How would I go about respraying my own Zed? What do I need and do you have any tips?

 

Any other non-professional done it to their own car? What were you experiences?

 

I want to do a top notch job obviously, so how do I do it? And what do I do if I go wrong?

 

Thanks guys.

To do a perfect job, you'll need a clean indoor very well ventilated work area. A compressor, a paint gun, good quality masking tape, an oxygen fed mask, some big sheets of paper, gun wash, good quality thinners, a few litres of paint, a fair bit of laquer, some hardner, panel wipe and some different grades of wet n dry!

 

I may well of missed some things there, but thats just off the top of my head.

 

I have sprayed quite a few things, not a full car though! Most of the work is in the prep, if you can feel it it WILL show through! You've got to panel wipe the whole car and make sure this is done well, as if there is any silicon left, it WILL react! Also just put it on lightly at first and get the feel for it, as it is very easy to get runs especially with laquer, good laquering is an incredible skill!

 

Basically to do the job right it will take quite a long time.

 

HTH :)

I am doing it myself:

 

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=115359

 

You need air. spray guns and equipment, sanding and rubbing stuff all the paint and thinners a dry environment and plenty of time and patients.

Thanks for your advice guys, I think I will bite the bullet and just "do it"!

 

On another note, if anyone else is interested in respraying their own car let me know, possibly thinking of renting a medium to large industrial unit for a month or so, that way if there was a few of us, we could share knowledge, costs and help each other.

 

Thanks!

you forgot one thing there zx-eyes... experience. Doing something the size of a car with all the intricate bits takes real skill. youll manage a reasonable job but you wont get that shine that you get (you know the one) when it is done by a good pro!

 

still hat off to you as it a big financial investment and patience chanange. Tried it on a bike once with a proper seald off unit and mid range compressor/spraygun and made a bit of a mess, i left it too long between coats! Best of luck to ya fella, hope i havn't scared you too much.

How would I go about respraying my own Zed? What do I need and do you have any tips?

 

Any other non-professional done it to their own car? What were you experiences?

 

I want to do a top notch job obviously, so how do I do it? And what do I do if I go wrong?

 

Thanks guys.

 

You simply have no chance at all of doing a "top notch job"

first time round.

As already said even with medium range equipment it wont work .

You will need to spend £500 on a compressor at least and then look at £200 + for a gun plus all the rest .

Even if someone let you borrow a full professional booth for a month with all the right quality gear you will still produce an amateur looking job first time round, especially if you are attempting metallic base coat and clear over.

A well intentioned idea in theory but doomed to failure from the outset IMO.

Sorry no offense meant , you did ask what peoople thought.

BTW I am a non professional sprayer with a fair bit of experience but I cant produce a "top notch" job still.

i have just had mine resprayed it has cost £1200 for a full respray Panther Black..

Looks great now.. would never try it myself again.. tried it once with some bumpers and I ended up spending more than a proper spray job,, and then had to pay to get it done again properly.

 

Sometimes it better letting the people who do this for a living to do it.. as they will have already dealt with alot of the problems, that you will face first time around...

 

and you wont be scratching your head... aftewards when it goes all wrong.. and wondering why the hell did you not just pay that couple of hundred extra and got it done properly..

I am an ameture sprayer and i'm just in the process of painting a p100. I have a 50l hoddy compressor which cant really keep up so when I painted it I did a panel at a time and had to wait for it to charge with air. You'll need a big compressor to paint properly.

I spent approx £500 on equipment and read about half a dozen books prior to practicing it.

The biggest problem to overcome is getting that ULTRA smooth surface as well as mastering the process and also knowing the paint. Paint suppliers are good with the knowledge on that so call them, listern good and write notes!

 

Reading this thread i'd not take offense of the advise given at all. I kinda seems off putting even though its not meant that way. I think if you do have time on your hands and you are genuinly interested in paint start small on bumpers etc in a garage and read/practice until you get a good job. It will take time. you need to get some kind of extraction going too but there is more to learn than is contained here and there's no quick way. You'll possibly spend more/as much as a blow over cost in practice.

