Was your backyard paintjob worth it?

The reason I ask is I ran the numbers and I'm going to be about $750-850ish into a bc/cc paintjob before I'm done, and a high dollar buddy of mine told me DIY isn't worth it unless you do it more than once, and I guess I was kinda taken aback and a little disappointed in him.

I mean it's hard dirty work, but at the same time isn't it cool to do your own paintjob? I mean, my bucket is so wavy no shop would even attempt to straighten it for under at least 2 or 3 grand, and I sure don't blame them, money is in collision, not customs.

so, backyard painters, was it worth doing? How much did you drop and what do you think a shop would have charged? Just ballpark. I had to buy sandingboards and hammers and whatnot, that's in my total.

I figure if I completely botch it , well , I've spent more money on stupider things, I'll get a cheapie 1 day paintjob and at least I tried.

So was it worth it? Will/have you done it again? Happy with the results?

From that backyard paintjob thread, some of you guys do amazing work.

EDIT: Just in case anbyody is interested this is where I'm planning on getting my paint, price and quality is good according to my research.

Not an Alliance Vendor, but I'll ask 'em!


http://www.smartshoppersinc.com/

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So far im planing on doing my own too..getting some advise from the painters in the HAMB house.

BC/CC too..I have a line on getting the materials from a Ford supplier so Im hopeful that will keep my cost down.

Im wishing you luck..as I am wishing myself luck

 

If you've got it straight, why not take it to Maaco?

 

I have done 5, all but 1 (not the 1st) came out good.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


Yes X2,
How long does their paint last, are you keeping your project for that length of time?

 

I always considered my "backyard" paintjobs to be worth it, and based on the compliments of other folks who had absolutely no reason to suck up, the results were very good looking to others, as well as to myself. However, there is a caveat involved here. Over the years I painted many, many cars in small garages and backyard settings, but the paint then was relatively INEXPENSIVE!!! 3 quarts of Dulux enamel, and a gallon of reducer could be had for about a hundred dollars. Even when I moved up a notch into the realm of catalyzed acrylic enamel, the total cost of paint, reducer, and catalyst sufficient to do one car didn't exceed $200. However, now, due to the influence of the environmentalists the chemistry of paint and paint related products have grown so high that you can hardly afford to take the chance on screwing up a paintjob. Like goztrider says---why not try Maaco?

 

Maaco sucks. At least the one in my area. SHITTY prep and worse paint. Runs and drips everywhere. Thin spots, bugs stuck in it, dirt in the paint, etc.

Went back and they would not fix the obvious bad spots. Then the gas tank overflowed a bit in the hot sun and took the paint off the side of the car.

They would not fix that either.

MAACO is probably OK for cars you are going to flip, but not one you want to keep. I'm sure your results vary with each place.

 

I've done 3 garage paint jobs, i'd say it was worth the effort on all of them. I've also prepped 1 car for paint at maaco and 1 for paint at earl scheib . I knew the painter at Maaco and asked how he likes them prepped and masked and brought it to him as he wanted.It took me about about 12-14 hours to prep and strip the car down to what it needed to be. Paint job cost $300 and looked like a $2500 paint job though, even the painter was surprised how well it turn out after i wet sanded and buffed it. When i was getting my dad's truck painted at earl scheib paint job was $400 and i kicked an extra $100 to the paint to "make it nice" and it looked good (charcoal grey with heavy metal flake) . And paint is all about prep if it ain't prepped right doesn't matter how expensive the paint is or where you paint it , it's going to look like poo.

 

I am one of those who say yeah, it was worth it.I had a car prepped and then painted by Maaco.Runs,drips,errors,thin spots,fuzzy areas.I said,Hell I can do better than that myself.And damned if I didn't.Its all preparation.Remember, nobody will put in the effort that you will.I saw a $5000 paint job on a car that I would be ashamed to say I painted it.Once you do one,you will want to do any more cars you acquire.I would suggest though that you start with an opaque color like black or something with no metallic or hues in it.They take practice.
Just take your time and talk to some people that paint to get the tips on doing it right.And remember,paint does not hide anything,it just colors it.If you got shitty body work then you will accentuate the problem.
It feels good to say, "Yeah,I did everything,including the paint".
To quote Rob Schneider....."You can do it!"

