My daily driver needs paint worse than anything else. I just bought it and I paid $1200. It is an '87 Duke notchback. The only thing special about it is that it's mine.

I'm wondering if I would be better off buying the equipment to do the paint job myself or to let a local discount shop do it. I have never used ANY air tools much less a spray gun. I have rattle-canned a bumper that I was happy with. I'm pretty good with the sand paper and I've polished many items to look like mirrors.

I wanted to keep the cost of the project under $500 but I could go up to about $650. I have a garage where I can make a plastic booth. If the cost of tools is about the same or less than what it costs to hire a job done, I prefer to do it myself. I'm also aware that a good paint job takes experience (which I don't have).

What do you think? Hire it done? Do my own prep-work then let someone paint it? Buy my own equipment and do it all myself?

Jonathan

By the way, I want to go solid black but that will be changing the original color from gold.

Jonathan

quote Originally posted by Boostdreamer:The only thing special about it is that it's mine.

Love that!

I painted mine myself, turned out really great. However I had to paint booth at work to help aide in a place to do it. Since you are good with sanding, the prep work will be crucial to have a better result. I say do it yourself, I dont see the paint and tools adding up to 500.
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Brent
1988 Formula Fiero - Fastback Coversion **CJB T-Tops**

2001 Grand Prix GT High Compression 3800 SC

http://pontiactributeday.com/

[This message has been edited by Camel (edited 11-14-2009).]

Thanks, Camel. For a one-time deal, where can I shop for the supplies I need? Can I strictly shop by price or do I need to have minimum ratings for the compressor and gun?

Jonathan

I actually bought my gun at Big Lots, it was a Gravity fed gun, which worked good. I see the same ones at Harbor Freight for around 30 bucks or so...

http://www.harborfreight.co...taf?itemnumber=47016

Just get a compressor that will match its required Specs, if you do buy a compressor, get one that you'll want to use in the future for more than paint, it's come in handy.

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Brent
1988 Formula Fiero - Fastback Coversion **CJB T-Tops**

2001 Grand Prix GT High Compression 3800 SC

http://pontiactributeday.com/

[This message has been edited by Camel (edited 11-14-2009).]

You might be able to rent a compressor from Home Depot or a tool rental place. That might save you a little coin to, if you don't think you will have future use for one.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 11-14-2009).]

Had not even thought of renting! Of course, renting can be almost as much as buying. But that's another option.

Jonathan

quote Originally posted by Boostdreamer: Had not even thought of renting! Of course, renting can be almost as much as buying. But that's another option. Jonathan

Yes but a little pancake 2 gallon compressor isn't going to cut it for paint. Atleast I don't think they will supply the CFM at the pressure you need. You will need a larger, probably 10ish+ gallon tank with prefferably a 2 piston pump. You could get away with a single piston, but I don't think I'd try a diaphram model. Basically, a couple of hundred for a compressor.

My compressor is a 10 gallon single piston and it barely keeps up.

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 11-14-2009).]

I'd say if the rentals work for paint, they will also have guns. Either way, they should be able to tell me what works with what and what won't work at all.

Jonathan

quote Originally posted by Boostdreamer: I'd say if the rentals work for paint, they will also have guns. Either way, they should be able to tell me what works with what and what won't work at all. Jonathan

True. But a gun can be got at Harbor Freight for $15 on sale. Not the greatest gun, but your not planning to do this as a profession.

Either way, best advice I can give is once you have all your prep done. Before you go to paint, practice a bit on something that doesn't matter. A few old body panels would work, just to get a feel for it. Never stop moving the gun while it is spraying but keep a constant speed. Not to fast as to make the coat to light, but not to slow to make it to heavy which results in runs. Make sure to use a water and oil seperator (think I saw one at HF for $13) on the compressor to avoid fisheye. Painting in itself is easy. Anyone can point and pull the trigger, Technique is practiced.

I don't think it's beyond anyone to paint. But it is a learning experience. Have fun and post up some pics when it's done. I'd love to see them .

[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 11-14-2009).]

Maybe you could try the $50 paint job.