 

Good luck

Don't try it.

 

 

I was in the spraybooth pretty much all last week and I still fooked up. I know how paint works etc as I've been airbrushing for about 2 years, but spraying bigger stuff is only recent i.e. 2 months in the new job. Ended up with a massive run on a sharp edge.

 

Once doing it frequently the techniques and the knack do start to kick in.

 

 

How much are you thinking your outlay will be? I'll put some prices down on all the bit's I would use.

 

 

Enviroment:

 

Gonna need to have about 4 foot clearance around all 4 sides of car at least.

Also gonna need to have some kind of extraction because without, clearcoat creates a massive heavy fog.

Needs to be bloody clean.

If a nosey neighbour catches you just venting clouds of spray dust out the garage door and reports it you'll be in trouble. (I think it's illegal to spray a car at home)

 

Air supply

 

Gonna need 100litre tank minimum with a high >12cfm rating. It needs to supply the gun and the air mask.

Airlines and connectors.

 

Personal Protection:

 

Full face visor air fed mask. Isocyanates are the 'hardener' for the paint basically. They are really dangerous. Seriously. They absorb just as much through your eyes as your lungs. Not forgetting your skin as well.

Those paper suit overall things.

Nitrile gloves.

 

Paint:

 

Don't even think about 1k paints. You need 2k (mix hardener in). So, you'll need 2k primer. Some basecoat which can be 1 or 2k. Lastly some 2k clearcoat. Now having found out the difference it makes you really want to make sure you use the manufacturers recommended thinners/additives etc. You can't just thin the paint with any old stuff. Different brands and types of paint each spray differently too, so you got to learn laying each one down.

 

For example this is what I have acquired for when I've gotten round to finishing some projects.

 

Glasurit 285-91 High Solids Grey Primer

Glasurit 352-91 Normal Reducer

Glasurit 929-55 Fast Hardener

Glasurit Sealer

 

Nexa Autocolor 2k Basecoat - Cobalt Green Pearl :)

Nexa Autocolor P210-796 Normal Hardener

Nexa Autocolor P850-1693 Mid temp Reducer

 

PPG Deltron D800 Clear

PPG Deltron D803 MS Normal Hardener

PPG Deltron D870 Fast Reducer

PPG Deltron Flexible Additive (to mix up specifically for painting bumpers, sideskirts etc)

 

The primer & clear I am able to er borrow it from work, but had to order the basecoat in. However to buy the above in quantities needed to paint your car you won't get much change out of £600-£700 quid.

 

 

Tools:

 

Spray gun - A good one *is* better, 'Sata' is what I've been using

Mixing/measuring cups

Paint strainers

Gunwash - lot's of

Tack rags

Panel wipe

All manner of sand paper.

Filler

 

 

Other things to consider:

 

You going to strip the old paint to metal? Mega hard work.

Most paints can be applied onto existing old sanded paint without issue. But what if the worst happens and there a reaction? back to bare metal :(

 

 

There's more stuff that I've forgotten but this little lot would cost probably as much as having someone else do it, and if this post doesn't put you off then fair play to you!!!

 

 

Jay

---

Edited August 10, 200817 yr by dublove

Thanks for all of your advice, and based on it I have decided to.....

 

.....not bother!! TBH washed and waxed her today (see What a Lovely Day thread in General Discussion) and she came up really well, also, got some G3 on some of the scratches and have finally got shot of them, so she really doest warrant a re-spray. I am consider having one of those mobile paint restoration people coming out at work and spending the day on her (the before and after effects a fab on the web site). I think in all honesty that will bring her up to her former glory.

 

I actually sprayed the front bumper and rear spoiler myself and did a pretty good job, got a 99% colour match too. As I am after a body kit, I think I will spray that and fit it myself, thats enough to "keep my hand in".

 

Thanks again for all of your replies!

 

Jon

If you want a "Top Notch Job", you have no choice but to take it to a professional.

Especially if you have no experience.

Cheers Steve, but I have decided against it!

 

Jon