DIY Painting

[Uncle Buck]

If you been following the work on my 69 you know I have a few parts that need to be painted.
A fender, lower valance and a headlight bucket.

I’ve heard that painting single stage metallic paint is not easy for a DIY.
It doesn’t need to be perfect since the rest of the car is far from it, just respectable.

Any advice?

Should I give it a go or just find some one to shoot them for me?

[RedSN]

What’s the worst that could happen?
I’d go for it. What better project to experiment and learn on.

[Laffs]

Single stage metallic is tricky to get the metallic to lay flat and even to avoid uneven areas, tiger stripes and colour shift.

Personally seeing how well you have handled the body work stage I think it would be a challenge you can tackle and enjoy. Just be warned it's likely not going to match the rest of the car exactly without a few test panels, colour mix changes and some trial and error but the pride at the end and having that skill set are pretty priceless.

[hammerhead]

With single stage I don't think you should have too much trouble its easier than base coat than clear coat. The problem with single stage and metallic is you may see very little metallic afterwards because the paint is very thick. Some paint companies won't mix metallic single stage. I've experienced this in the past. Laying down two stage is not too hard but technique is important. Also the clear coat can be tricky to not get runs and sags. Runs and sags can be carefully cut and buffed. Single stage is fairly simple to use and can be fixed with cut and buff. Single stage with metallic in if will not cut and buff very well. good luck I'm looking forward to seeing your progress. I'm assuming your using urethane.

I was looking back at your pieces and its a good idea to primer the complete piece before painting. Not a good idea to paint over bare bondo and old paint you may see the transition in the finish.

[5.4MarkVIII]

With metallic consistency is key. Air Pressure. Spray Distance, speed.

Best bet hit up the scrap yard or market place or local body shop and see if you can score a take off hood or something to do some testing and practice with.

Things to look out for

Air. You absolutely need an air compressor that can keep up with the air volume. You don’t want to be part way threw and get pressure drop. Less of a deal if your spraying a solid colour but with metallic variance in pressure changes how the flake lays

Moisture. Pick up a dryer or some single use dryer cartridges. To remove any air and oil from the air compressor

Dirt. Depends on how clean your space is. You may be able to get away with just wetting down the floor. Other options are a tent or if you have the space a cheap car shelter inside you garage. Depends on how picky you want to be about dirt or the need to polish.

Enjoy.

[Moadkarcia]

If you're looking for a respectable but not necessarily perfect result, you can certainly give it a try if you're comfortable with the process.

[Ponyryd]

I’ve been debating this myself as I have a pair of fenders to do for my truck. I thought it was single stage (non-metallic) so I was just gonna prep and shoot it in the shop with my cheap gun, then wet sand and buff any imperfections out, but it’s base/clear so I’m a bit nervous now and will likely end up dropping them off somewhere.
As stated here it depends how picky you are, and this being a month ago maybe you’ve already figured it out, but if it “doesn’t need to be perfect” give it a try, you may surprise yourself.

[Uncle Buck]

I did shoot them myself. Honestly my research says base clear is actually a bit easier because you can correct the base if needed and correcting clear is easy.

I’d say the key is a decent gun. The R500 I bought was highly rated and very affordable. I got it on eBay. It’s a LVLP so good for small compressors and the overspray is less.

In the end I’m happy although the colour match isn’t good but a more modern colour will likely be a better match.

37120

37121

[hammerhead]

I think if you went base clear the colour match may have been closer. Metallic gets lost in the single stage, also metallic in the single stage is harder to correct should runs, sags or orange peel need repair. Single stage without metallic is more forgiving to corrections. Sometimes with single stage I will lay down a few coats of clear at the end of the paint process which will make corrections simpler. Looks good tho!