DIY paint

Jakedog · Mar 17, 2018

How many of you guys painted your own rig? How did it turn out? I'm not great at body work, and I've never painted a vehicle, but I'm going to do it myself. I've started doing my body work and I was hoping to have it painted before the Wild Horses round up. I don't want to drive it up looking like total crap.

The strike plate needs to be cut out and replaced. The p.o must have put it on it's side. Instead of repairing it the right way, they just welded the strike plate in place. Looks like crap. I have found more bondo than I wanted to, but I knew it wasn't perfect.

spap · Mar 17, 2018

Believe or not some one day and macco paint places can do some good work for cheap. Depends on the painter at the particular shop
Found a place in orange where they had a great painter that did all the cars for a local exotic car dealer.
Probably end up the same cost I f you do your body work. If you paint it at home all the dust and crap can get in the paint.
But I admire wanting to do it yourself, I can rebuild anything but when it comes to body work I personally don’t have the patients. Good luck

jmangi62 · Mar 17, 2018

I was in the same boat as you. Should I or shouldn't I hmmm. I went for it and you should too, sure it takes tons of patience and lots of time and energy, but it will save you tons of money and you get to say " I did it myself". The only mistake I made was doing it in pieces while it was all apart then when we put it back together we scratched the hell out of everything, I cussed my ass off I was so pissed, it was perfect, now I have to re-do tons of areas, I might just take it to a shop and have them fix it cuz I am not a pro body guy, just a retired dude that wanted to do it myself. The perfect way to do it is to jam it first, than go from there, that way you wont f it up like I did. Good Luck. Jim

ObscureMachine · Mar 17, 2018

jmangi62 said:
The only mistake I made was doing it in pieces while it was all apart then when we put it back together we scratched the hell out of everything,

Did you take the fenders and grill apart, or paint it all as one piece. I've heard people say don't take it apart. What did you do? - Jim also ;D

Jakedog · Mar 17, 2018

Can I use spray can primer on the entire body for now?
I don't have a spray gun yet.

Skiddy · Mar 17, 2018

ObscureMachine said:
Did you take the fenders and grill apart, or paint it all as one piece. I've heard people say don't take it apart. What did you do? - Jim also ;D

mine is all apart. I will be painting it in a few more weeks. I am not body man, guess i'll see how it turns out

hokanson86 · Mar 17, 2018

whats up guys well im no professional painter by any means but iv done a fair share of paint and body work and teaching my self. I my self also don't have a completely painted bronco either lol. I did paint my top about 5 years ago and it came out great as for the rest well I keep changing thing so I haven't painted it yet. Some advice I have is do the paint and body work your self it your not looking to go to pebal beach with it and you like saying you did it. with the right amount of time you can make it look good. my self if I can take a part off like doors fenders grills to paint them I will just due to the fact that you can lay them flat and its easier to paint. you do have to be a little more carful when re assembling but its worth the head ack or cut and buffing. if the part is flat you can lay the paint on a little heavier and not worrie so much about running it.

Pa PITT · Mar 17, 2018

... I'll ask a few more questions.
.... What king of ride is it. A Maul Queen or a 4x4 to be used. If it a sweet maul Queen then I guess I say send it to town & pay 10K for a 2500 paint job.
... But if it's a 4x4 like most of ours that you plan to have fun in then I say get after it & Paint it yourself..
So I sold DuPont paint for 30 years. So It's been since 1995 since I sold DuPoint .
. But I say do your body work. & NO Don't use spray can primer.
Buy your self a TRACTOR SUPPLY PAINT GUN OR A HARBOR FREIGHT. LEARN to paint while putting on your Primer.
... & I say take the doors off & prime & paint them while off. Take the hood off & Paint it off. & Your tailgate. & REMOVE YOUR GRILL & Bumpers.
This way you've got front fender & door jams & rear fenders to paint.
.........
... Oh & Buy yourself a new gun to spray your paint with.
Primer one gun & Paint with another gun.
I'M GOING TO SAY just use single stage don't put clear coat on something your taking to the forest.
...................
.... There are a lot of different primers . I like one that you can spray on. sand off & spray on another coat on & build up to help remove waves .
If you primer or paint peels off then you didn't get it clean before putting on the 2nd coat.
...... Sand with water & FLUSH OR FLOOD THE DUST OFF . YOU CAN'T GET IT TO CLEAN BEFORE PAINTING.
...... Then get help to put it back together.

Jdgephar · Mar 18, 2018

I've painted several things, but I also set my expectations appropriately to what I could expect and accept for results.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Cortez · Mar 18, 2018

I’m at this stage too, replacing sheet metal and thinking I might paint the parts while I have them off the truck...just worried about scratching things up on reassembly as was stated. Maaco quoted me $3500 for a two stage metallic, wet sanded and buffed...which isn’t bad if it bonds and doesn’t peel. I think I can get it straight for them, but like the idea of doing it myself.

hokanson86 · Mar 18, 2018

One thing that we didn't touch on here is painting and primer in stages can be tricky Priming parts in stages is fine because you cover it with paint but if your going to do a paint job try to do it the color portion all together and never thing that you can get the paint shop to make you another batch of paint because you ran out and it will match. if you paint a door one week and then go back and paint your hood a month later even with the same can of paint theres a chance they wont match. Paint can change tones with different humidity levels and temperatures and the amount you stir in the sludge pigments at the bottom of the can. so get it all primed up sanded and be ready to spend a good night in the shop getting a layer of paint on all of you parts

jmangi62 · Mar 18, 2018

ObscureMachine said:
Did you take the fenders and grill apart, or paint it all as one piece. I've heard people say don't take it apart. What did you do? - Jim also ;D

