a ap2 front with ap2 lip that needs painting also.

Here are my question.
1. What grit to start with and end with?
2. What do i use to sand my rear bumper (old lady back up and stretch my rear bumper ) and new front from honda?
3. Do paint getting mix at autostore work? or should i go to a body shop for paint mix?
4. Are clear coat put into the paint itself of would have to be spray after paint is put on?

i also got two little dent. one was on before i bought the car and the other was from someone in the parking lot that i dont even know who did it. i even parked on a one lane parking and it was busy i guest people just didnt care. but i will be using this to help me http://autorepair.about.com/od/fixit...f/ss/bondo.htm


thanks guys.

realblag

I don't mean this in a jerk kinda of a way: It sounds like you should not be doing this yourself. If you really want to do it yourself, find a friend who has good experience with body work and let them help you.

blueap2

I agree, you need to do a lot more research before getting started. I read a ton before actually doing my first and only paint job so far...

Moddiction

I agree. If you don't know how the paint process works at all I would not attempt to paint the car yourself. Odds are it will come out looking pretty horrible.

suzuka-blue-s2k

I agree with the rest. Painting a car is no simple thing. It gets really complicated and if you try to do something your self, you might make the paint job more expensive. Just take it to a body shop in your area and let them do everything. They have electric sanders and everything and do it how they want. If you use to rough of a grit, you might make them do an hour of more work getting your deep scratches out.

Trust me, I got my hardtop painted and now my lip and ap2 rear in a few weeks, and I have learned a lot. My brother is getting his MR2 Turbo painted here in a couple months and he gave us a bunch of tips, and he said do not sand anything, it will just be more work for them believe it or not.

HS2K007

Yes, leave the body work to the pros. You will need to sand in various grits progressing to a finer paper for each stage. You will what to fix any and all dents and scratches, or they will be amplified by the new paint job. To answer the paint questions, a base/clearcoat is called a dual stage paint job which is the most common. A base color is applied and then a clearcoat is applied after. A single stage which has clear mixed in the color is possible for touch ups, but does not look good on a full paint job. You want someone that has a paint booth or controlled environment. If you piant outside, you are going to get trash in the paint, or worse the paint will never dry based on the outside conditions. As well, if the paint is not mixed correctly, you can cause problems. It will cost you double if you d not know what you are doing...The first expense for you to do it wrong and the second for the painter to fix it and then paint it. You want a professional to do this.

Hershey

Thanks for the good info. and for everyone else thanks also. i know this isn't a easy bolt on na stuff. this will deal more with stripping the car down and time and patience on working on this. if anyone can still give me tip on what grit to start with and end with. this would be helpfull. thanks again guys.

HS2K007

Depending on the finish of the car now, I would go no lower than a 600 grit to start. If you can, use an orbital air sander. Doing this by hand will leave sanding lines that sometimes can not be detected until base/clear. You can move up in various grits up to 1000 to 1500 if you want a fine finish. The key thing to remember is that you should have all body work complete before finish sanding. If you sand a panel with a lower grit, it is best work your way back up with each various grit. I always sand my edges first and then the larger panels. Remember the time an effort you put in during this stage is most important and has the most impact on the finish. If your prep work is crap, the final is crap.

realblag

You know you dont have to sand all the old paint off before you paint, right? The old paint just needs to be scuffed enough so the new paint will stick. I have never heard of a situation where all the old paint needed to be sanded down.

Hershey

thanks. this helps a lot. i will see how this goes.