Ok I have read a lot of the threads on painting and I have a few questions. First off I am not looking for top notch high quality, lol I want it to look nice but it will be a few years before I have the money to do it right. I am swapping all the panels to make my coupe a GT. My 87 is currently the dark metallic red color. If I want to paint it, if I sand the panels down, not down to the primer but all the clear coat and some of the base, can I paint over it with my new paint, (assuming I am making it the same color) and if I do will it look ok? Next question if that does work, can I go to a brighter red, I am thinking the other red that Fieros came in. Not sure if this make all the since in the world but I could use any and all help.

i'm not a paint guru but yes, sand down past the clear coat so the new paint has something to stick to. any kind of decent paint should cover it as long as you aren't going from like black to white. something like that you may need to use a base primer to avoid bleed through. most important thing is cleanliness. make sure there is no dust, dirt and use some prep-sol to get off any old wax or other contaminants.

I have painted 2 cars,and it's not as easy as it seems there are alot of problems that can ocure,such as a bug landing on the paint or the paint wrincleing.The paint could run..Then theres the cost,Paint+$125 (2 quarts) ,Sand paper,masking tape and dust cloths $20,reducer $20.Water extracter for the compresser $12.Cost overruns$23.Total $200 minimum estimate.I would personally take it to a local discount shop and have it painted right $350 (for the non prefectionist).see pic below of a nice Earl Shibe job (Dodge Viper Red).There is alot of controversery about Maco and Earl Shibe,I would ask to see a few cars that have just been done.Prep the car your self and get a better quality paint job.

If you have the time, compressor, paint gun and want to learn. Goto the paint store, I prefer PPG paint and get a quart of omni black ( generic paint brand they sell $20.00/qt ) or any other color. Get a couple panels that you can practice on til it looks good. Then when you are ready, your paint job for your good panels will come out better.

I've always wanted to learn so I finally just jumped in and did it.

Oh, make sure you have a respirator too.

[This message has been edited by wanobi (edited 07-16-2006).]

quote Originally posted by pcwentworth: Ok I have read a lot of the threads on painting and I have a few questions. First off I am not looking for top notch high quality, lol I want it to look nice but it will be a few years before I have the money to do it right. I am swapping all the panels to make my coupe a GT. My 87 is currently the dark metallic red color. If I want to paint it, if I sand the panels down, not down to the primer but all the clear coat and some of the base, can I paint over it with my new paint, (assuming I am making it the same color) and if I do will it look ok? Next question if that does work, can I go to a brighter red, I am thinking the other red that Fieros came in. Not sure if this make all the since in the world but I could use any and all help.

Glad to hear that you are reading about all this. That's the best way to start.....get as much info as you can. When you pick up your paint, get the ' cut-sheets ' that give you all of the info about the products you are going to use....i.e. mixing ratios, flash times, coverage, pressures, etc. That will help you to understand the materials themselves and how to apply them. As for the preperation of the old surface, yes, you can sand the old surface until you get rid of any poorly adhering paint. If the clearcoat isn't peeling or discolored, you can paint over that if it's prepared properly. You shouldn't need any primer unless you have a really light color on your new rear clip, then you can get some tintable primer and spray that first so you won't have to use so much paint to get the colors right. Your paint suppliers will help you out with that, or just let us know if you need more info on that. Oh....yes, you can go with the brighter red. Just a bit more work to get the inside edges done.

There isn't any reason why this paint job can't be your ' professional ' job. If you take your time and do it right, you can get your top notch paint job this time. There are several professional painters on the forum here that are more than willing to share our knowledge to help out others, and we're glad to assist. Please let us know if you have any other questions and we'll be happy to help out.

Mark

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[This message has been edited by Firefox (edited 07-16-2006).]

man where do you ppl go to buy your paint??????? i can get any color ppg paint for $30 per gallon not quart! wow.......anyways do i need a primer to paint metalflake blue over the fiero red?

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quote Originally posted by DEMONCHILD: man where do you ppl go to buy your paint??????? i can get any color ppg paint for $30 per gallon not quart! wow.......anyways do i need a primer to paint metalflake blue over the fiero red?

I buy my paint from a PPG dealer that I dealt with while working at a GM dealership. I also buy quality paint and not some cheap-ass Earl Sheib quality paint. PPG's low-cost line is also a low quality line. You get what you pay for. When I paint a car, the paint is expected to last more than the 2 years that the low cost line will last. The cheaper grades of paint will fade quickly and will not retain it's color, and sometimes will actually lose some of it's bonding quality and flake off even with proper prep. UV from the sun damages the cheaper paints because they don't have the UV protective qualitys that the good stuff has. Remember, when you deal with professionals and professional paint jobs, you expect top quality. When you are doing it yourself, you don't expect top quality and most people won't pay for top quality materials without that expectation. Plus, I don't know what kind of paint you are buying for $30 a gallon, but I doubt it's Deltron urethane. I would expect that you are buying Delstar enamel.

Yes, you need primer or you won't get a good even color. Buy a tinted primer.

Visited here after a member posted it www.autobody101.com good site, lots of info/help.