Any one know how many gallons of paint it takes to paint a fiero? will one gallon do the tricK?

[This message has been edited by NickD3.4 (edited 02-29-2008).]

quote Originally posted by NickD3.4: will one gallon do the tricK?

Yes

Its been a few years, but I believe I only used about 3 quarts. Im sure FireFox will chime in with an exact answer.

ok thanks, I have found some candy apple red metallic I love. I just cant decide if I want to paint the car my self, or pay someone. I have never done a paint job before, but I would never let that stand in the way. I just don't know what the laws in my area say about painting in a residential. I guess If I just supplied the paint, and did the sanding myself I would save alot of money, right?

I would not do your first paint job in red candy apple you must have an excellent sanding job for candy paint a special base coat is applied before you paint the thin candy cover it is not easy to do on a car,, a motor cycle gas tank is an easy first candy paint use spray cans to practice ...to apply a proper uniform paint job requires skill ,,one of the reasons for the popularity of maaco and econo bake a candy red paint is not a place to start I have some experience working in a paint shop,, but wait for the real experts to chime in.. you will be surprised how easy it is to screw up a paint job.. paint a bike or wheel barow for practice.. you can make a passable paint booth on a car port using old sheets for walls buy them at thrift shop ..

[This message has been edited by uhlanstan (edited 03-01-2008).]

I'm planning to paint my car myself once I get the chance. RED!

-Michael

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"A guy know's he's in love when he loses interest in his car for a few days." -Tim Allen

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How much paint you will need will depend on what kind of paint you are using. If you are spraying for the very first time, don't spray candy colors. You'll be extremely disappointed in the results. Find a good paint supplier and talk with them about what kind of paints to use for what you want and see if you can get something close to the color you desire with a base/clear without the candy colors. Painting is an art and can't be done right without a lot of practice and a few mistakes. With candy colors, you can't fix mistakes very easy.

Mark

I figured that, that Why I think I may just buy the paint I want, and give to who ever I have paint the car.

quote Originally posted by Firefox: How much paint you will need will depend on what kind of paint you are using. If you are spraying for the very first time, don't spray candy colors. You'll be extremely disappointed in the results. Find a good paint supplier and talk with them about what kind of paints to use for what you want and see if you can get something close to the color you desire with a base/clear without the candy colors. Painting is an art and can't be done right without a lot of practice and a few mistakes. With candy colors, you can't fix mistakes very easy. Mark

I agree.

Yes painting a car is hard enough with out trying to get a candy right. I have been painting DuPont and PPG for 5 years now and I won't even attempt a candy on a car yet. I have been practicing but candy is very tough to get right. You will have dark spots in the corners trying to get coverage in those tight spots and light spots where the paint is easy to apply. Very tough to get it right.
When I painted my car (flip paint also hard to do right, similar to candy) I used a gallon of primer, 3/4 gallon of base, 3/4 gallon of urethane clear. The was three coat s of primer, three coats of base, and 4 coats of clear, then came the color sanding...oy ve talk about work.

if i were to paint my fiero in my garage i would use laqure paint cause its easy to use and no recoat window

what makes candy paint so hard?

quote Originally posted by NickD3.4: what makes candy paint so hard?

Candy paint is a tristage paint, the key coat is the "candy" itself, it is a tinted clear coat with metallic in it (basically). The base coat is usually silver or gold, and it is top coated with clear.

For a first paint job, even just a metallic is enough of a challenge. If you get the metallic just a little too heavy (of a coat) the metal flake will sag, the texture of the paint won't necessarily sag or run, but the metal flake can. Consistency is VERY important on the candy coat, temperature, humidity, air pressure can all effect the candy. Since it is transparent (kinda) you have to be sure that you get the exact amount of paint on every part of the car, one extra pass across a panel will leave it a different color than the rest of the car. Corners are the trickiest because of the funky airflow near them. You really can't do a "panel off" and expect the car to be one color with a candy.

quote Originally posted by 3.6lvvt6spdgt: if i were to paint my fiero in my garage i would use laqure paint cause its easy to use and no recoat window

Lacquer paint is easy to spray but requires a lot of wetsanding and polishing to make it look good, but if done right it looks like glass. Lacquer is getting harder to find as most paint companies are getting away from it as the auto industry isn't using it anymore. The newer urethane paints are a lot easier to spray and you end up with less sanding to make the paint shine, but you do need a clean area to spray as the clear does stay wet on the surface for a few minutes and can collect a little dust and dirt, but that usually can be wetsanded out for polishing. You also need to have a well ventilated area and as a painter you need to wear a resperator as the paints are somewhat toxic in composition. The urethanes are a much better product overall but you do need to prepare for it.