Yes I had my grill hung up from the ceiling, and fenders were on stands when I painted them. If I do another one, which I already have another project waiting, I will leave the front clip on the rig, and just remove the hood, that way all I'm re-installing is the hood, which will be ok, just have a few helpers to hold things in place while re-installing hardware and adjusting if needed, always good to have a plan going in that way the surprises will be kept to a minimum, hopefully none. Jim

Skiddy · Mar 18, 2018

hokanson86 said:
One thing that we didn't touch on here is painting and primer in stages can be tricky Priming parts in stages is fine because you cover it with paint but if your going to do a paint job try to do it the color portion all together and never thing that you can get the paint shop to make you another batch of paint because you ran out and it will match. if you paint a door one week and then go back and paint your hood a month later even with the same can of paint theres a chance they wont match. Paint can change tones with different humidity levels and temperatures and the amount you stir in the sludge pigments at the bottom of the can. so get it all primed up sanded and be ready to spend a good night in the shop getting a layer of paint on all of you parts

I will be taking an extra Friday off, just to make sure I get it all done

jmangi62 said:
Yes I had my grill hung up from the ceiling, and fenders were on stands when I painted them. If I do another one, which I already have another project waiting, I will leave the front clip on the rig, and just remove the hood, that way all I'm re-installing is the hood, which will be ok, just have a few helpers to hold things in place while re-installing hardware and adjusting if needed, always good to have a plan going in that way the surprises will be kept to a minimum, hopefully none. Jim

one reason I am taking the front end off/apart is, I have to paint the inside of the fenders and I don't like the look of all the new bolts painted or have to try and tape everything around the fenders under the hood, just my .02

RPM289 · Mar 18, 2018

Skiddy said:
I will be taking an extra Friday off, just to make sure I get it all done

one reason I am taking the front end off/apart is, I have to paint the inside of the fenders and I don't like the look of all the new bolts painted or have to try and tape everything around the fenders under the hood, just my .02

I painted mine I agree its ok to work a panel at a time but final sand then paint all exterior panels at same time. If paint is not a metallic paint you can get away with doing it at different times but have to try to get conditions close to same.

Sent from my LGL84VL using Tapatalk

Howard2x4x4 · Mar 19, 2018

I say "Go for it!" You may want pay some attention to money and waste (see the Boy and a hood(scoop) thread) because an education can be expensive. One of the best things I hope to put on my Bronco is a "Built, not bought" sticker.

KeithKinPhx · Mar 19, 2018

First time I have painted a car. Perfect no. But all the flaws are mine.

Rustytruck · Mar 19, 2018

For your first paint job use a solid one color paint with a hardener. I would not use a clear coat on top. If you get runs and you probably will they can be fixed with a solid color paint with hardener. just wait at least 4 months before you go trying to sand off the runs. there are tricks to dealing with that problem. Metallic s will look like crap if you go sanding on them and if you end up having to repaint a metallic as a novice you will wish you had it sprayed.

markw · Mar 19, 2018

I painted my '68. PPG Shopline and Southern Polyurathane Inc clear. I got it all, dirt, runs,bugs, orange peel and a few fisheyes. To say I have some time in it is an understatement! However, I've learned the nuances of block sanding and buffing and I think it looks pretty good. Some issues were pure lack of experience, some temperatures over 100, some trying to paint in a shop next to an orchard during harvest. Some pure laziness like not wetting the floor down. Persistence is in order. Sand and recoat if you don't like how it came out. Like Rusty says, stick with solid color not a metallic. Also know that even out of the same can with thorough mixing, the color will be slightly different each time you paint a panel if it's not all shot in one session. Usually minor enough no one will notice. Good light is your friend. High fill primer and block sand. IF you can see it in primer you will see it much more in gloss color. Some recommend DA final sanding over hand block sanding. Your choice but if you do DA sand, get a high quality sander ($$). I did all my final color and clear sanding within 24 hrs of application. However, as Rusty says after a few months of outgassing, things will show up that will require additional attention. Good luck and have fun! Mark

jmangi62 · Mar 19, 2018

turbotim2 said:
I painted mine. I am not a professional but have painted a couple of vehicles. If you don't make it too complicated on yourself, you can get a really good paint job. There will always be critics and perfectionists who will judge you and your paint job but the bottom line is, if you are satisfied with it and it serves your purpose, then that is what counts. Go for it!!

^^^^^ Exactly! Nuff said.

WheelHorse · Mar 19, 2018

Jakedog said:
How many of you guys painted your own rig? How did it turn out? I'm not great at body work, and I've never painted a vehicle, but I'm going to do it myself. I've started doing my body work and I was hoping to have it painted before the Wild Horses round up. I don't want to drive it up looking like total crap.

The strike plate needs to be cut out and replaced. The p.o must have put it on it's side. Instead of repairing it the right way, they just welded the strike plate in place. Looks like crap. I have found more bondo than I wanted to, but I knew it wasn't perfect.

Straight body work is EVERYTHING along with a good etch primer sealer.

First paint job, I'd stay with a solid single stage...easy to fix if you goof.

Hardner with UV protection is a must along with careful wet sanding and buffing.

Don't forget a proper respirator for every process.

Rustoleum paint

If you know how to wet sand and buff, here's a rustoleum example.

DIY paint

Sr. Member

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Seatbelt Orifice Officer

Sr. Member

Bronco Guru

New Member

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

New Member

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Sr. Member

Bronco Guru

Sr. Member

Attachments

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Bronco Guru

Similar threads