 

I had a '98 Malibu prepped and painted at the local Maaco, and I was happy with their work. No flies, dust, or goobers. The colour was off a bit from original factory colour, but since the whole car was painted there was no visual comparison after the fact.

 

There's a guy in the club who paints cars, and he really does a good job (even though he admits to being only so-so), but his best stuff is the single stage paint jobs. Maybe two-tone, not that "fancy" base-coat clear-coat stuff

Anyway he does a lot of sanding. I mean a lot. So much so, that's I'd never take up that hobby!

I've noticed he has a method, and that seems to 1) get the old paint off any way you can, 2) do the body work, mods, welding, etc, 3) use a high-build primer and that filler with the short fiberglass stands in it, 4) Sand most of all that off to get down to a smooth surface. 5) Use your base primer with a contrast darker color over it, and sand until all the low spots are filled, 6) final primer and clean for single-stage paint.

Every day you have to sweep-up about $200 in primer and filler into the trash can.

I don't mean to start any filler abuse threads. My friend seems to use a squeegee and puts it on real thin to raise the low spots.

 

Hey,

I can't think of a good reason for a guy to not give a paint job a try himself! Isn't the idea, here ,to DIY? Last I checked, it was the streetrodder/restorer gents that wrote a check for services rendered! I just love listening to guys tell me "when I built MY car" really, what brand of finish is that? Is that 2 coats of base or 3? Hum, no shit? Isn't the whole idea of hot rods/kustoms about the experience? Any poser can write a check!
I would not suggest anyone spend $800-1K in materials on a vehicle unless the metal was "dead-titts" straight, panelfitment was perfect, and you were finished with the project (who is ever finished with a kustom or hot rod?)! You should be able to do a job like this in an alkyd/fleet type finish for 25%-50% of these costs and expect it to last five years. Will you own it in five years? Something to keep in mind, when these vehicles were new, their paint finishes were either lacquer or alkyd enamel if they were produced prior to 1958. Today's urethane finishes do give better colour holdout, but continue to present problems with adhesion of base coats and clearcoats EVEN when all correct painting methods are followed!

Swankey Devils C.C.
" Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion! "

 

Painting a car is something that you CAN do---don't get me wrong. Yes, preperation is a very big part of it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend that you spend $800 on paint and then start out to spray your car without some practice sessions first. Before I painted my first car (and Damn--it was a long time ago), I painted a few old hoods and fenders first to get the feel of using a paintgun, spray technique, wait time between coats, ---that kind of thing. And yes, for your first few paint jobs stick to simple organic colours--not metallics.

 

You bet its worth it. And after your done you can say what many can't.......I did the paint. Remember, the most important and hardest part is the prep work.
So go for it, its pretty hard to screw up base, clear paint , just look what you'll learn.

 

I do all mine. The Merc was my third.



I had about a grand in all the body material. Paint, primer, sandpaper, tape, everything.

BUT, bodywork makes a hell of a mess. If you are blowing all your Bondo dust into the neighbors pool filter...you might wanna pay someone else to do it.

It's an ass load of work..I hate it.

Good luck, -Abone.

 

U KAN Due it!!!

 

Go for it. If you have a good compressor (5 hp 10 to 15 cfm) buy a good HVLP gun ($350 to 500) . Check Kirker paints or SPI you donot have to use PPG or Dupont. Goto some forums like Autobodystore.com or autobody101.com they have some pros that will help you out. And give you good advice. I have seen some nice paint jobs by members who did it in their back yards. I hope you have good neighbors because this is becoming illegal in most neighborhoods. 36fordguy

 

If you do the prep yourself and buy quality materials, $200 and a case of beer will get you a wonderful paintjob from maaco on a saturday. I have a friend who does this all the time. He only paints for the$$$$$. Maaco does do shitty prepwork, but they do lay down a lot of paint. He goes through about 3500 gallons of color a year and has had quite a few saturday jobs bring home a trophy. I also have seen people rent a mini storage unit for the month and spray it in the unit for dust free and move out the next day. Not best in my opinion, but better than open air and epa or dnr fines of $1500 plus.

Jon

 

Has anyone used the Summit brand paint stuff in their home sprays? I saw an article in Streetrodder a few months ago and they were raving about it. Any thoughts out there?