Mark

quote Originally posted by FieroJimmy: Candy paint is a tristage paint, the key coat is the "candy" itself, it is a tinted clear coat with metallic in it (basically). The base coat is usually silver or gold, and it is top coated with clear. For a first paint job, even just a metallic is enough of a challenge. If you get the metallic just a little too heavy (of a coat) the metal flake will sag, the texture of the paint won't necessarily sag or run, but the metal flake can. Consistency is VERY important on the candy coat, temperature, humidity, air pressure can all effect the candy. Since it is transparent (kinda) you have to be sure that you get the exact amount of paint on every part of the car, one extra pass across a panel will leave it a different color than the rest of the car. Corners are the trickiest because of the funky airflow near them. You really can't do a "panel off" and expect the car to be one color with a candy.

From what you just said, I think you may be talking about something different then what I am looking at. The paint I have found is a urethane paint, ans is named Candy Apple Red Metallic. It may not be a "true" candy paint. Look at it, and tell me what you think.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymot...2QQitemZ220205835992

urethane is good but my guy said it doesnt require a clearcoat which is a bad thing since you polish the clearcoat on cars, not the paint. we tested out a part of my car with urethane vs paint and clear and the clear looks much much better. urethane looks like an industiral paint job.

quote Originally posted by megafreakindeth: urethane is good but my guy said it doesnt require a clearcoat which is a bad thing since you polish the clearcoat on cars, not the paint. we tested out a part of my car with urethane vs paint and clear and the clear looks much much better. urethane looks like an industiral paint job.

Can't you clearcoat it anyway? It may not require it, but any reason you can't?

the paint I have the link to here is a urethane paint, but it has a clear coat kit that comes with it. It may not be required, but the clear coat protects it more, and brings out a better shine. So, yes you can clear coat urethane paints.

STAY AWAY FROM 5-STAR PRODUCTS! They're the WORST products I've ever tried. I tried some recently to save money on one of my brother's cars (he wanted to try it) & I had to go back & completely sand the entire car & re-clear it with better clear. Also their wax & grease remover is second rate at best. Why are you buying crap from ebay anyway???
Go to your local autobody/paint & talk to them about their products. They'll tell you everything you need to do the job. Make sure they understand that you'll have to sand & buff it. For primer & paint plan to spend anywhere from $500 (for the cheap shtuff) to $1200+ (for the best). I recomend PPG (Ditzler) or Sikkens for the primer & paint. DEFINATELY use PPG epoxy primer. If you can't afford good shtuff Dupont Nason clear is a cheap alternative that's decent.
Check out BMWGuru's thread "I'm fed up - I'm going to paint it myself." to get an idea of what you're getting into. Also search for the other threads were we've went into detail as to how to paint a Fiero (there are several of them).
HTH,
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Um...I think you better look at the link again Driver, the paint is not made by 5-star, the brand is StarFire, made by hawthorn paint company. I have got some really good quality things on ebay, you dont like ebay?

[This message has been edited by NickD3.4 (edited 03-02-2008).]

No, you'd better look again. HERE'S Five Star's catalog. See anything familiar?

John Stricker

quote Originally posted by NickD3.4: Um...I think you better look at the link again Driver, the paint is not made by 5-star, the brand is StarFire, made by hawthorn paint company. I have got some really good quality things on ebay, you dont like ebay?

I see that the clear coat, and urethane activator is made by 5-star, but I am talking about the paint, I don't care about the other stuff. I just care about the paint its self, which is not a 5-star product. I can get a better quality clear coat. this is just a package they threw together with the paint.

Dont buy anything until you are ready to do it right away. Go and talk to paint shop guys and get a quote. save up that amount plus 25% and then when you are ready get the stuff. you need to know what you can afford, a good "candy" paint job is around 3X-4X the price of a good normal solid color job. It's a lot more work, a lot more skill. and you had better think twice about it. accident repairs will be nasty expensive as you cant match a candy paintjob, the whole panel needs repaint and then that panel will not match the car.


