any opinions on what is the best way to paint a fiero? i was thinking about having some1 paint it for me, but i know that some people have taken the panels off and painted each one. i guess if you had plenty of time, that would be the way to go. thoughts?

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sQoaCh

not so much PLENTY of time.. just a little bit of mechanical inclination.. it took BlackGT, Myself and my Girlfriend about 5 hours to take EVERY body panel off.. took the frame to the frame shop and the body panels to another shop for painting.. it's not NEARLY as hard as you'd think! RodrV6 has done it too.. along with a few others here...

[This message has been edited by 1FST2M6 (edited 11-30-2000).]

If your paint is bad only on certain panels, painting only them is the way to go.

And stuff like the roof can just be masked off and painted easily. Panels can also be sprayed with cans, which will cut down on the cost.

My car was painted with the panels off. Something that became a problem was on reassembly; we noticed that the color had changed on different panels. Problem solved after several coats of repaint. Just something more to think about. One thing nice about a panel paint job is that it looks like a factory paint job. I went from silver to yellow. There is no silver visible anywhere, you wouldn’t get that with a normal paint job.

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“If you don’t look for that parking space near the entrance, you’ll never get it”

If you're keeping the same color, I think you could get a decent job if you leave panels in place and remove molding, mirrors, antenna, grilles, etc. If you're changing color, I think panels-off is the way to go; it makes prep easier, and reduces masking.

I don't have much luck painting large areas with spray cans. And my finger gets tired.

In any case, you need a clean, warm, well-ventilated place to paint.

I have seen some sreet rodders build the car, then remove all body panels and paint inner edges and other places you could see, but may not get hit by an asembled job. They then replaced the panels and shot the entire car. This takes care of the two problems mentioned above (changing car color and differences in separate panel tints. Or you could just do like the guy in the 87 GT I saw yesterday and paint your mirrors and lace rims gloss black with a brush!!!

Hey Guys,

Don't you need a flex agent added to the paint? I have seen some paintjobs where the bumper covers are screwed up because of flexing. This would be similar to the camaro/firebird noses wouldn't it? I would be interested to know as I am thinking of repainting my Fiero in the spring.

Charlie

If you change color, go with wkayl.
MrPBody is very correct!
Horseman: yes you do.
I wouldn't do the 'spray can' thing. Too much inconsistancy in the paint.

i worked for Sikkens a division of Akzo-Nobel (Cliff should know that name.. their a Dutch Firm) for about 18 months in their Epoxy Coatings Training facility here in Norcross, Ga. you DON'T need a flex agent.. a flex agent is put in the paint for the installer/bodyman that doesn't care about the car just to put it back together. the agent works it self out of the paint in about 3 months. much like sweating a new urathane facia before you paint it's just a temperary chemical. this gose for ICI, DuPont, House of Kolor, PPG, Glasurit, Spies Hecker, Sikkens and even the Napa - Sherwin Williams automotive coatings.

Side question:
The front fascia IS made of urethane, right?

ive had my own body shop for years, been in body painting since 1969. Flex agents are a total waste of time and money. if your painting car same color, i prefer painting whole vehicle all togeather. Mask up all the jams so they dont get oversprayed. with all the new colors and types of paint its very hard to get panels to match unless there all painted at same time, same number of coats.if your changing colors you can take off all the panels you want and paint all the hidden edges, jams first. then put it togeather and paint the rest assembled. I can almost guarantee if you finish paint the whole job in pieces, your gonna scratch or scrape something and have to paint part again anyway-on the car-and prob with a mismatch. Ive used the same can of paint on a car to paint another part on another day and had it turn out the wrong shade.

i have sprayed two or three fieros, two with flex and one without. the one without the bumper covers cracked in 6 months, the other two i have had for 5 years now and i have yet to see a crack. i only shoot sherman williams and i live in a harsh climate. just my two cents.....

ChromaBase (by Dupont I think)

Base Coat / Clear Coat

No flex agent used/needed. I used it on 2 cars (fieros) and am very satisfied with the results. Paint job looks good as new.