suprmonky73

so i just picked up a Veilside Tonneau cover from a fellow member on here. its black and as you can see my car is red. i tried it on and it looks SICK but being black it looks somewhat out of place so I would like to paint it.
I got some high quotes for it because of the odd shape so I figured what the hell, why not just paint it myself and learn how to do so.

im pretty sure its made out of fiberglass. I'm having trouble finding a good guide online as to how to approach something like this.

It seems like i just need to sand it , paint it then clearcoat it. Since I'm not a pro and have no professional tools , i considered spraypainting it red since NFR is a pretty average looking red.

any ideas, tips, advice?

txchopper5

Spend the money. Black or white are one thing, but if you don't match the paint EXACTLY right then it's gonna stick out like a sore thumb.

Don't spend the money for the part and cheap out on paint.

S_special

i agree, don't start practicing on such a large piece for your S

S2K_FTW

yeah please dont try and paint thatyourself. you can pratice sanding and priming which will bring the cost down. even though you have the paint code it probably wont be the same tint due to the fact that just about every color is slightly diffrent.

speedworksracing

Painting fiberglass is really no different than painting metal. You just have to be careful when sanding to not go past the gel coat. You could spray it yourself but just think of the things you are going to have to buy to make it look even half way correct.

Sandpaper and a sander
Air Compressor
Paint gun, and you really should have 2 or 3. one for primer, one for base coat, and one for clear.
Primer
Base
Clear
Reducer
and more and more

You will save money and time and make it look a hell of a lot better by taking it to someone.

suprmonky73

thanks for the advice everyone. much appreciated

it is a rather large piece and it could turn into a disaster easily, plus i might not get the color to ever match.

mjschrage

i wanted that piece so bad, but I couldnt make the time to go and get it, nice grab!

You should be able to get it painted for under 300.00 easy, take it to a couple Maco's of local shops and ask for a good price. A shop around me was willing to paint my entire roof for 200.00, take your time, someone out there will let you name your price.


Option #2 DIY

Why would you worry about matching your color, there are a bunch of sites online that offer color matching paint in all different kinds of application methods. No need to sand or any of that junk, just a few good primer coats ($20), three coats of your cars color match paint (aerosol 3-5 cans ~ 60-100.00), and them hit it with a couple clears. Two hours or less and you will be finished (its really easy.) Let it dry for 12hrs

shotiable

i found that SEM makes some pretty good primers. i've previously used the SEM high build and i believe is self-etching primer? its some really good stuff that masked some imperfections of the metal underneath (like rock chips and all that) but i think sanding is a definite must so that the primer will at least stick...

iam7head

<---does paint professionaly, just did about 30 pieces(today) for a professional trade shop in feb.


first thing first...fiberglass is tricky in a way to paint because most of the fiberglass needs extensive work to get it perfectly smooth. most of the cheaper/lower grade fiberglass is not smooth at all, something like a lip is less laborious vs a flat portion of a bumper/hood, etc

to get it perfectly smooth, you need to block it down, skimcoat, and when needed: resin or bondo it.

make sure you don't use bondo brand body filler, even their best line is pretty crappy.
Evercoat makes an awesome filler, jsut pick one for right material.

um..yeah about paint, if you go rattle cans(primer, paint or clear) you can get it look pretty pretty close to 2k paint but they will not last nearly as long. 2k stuff will last at least ten year if the prep and paint work are done right.

SEM is great but if you can go 2k, don't get rattle can job. High build has alot of filler, which is great for the pit and sand marks, but they also have a bigger struke rate, you might have a pit after a year or two.

with all the proper bodywork done, you need to get it prime, don't use self etching primer unless you have a bare metal finish(seriously), polysurfacer or epoxy is your best bet, both have different filling property and you should consider it for the job.

a sealer(or epoxy surface/sealer) will go on before the base, i do this on expensive job just to make sure no discolor or weird color form the primer/sanding will pop up.
alot of cheap place will not do it for the cost. epoxy primer on front bumper can almost replace flex agent on the paint, if you don't have any of those your paint will chip much faster. My 2 years old front bumper have zero rock chip dispite it's being use on the fwy for 2 year straight, it's the flexibility of the primer(which you can't get from a rattle can)

from that point you can get it single stage or 2k, i will almost never do a single stage unless i hated the person

let me know if you need help

iam7head

depends on the primer, you mos def need sanding to get mechanical adhesion.

you don't want to lay 6 layer of primer to fill one rock chip, the idea is the same as filling a hole with bondo alone, they are not designed for doing that.(not saying you are)