Last thing you do is buy the paint, not the first thing, get quotes and find what you can afford before buying anything.

quote Originally posted by FieroJimmy: Candy paint is a tristage paint, the key coat is the "candy" itself, it is a tinted clear coat with metallic in it (basically). The base coat is usually silver or gold, and it is top coated with clear. For a first paint job, even just a metallic is enough of a challenge. If you get the metallic just a little too heavy (of a coat) the metal flake will sag, the texture of the paint won't necessarily sag or run, but the metal flake can. Consistency is VERY important on the candy coat, temperature, humidity, air pressure can all effect the candy. Since it is transparent (kinda) you have to be sure that you get the exact amount of paint on every part of the car, one extra pass across a panel will leave it a different color than the rest of the car. Corners are the trickiest because of the funky airflow near them. You really can't do a "panel off" and expect the car to be one color with a candy.

I think Hawthorne/Rayflex makes the paints for Miracle and Maaco autobody. That is what they offer on Ebay. I also think the real final finish is determined by the prep work before the paint. If done right, you will have a nice finish in the end. The issue is HOW LONG the paint will look nice in the sunlight. Most cheap paints turn to chalk after a few years in the sun....especially red if it is not waxed constantly. Since you asked about candy paint,here is an example of a tank I did in candy paint as described by FieroJimmy:

Silver metallic basecoat with flames airbrushed in


And the blue candy after about 7 coats. No clearcoat has been applied yet. Notice the flake from the silver basecoat shining through the candy.

[This message has been edited by IMSA GT (edited 03-02-2008).]

quote Originally posted by NickD3.4: I see that the clear coat, and urethane activator is made by 5-star, but I am talking about the paint, I don't care about the other stuff. I just care about the paint its self, which is not a 5-star product. I can get a better quality clear coat. this is just a package they threw together with the paint.

You should care about the ' other stuff '. If you are looking for a decent finish, don't mix brands. You might find that there are incompatible products out there and totally screw up your goal of a good paint job. Even the stuff that's supposed to be able to be sprayed over any paint brands sometimes doesn't work out and you end up with a surface that you need to scrape off and start over. If you are serious about trying this yourself, don't skimp on what you buy. You get what you pay for in the end.

If you decide to have someone paint it for you, and at this point I'd recommend that, let your painter decide what paint to spray. I will not spray anything other than PPG paints as I have many years of experience with that brand and my tech support is excellent if I have a question or issue. I've sprayed several other brands of paint including Martin-Seynour ( NAPA ) and Sherwin-Williams and I refuse to spray either of those anymore. They have different characteristics about them and spray different and I was unhappy with the paint quality. The paint work came out nice in the end, but I had to do a lot of work to make it that way. Again, you get what you pay for. Don't buy paint and then look for someone to spray what you bought........a good painter won't spray crap paint. Pick your colors but let them get the paint from their supplier.

Mark

You have to ask yourself: do I want a good paintjob that will last & make the car worth more? If the answer is yes then go with PPG or Sikkens. If you don't care about either then paint it with whatever you like. If you want it to look nice, & last a few years (or just want to "pawn" it off on someone else), then go with a cheaper Nason base/clear (but still use PPG epoxy primer). Anything else (the 5-star & other cheap crap) will only DE-VALUE the car for anyone that may want a nice car in the future. It won't last long if you do manage to make it look decent.
I was looking at an 8 Series BMW once that the guy wanted $13,000 for, & would have bought it at that price untill I found out he had it painted. That made it worth $1,000 less to me as in order to do it right I would have had to strip off all of that paint.
Did you take my advice & go to the other threads?
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Edit: Yes I've been ripped off on ebay quite a bit, but I get a good deal every now & then (there are a few honest folks there). Then there's this: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/087545.html

[This message has been edited by Tha Driver (edited 03-02-2008).]

thanks for the advice guys. Does any one know if this was a "true" candy color? It looks to me like a urethane metallic paint with the name "candy apple red" In this case, I will see if I can find some one to match the color. There is a auto paint store near where I live called "space age auto paint" I bet they can set me up. I'm not even sure if it is legal to paint my car outside.

No, it's definitely not a true candy, just a metallic 2-stage (base coat/clear coat) urethane. That being said, it does look like a nice color, just the quality might not be the best.

And I agree, that is a very nice tank.