Rent a compressor or find a friend with one, get a cheap gun from harbor freight "$15", get a gallon of Rustoleum "whatever color" "$30", sand it all down how you want, tape and spray. The good thing about rustoleum is that it doesnt care if you paint it over oil or grim and it dried hard as a rock, and looks decent doing it!

quote Originally posted by TopNotch: Maybe you could try the $50 paint job.

Please don't, people who have painted before will laugh at you. A harbor freight gun will work perfectly well but in needs to be a conventional gun, none of that hvlp stuff, you need a more expensive compressor for that, i plan on painting a lot so my air compressor was really expensive but a 15-25 gallon compressor is fine can get one for $200 easily. one of the in line screw on filters will work fine to keep the air dry. Your local paint store will usually carry an aftermarket brand paint that should be right around $100 a gallon then you just need a gallon of reducer/thinner for the paint and the clean up. Put plastic on anything you don't want black, open up your garage door a little and shove a couple box fans under it, wet your floor and keep everything clean. Spend some time getting your gun set up right. When i spray i start on the bottom and work my way up to the top, i think it keeps the runs low where you don't see them. Practice makes perfect, and if you are changing the color i would hope your car would look like this for a little bit.

Good luck, and if you have any questions let me know.

That Gun in the Link for 24.95 is always on sale for $14 ! but you would be way ahead of the game to get the High Volume low Pressure gun HVLP at harbor freight for $39. you will use Much Less Paint & get a much better finish. I have Both of them. I f you've never painted before, research "how to" & go with Basecoat Clearcoat, you'll have a mirror finish that can be wet sanded & buffed in a few Hours ! DA sand the car with 220, then Prime it ALL with urathane (2 part primer ( I prefer Nason), then wet sand it, with 400, shoot it with Base, wait 45 min, then shoot the clear. If you Have Patience, & follow the instructions, it's almost Hard to screw up. god luck.

Theres nothing wrong with using a Harbor Freight HVLP gun. I have several I use. Basecoats are almost impossible to screw up....its the clearcoat that gets you. Yes you can sand out dust and runs then buff it. Your going to need a GOOD air compressor and a new one thats less than $600-$700 is not possible. You will need somewhere around a 12CFM or above to get any kind of a nice job. Less and you spend more time waiting for air to pump up than spraying. You might get by with less if you only paint one panel at a time and you can get away with that with black...other colors will missmatch if not all sprayed together. Since you havent done it before heres my suggestion. The 'cheapo' jobs like Maaco can be good. Look at yours to see how they turn out. They will have a dust free booth. THey are all franchises so quality will vary shop to shop. Then take off what you can yourself like headlight covers, mirrors, wing/rack, all but a couple of tail lite bolts and sand it all over yourself with 340-400 sandpaper. I prefer doing it dry so you can see what your doing. You want to take off all the gloss even in crevices like around moldings. This is what a lot of shops DONT do. Paint has to be scratched up for new one to stick. Id highly recommend you then take it to the shop and have them shoot it. Black WILL show every speck of anything...I dont even like to paint an all over black car in my shop. If you do it yourself, your more than likely going to need to sand it afterwards and buff it with rubbing compound. If you havent used a professional large buffer dont. You can destroy a paint job in minutes if you dont know how. On the other side if you do it yourself, you can always be proud of that. If you do it make sure you have someone around to show you how to do it and help you along the way. Same with buffer.

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Owner / Operator Custom Paint and Body...
specializing in Corvette & Higher End Autos for 40+ years
Ferrari, Mercedes and Porsche Approved
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toys: '66 custom Dodge 'Super Bee'
'92 rare Firebird conv RamAir #1035 of 1325

If you want to try it on your own I'll offer use of my garage with a huge compressor and I also have a couple of decent paint guns still in their boxes, never opened. We'll need to make a plastic "spray room" I would think but This option would make the cost alot lower. About an hour or so drive from your location.

Wagner Control Spray HVLP self-contained sprayer and VanSickle industrial enamel with hardener.

Probably less than $100 and don't laugh...it does a real nice job.