 

I think anyone can paint a car. Just don't get in a hurry and pay attention to the things that are required in preparing one. I have shot many cars with a $100 paint gun. As a matter of fact the last HVLP I bought was from NAPA in a kit with two guns and a touch up gun for $100!! I use one for primer and one for base and clear. Just clean em good. The body work is the hard part. Take your time and pay attention to sanding also. there is a correct way and a wrong way, you'll get the hang of it like anything else. Use a good urethane primer. Wax and grease remover is your friend. If you are going to re-coat a car that has original paint, wash thoroughly, then wax and grease remover the car BEFORE starting any sanding. Too much to go into here, but you CAN do it!! There is a web site I saw the other dat, I think it's PaintsForLess. com or something, I saw neat colors for 150 bucks, urethanes ect...that was a gallon of BCCC with the hardener, clear and reducers! $150 bucks!! Lippy

 

I like to paint, and think it's a skill worth learning. I'd practice on some masonite sheets or something you don't care about first, if you've never held a gun before. You can get some cheap enamel, or odd ball colors of whatever you plan to shoot from the paint store, and there's LOTS of primer to get on before you do the BB/CC. Have fun!

 

Our bodyshop is painting with water born paint, and this may be the way to go if you do it yourself. You can paint a panel,and if it doesn't look right, grab the hose and spray it off without ruining it, then just dry it, make sure its clean again and shoot it again.I've seen this done, and its no BS.

 

PM on its way. You can do this job way cheaper than what you are pricing out and still use decent products. I'm all for the DIY, but not when you're dropping $800-$1k on something that might get wiped off.

 

What's the cost on water born paint that will cover a average size car?

 

PM Spanish Fly on here, he's our bodyman, and could tell you more details, I know we use Glasurit paint, which probably costs a little more than the other name brands.But I'm pretty sure companies like PPG,Dupont, etc.. all have this stuff too.

 

Do it yourself. You will feel much better in the end when everyone is drooling on it. Besides you can always sand it down and do it again if you screw up. I would stay away from MAACO or ask for some help thru the HAMB. There may be someone close that you can "learn" from. Talent on here is amazing.

 

Prep, prime and paint is not a black art. Beg, borrow or whatever a fairly decent spray gun and other tooling...compressor. Start off by painting a metal filing cabinet or that refrigerator in your garage. Listen to others with more experience. Learn how to do it. We ALL had to learn sometime. Whenyou are feelin g particularly proficient, do your car. And post photos!!

 

One of my car buddies had a decent '55 Chevy PU that he did all of the prep work on, then took the rolling cab to the local Maaco on a Saturday, then the bed the following weekend. He then assembled the interior and installed the glass, then the bed and lastly, buffed the paint out. Even from five feet, the truck looked like he'd just had a $5K paint job on it, and in actuality, he had less than $800 in the prep and paint, total! Nine years later, the paint is still holding up well. The factory paint on his 2002 Chevy pickup doesn't look half as good!

 

It's simple. The dirty work is the hard work. After you've done that, you can finish it yourself for about a hundred bucks, or almost any classy color for another fifty, which is what a gallon of good ppg acrylic enamel basic color single application will cost you. I see base/clear system as doing the job twice. First coat of good one-step acrylic enamel is all I'll ever need.

If you don't like it after the first shot, wait a week and block it fir a re-do it with what's left of that gallon. Biggest mistake I see first-time painters make is they put on too much material. A good cross/tack coat, dried for an hour, with final wet coat is plenty.

OR, if you got a pretty good job on the first shot at it, but want it slicker, wet-sand it with 1200 and shoot it with clear.

As far as a booth goes, I rent one for $75 for the entire day. With prep/prime/sanding done ahead of time in the back yard, a quick wash on the way to the booth, 2 hours of wipe-down and skuff off of the turds, then the masking, I'm done shooting the color by 3PM.

 

My 2 cents: Go for it. As mentioned above this is all about DIY. I painted a lot of cars in driveways. Some I never admitted to (blamed those on Maaco or Earl Scheib) and others turned out ok. None were outstanding, but thats not what I do for a living. The new paints are really amazing compared to the old ones, although you gotta pay a lot more for them. The best paint jobs were after lots of color sanding and buffing. Like in the movie: Spray on, sand off. Spray on, sand off.