Painting Cars Advice - Hobby?

[_paralyzed_]

23.5/.5

[RyanJ]

23.5/.5

Got ya. And I'm assuming I could start in the beginning to help get rid of the original paint by using an orbiter than I have to move onto hand sanding / hand wet-sanding in between coats and such to make sure I feel the paint? Or no orbiter at all. Well, that just summed up pretty much the definition of hardwork pays off. 23.5 / .5 is craaaazy. That last .5 must be so rewarding.

Also read that I do not need to sand AFTER my final clear coat if it IS a good paint job. No orange peel, nothing. I'm still reading man . The way it sounds, I am for sure 100% still interested but I am more concerned about the initial cost for materials / paint per job. 1000$ for just paint per job is intense, and someone I think also mentioned it could go up to ~$2000+ just for the paint. I could handle the 23.5 hours of sanding, but will it be worth it in the end due to the paint I buy?

If I wanted to repaint my bumper / rear bumper due to freeway scratches and rock chips, will I need to repaint my COMPLETE car so the car doesn't mismatch colors? My car is 5 years old (2011) so the paint diminished a little by the sun I'm assuming. Or could I just repaint the 2 bumpers with OEM paint and hope it isnt that bad (I do not want to do this)

Thanks Paralyzed btw

[_paralyzed_]

That's just a ratio. I feel a whole car would have more than 24 hours of work to complete. I have no idea on man hours involved. My guess would be 50 start to finish. Hopefully someone in the industry chimes in.

You are correct that factory paint likely won't match due to fading. A whole repaint isn't necessary. Look into the technique called "blending". You basically fade it into the surrounding panels and trick the eye to think it's all the same color. I know menards has machines that can scan a color and come up with a paint formula to match it, I don't know if that exists for cars?

You sound motivated. It's worth it.

[Broke_Audio_Addict]

Depends on the level of quality you are trying to achieve.

When I painted houses we could come in and do a cheap job start to finish in a day (exterior), but other jobs that required tons and tons of prep and a high level of detail could take months (possibly up to a year or more depending on the size of the house).

Different types of painting but the same thing applies, crappy paint jobs are quick, and good ones take lots of time.

[RyanJ]

Got you. Well for me, I want to do it as perfect as possible. Im fine with 50 hours. I do not want to waste this type of time and money to be less than 100% satisfied, especially with something I might be driving around in haha. I still have a lot of reading to do, and I need to find out if my garage is even capable of being turned into a working paint booth with proper air flow, etc. But you guys gave me a HUGE idea of what it is like and what may be ahead of me.

OFF TOPIC QUESTION: For my G37, I bought it used and unfortantely, the previous owners got scratches all around the car. Its all spread out. I ran my finger nail across it and most of them, it did not get stuck so I assume I can buff it out. Does anyone know any good buffing kits? I was looking at the 3M , not sure.

[_paralyzed_]

3m anything is good.

[Broke_Audio_Addict]

Rupes.

[Broke_Audio_Addict]

Although that's another art form of its own.

[3vil]

Without seeing your car in person, and having no idea how good of a final product you want, I'd say 100 hours is a safer bet, with about 6 or so hours being actual spray time. And you will be sanding after it's painted/cleared if you want a good glossy finish. The chances of you laying the clear down perfectly, without dirt nibs/orange peel/or runs, in a garage, with 0 paint experience are very slim. You have a friend who does body work, that's good, milk him for labor and pay him in beer.

[Mtnbikecrazy55]

You would be surprised what good hands, the right compounds/pads, and a solid DA can get you.

Check out Ammo NYC on YouTube, shit you'll be gone for days haha