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If you do it yourself,you will have to rent a compressor.
For the compressor you'll need it will be around $350 and up just for the compressor.
You should be able to rent it for several days for $50 or less i'm betting.
Pancake compressor will not work,I can use my high speed die grinder on one for about 7 seconds.

I'm all for the do it yourself option,I've only ever painted small parts-the biggest being a GMC dash I smoothed and painted.
It took alot of prep work and do-overs to get it perfect,but in the end I had a good time and learned alot.

Read Rogers post at least twice ..

If you decide to paint it black or gold,, you should use a Maaco or a similar shop,,lighter colors are easier,even RED

It is the prep work That will determine the final quality,, The paint jobs from some of the Discount painters are cheap.

tell them what you want ,, they will work with you.

prep it,, check it and prep again

I have a GT that was maaco painted 8 years ago It sat in the SUN for 2 years the basic paint still looks good ,,the hood now has webbing & the paint has lifting in close areas that probably recieved no sanding.. pratically NO over spray,amazing,, the previous owner got his $285.oo worth ..The florida Sun is merciless on any paint
Practice on a card board box ,opened up flat ,,I have wet down the back yard and gotten a good job..a wind gust will ruin your day

quote Originally posted by Nazareth: If you want to try it on your own I'll offer use of my garage with a huge compressor and I also have a couple of decent paint guns still in their boxes, never opened. We'll need to make a plastic "spray room" I would think but This option would make the cost alot lower. About an hour or so drive from your location.

Nazareth, that would be a great option for me. Definately worth the drive. Are you an experienced painter who can show me the ropes?

How many coats should I spray?
How long do I wait between coats?
Do I need to sand or wash between coats?
After painting, how long should the car remain inside the booth to protect it from dust, etc?

Thanks for all the responses and advice so far.
Jonathan

I used Nason paint on my 85Gt.
1gallon base, 1gallon clear, 2qt urethane primer and all the hardeners cost me $340. Was the first time I used Nason and was very pleased with the results.
You can get the primer tinted any color so get it somewhat close to what your base is and it makes coverage much easier.
As said, it's all in the prep the better you do it the better it turns out.
Darker colors have more issue since any imperfection will show up that you missed or make. That is if your going for a shiny job.

No I have never painted... But I know I can do it... with some instruction... I think I can get us an experienced painter to help....

quote Originally posted by Dodgerunner: I used Nason paint on my 85Gt. 1gallon base, 1gallon clear, 2qt urethane primer and all the hardeners cost me $340. Was the first time I used Nason and was very pleased with the results. You can get the primer tinted any color so get it somewhat close to what your base is and it makes coverage much easier. As said, it's all in the prep the better you do it the better it turns out. Darker colors have more issue since any imperfection will show up that you missed or make. That is if your going for a shiny job.

Yes, I definately want it to be shiny! That's what worries me about the clear coat. I know I can get the base to look good but I'm thinking the clear is where I'll screw it up.

I thought the Fiero's plastic parts didn't need any primer?

Jonathan

Please reference my thread on painting if you choose to do it yourself. I have a pretty complete step by step.

I hope you find it useful.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/090549.html

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quote Originally posted by DeLorean00: Please reference my thread on painting if you choose to do it yourself. I have a pretty complete step by step. I hope you find it useful. https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/090549.html

Thank you.

I was going to link that thread but it wasn't on my favorites list. A problem that is now solved.

quote Originally posted by Khw: Thank you. I was going to link that thread but it wasn't on my favorites list. A problem that is now solved.

You bet!

ill buy those wheels,im in ca,you?

Nobody has addressed this issue in this thread but it is related to paint so here it goes:

I have seen all of the panels of the Fiero removed and painted separately. While this ensures perfect coverage in recessed places like moulding channels and I believe guarantees good results on things like the exhaust tip coves (upside down stuff), it also has the possibility of color mismatches and coating thickness variancies unless all painted at once. Any thoughts on doing it this way, good or bad? It seems to me that while more work, you'd get good results because nothing would have to be masked and you could (should) replace all your weatherstripping at the same time. Thoughts?