Read some of the old posts and went through the knowledge base, but still have a couple of questions.
I'm in the process of restoring my '89 Allante daily driver. Reached the point where I ought to consider painting it/having it painted. I'd like to do it myself, but I live in the city so I'm looking into what I can do myself, and what I can have done.
I want to paint everything, including the jambs and engine compartment, so I plan on removing the top, interior, glass, drivetrain etc.
Here's what I'm considering...
I have a garage that I can empty out, its a two-car, so I think I'll have plenty of room for the chassis, plus all the parts that are removed for painting. I figure I can do all the body work, priming and wet-sanding, then haul the body and parts somewhere to be painted (BC/CC metallic).
My questions.
- How important is it to use the same primer and paint manufacturer? Eastwood sells some priming products that claim to be compatible with all paints. Is "compatible" enough, or am I asking for trouble?
- Can I get away with primer in a spray bomb? A couple reasons I'd like to do this. First, I'll just be doing a little work every night. It's not worth the time to have to keep cleaning spray equipment. Second, I live in the city, so making a lot of fumes is bad. Lastly, I'm going to sand the primer anyhow, so as long as its "reasonably smooth" when applied shouldn't that be enough? Again, Eastwood appears to sell primer this way. It would cost a lot, but it might be worth it in my situation, if it won't affect the quality of the outcome. Another idea is to have the major assemblies primered by a local shop, then do the wetsanding myself and any further primering with a spray bomb. Is it "bad" to mix primers (by different manufacturers)?
- I don't have all that much bodywork to do (barring any surprises). One possibly challenging item is the aluminum hood. There's a ding from the inside out where someone must have closed the hood when something was left on the strut tower. Do standard bodyworking techniques apply to aluminum panels? Anything special I should be aware of?
- I read (in the hot rodding mags) that the best way to repaint a car is to paint it unassembled. Is this true? It doesn't seem like any shop is going to appreciate me showing up with a chassis in tow and a couple picup truck loads of primered body parts to paint. Should I have the "backs" of all the parts painted individually, then assemble the body back together and have the outsite painted all at once?
- I also read that baking the fresh paint is a big plus. Since I'll have just about everything off the body, I'll likely opt for this. Is it safe to bake the car with the tires on it? How about rubber suspension parts? Is it worth removing them to get higher temp bakes? Can I have the baking done later if I can find a way to do the paint myself at someone else's house?
- Lastly, assuming I do all the body work, buy the paint and clear and show up at a shop with all this in tow, roughly how much should I expect to pay to have the actual painting done?
I'm in the process of restoring my '89 Allante daily driver. Reached the point where I ought to consider painting it/having it painted. I'd like to do it myself, but I live in the city so I'm looking into what I can do myself, and what I can have done.
I want to paint everything, including the jambs and engine compartment, so I plan on removing the top, interior, glass, drivetrain etc.
Here's what I'm considering...
I have a garage that I can empty out, its a two-car, so I think I'll have plenty of room for the chassis, plus all the parts that are removed for painting. I figure I can do all the body work, priming and wet-sanding, then haul the body and parts somewhere to be painted (BC/CC metallic).
My questions.
- How important is it to use the same primer and paint manufacturer? Eastwood sells some priming products that claim to be compatible with all paints. Is "compatible" enough, or am I asking for trouble?
- Can I get away with primer in a spray bomb? A couple reasons I'd like to do this. First, I'll just be doing a little work every night. It's not worth the time to have to keep cleaning spray equipment. Second, I live in the city, so making a lot of fumes is bad. Lastly, I'm going to sand the primer anyhow, so as long as its "reasonably smooth" when applied shouldn't that be enough? Again, Eastwood appears to sell primer this way. It would cost a lot, but it might be worth it in my situation, if it won't affect the quality of the outcome. Another idea is to have the major assemblies primered by a local shop, then do the wetsanding myself and any further primering with a spray bomb. Is it "bad" to mix primers (by different manufacturers)?
- I don't have all that much bodywork to do (barring any surprises). One possibly challenging item is the aluminum hood. There's a ding from the inside out where someone must have closed the hood when something was left on the strut tower. Do standard bodyworking techniques apply to aluminum panels? Anything special I should be aware of?
- I read (in the hot rodding mags) that the best way to repaint a car is to paint it unassembled. Is this true? It doesn't seem like any shop is going to appreciate me showing up with a chassis in tow and a couple picup truck loads of primered body parts to paint. Should I have the "backs" of all the parts painted individually, then assemble the body back together and have the outsite painted all at once?
- I also read that baking the fresh paint is a big plus. Since I'll have just about everything off the body, I'll likely opt for this. Is it safe to bake the car with the tires on it? How about rubber suspension parts? Is it worth removing them to get higher temp bakes? Can I have the baking done later if I can find a way to do the paint myself at someone else's house?
- Lastly, assuming I do all the body work, buy the paint and clear and show up at a shop with all this in tow, roughly how much should I expect to pay to have the actual painting done?