Prep work for repainting a car

[Diamond500]

So been thinking about this for a while, my car is starting to peel in certain places mostly on the roof and i was thinking about repainting the whole car from a dark blue to a full black. This would be my first time sanding a whole car down and i have all the time i need to work on it i just need to know if a belt sander would work. And what grit sander paper would work for all this i heard start heavy then go to a very fine grit in the end. Can anyone help me out on the way to go with this.

Thanks guys

[Loslam]

Use a DA, and 320/400 grit finest before paint

[CortezDTV]

Its a ton of work.... dont paint black it shows the most imperfections...

I started with 80 grit to get thru the psint just for a sec

Then 120..... 220...

..320.... 400

Primer.... more sanding 220.... then 320. Then 400

then black then more sanding 800... then 1000 then 1500... more black

Then clear.... tyvec pad for days! And days.... still tyvec padding to this day.

.

Them buffing and more buffing

And way more buffing

[bsumpter]

If your first thought was to use a belt sander then i'd prob just walk away from it. Going with black is going to be one of the hardest colors to paint, because every little imperfection is going to show.

What you need is a DA sander (Dual Action). Prob with a 6" pad

320 the peeling area till they are gone, make sure to feather the edges.

Use a Red ScotchBrite and scuff all of the edges.

At this point you have to choose between Sealing or Priming.

If you go with Sealer, you would have to be confident that all areas are straight and true.

Hit it with some 800, seal and paint

If you go with Primer, this option gives you the option to block and sand out all the inperfections.

Block with 320, skim over quickly with a DA and 800, paint

Make sure any metal showing gets hit with some Etch Primer.

For instance when you sand out a scratch, if you dont know how to use a DA properly you'll leave a low spot which we call a "cats ass." You've sanded out the scratch, but thats it. All the area around it is still high and when you go to paint over it you'll see it.

To be honest I think it's over your head, but everyone has to start somewhere.

[Diamond500]

My friend wifes dad asked if i wanted the DA or the belt sander or both because i'm borrowing it from him. Since he told me he used both and worked great for him, but after hearing all the comments guess the DA is the right way. Thanks for the tips and help. I was thinking this, i was going to sand the whole car and take the paint off nice and smooth and was going to have a company paint it for me, since i don't have the area to paint it myself.