To paint it myself or to get it painted??

[thestu]

Hey guys,

I'm tied between two worlds...

I'm in the midst of painting my WHOLE CAR! (except door jambs and engine bay)

Do I buy acrylic and do it in the garage?

Do I pay someone to do it in a booth with 2 pack?

I am confident in spraying but there is a lot of work to buff it all after its done and i have heard that after a while acrylic shrinks into repairs.

2 Pack is more expensive and needs to be painted in a booth to be done right.

I would get a lot of satisfaction from doing it myself but i'm unsure if its the right thing to do?

Some input would be great guys and girls

Stu

[The_Hawk]

What part exactly do you want to paint? (or is it the whole car?)

I know I suck at painting (although I want to give it another bash) and the results on my front textured strip are ordinary at best... although I can see that another sand, paint and clear might just make it passable.

Depending on what exactly it is your painting it could be worth a try, after all if it sucks you just sand it off and give it to the experts.

[thestu]

Yes sorry the whole car!

Well i have painted some stuff before and the guard, bonnet and grill i did turned out awesome after i buffed it all up...so maybe i should...but 2 pack is stronger and more chip resistant! AHHH! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!

[Jace]

At least get quote for a 2-pack, in booth job.

If you're really keen, you could always try and borrow a booth. If you know someone at a small panelshop, they might charge you something like $200 a day for use of the booth.
Then you'd have all the lighting and drying facilities you'd need, as well as somewhere clean to mix the paint etc.

[thestu]

Well i rang a bloke around the corner and I told him my situation.

Car is dent free, all in primmer and masked up and i also have purchased all paint and thinners. So I rub the primmer down and basically roll it the booth he paints it and i get it back and i have to buff it. Hardly even worth it really...

He said $500 to get her all painted.

Maybe i should just give it a go!

[WABIT]

save the cash and get it done properly, sure its good to paint it yourself, but if your not 100% confident in the way itll turn out, get someone who knows to paint it.....

dom

[Tim]

how durable is acrylic compared to 2 pack? I guess it comes down to if you want to do it to learn or if the end result is more important.

I think what woody did was the wisest move. Do all the grunt work yourself but let a pro weild the spraygun. His car turned out awesome.

[thestu]

The thing is I have spoken to a lot of people that have painted acrylic and even pros won't get it nice n shiney off the gun...it always needs to be buffed...so thats why i'm leaning towards doing it myself...

Stu

[thestu]

how durable is acrylic compared to 2 pack? I guess it comes down to if you want to do it to learn or if the end result is more important.

I think what woody did was the wisest move. Do all the grunt work yourself but let a pro weild the spraygun. His car turned out awesome.

Your right that did turn out bloody awesome!

hmmmmm

the other part of me wants to learn though and i get a lot of satisfaction out of doing it myself!

[Jace]

Acrylic's harder than two-pack and consequently will chip easier and crack easier with flex (IIRC) (correct me if i'm wrong!)
You want to do DG, same colour yourself, just set up your workspace as well as you can!
I'm yet to paint a car but it's not rocket science; blow out all dust, wet the floor, new plastic sheeting everywhere including ceiling, rig up some kind of exhaust fan and hope for the best!

It's then though, that the lighting will suffer. And by the time you set it all up properly, it would've been easier to pay a pro with a properly ventilated and well lit booth to do it for you. $500 sounds pretty reasonable.

[Jarred]

woody actually did alot of spraying himself. (2 silver base coats from memory)

500 is mighty cheap for someone else to do it. the cost of all the 2 pak materials would be close to that! He also wont stand by the paint job if it has problems later (cause you did the prep, so pass blame there) Mickey was in the same situation, he paid fair bit more, and it wasn't perfect first time out either.

hiring a booth would be nice, and then painting yourself. it's much easier than in a small poorly light etc garage. it's nice and clean in the booth, which will help the finish.

Acrylic will be fine as long as you do it right! pleny of old cars still have OG paint were done acrylic/enamel, so you don't need 2K to get a long lasting finish.

If you wanted a show car, yes get it done in 2K. but if you practice lots and take your time (and do lots of buffing) you'll be able to get acrylic home job just as good as an el cheapo 2K, IMO!

you've put the hard work in, you may as well finish it yourself. you dont get your license back till next year, so you have plenty of time to leave the buffing for later months.

just my 2 bob.

[Water Boy]

Wait til it warms up.

I did a heap of work myslef but I was patient and waited til I had time and people to help me.

If the prep is mint go for the $500 it mite save you heaps of hassle and cost but then again it mite bite u in the bum.

BTW my mate is booked out for at least 2 months.

[thestu]

I've already put tarps and lights up under the carport...so thats a plus!

I'm leaning towards doing myself because it will work out cheaper and i can't drive my car there

Stu

[thestu]

woody actually did alot of spraying himself. (2 silver base coats from memory)

500 is mighty cheap for someone else to do it. the cost of all the 2 pak materials would be close to that! He also wont stand by the paint job if it has problems later (cause you did the prep, so pass blame there) Mickey was in the same situation, he paid fair bit more, and it wasn't perfect first time out either.

hiring a booth would be nice, and then painting yourself. it's much easier than in a small poorly light etc garage. it's nice and clean in the booth, which will help the finish.

Acrylic will be fine as long as you do it right! pleny of old cars still have OG paint were done acrylic/enamel, so you don't need 2K to get a long lasting finish.

If you wanted a show car, yes get it done in 2K. but if you practice lots and take your time (and do lots of buffing) you'll be able to get acrylic home job just as good as an el cheapo 2K, IMO!

you've put the hard work in, you may as well finish it yourself. you dont get your license back till next year, so you have plenty of time to leave the buffing for later months.

just my 2 bob.

True true...

At least if i do it myself i can paint all the panels off the car and do it gradually because its not getting driven and its not in sunlight to fade.

I would start buffing about 2 months down the track so it can harden up!

Wait til it warms up.

I did a heap of work myslef but I was patient and waited til I had time and people to help me.

If the prep is mint go for the $500 it mite save you heaps of hassle and cost but then again it mite bite u in the bum.

BTW my mate is booked out for at least 2 months.

Can i book it in with him? did you ask him a rough cost?

[Water Boy]

Can i book it in with him? did you ask him a rough cost?

Ummmmmmm I just asked if he was busy and he said flat out booked out for 2 months.