How to paint a car

Do you want to learn how to paint a car? If your answer is yes, How To Paint A Car In Seven Days is the answer to your problem! With step-by-step instructional guides to lead you, you can now do away with expensive car painting and do the task of painting your car all by yourself!

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How To Paint A Car In Seven
Days
Learn How To Do Car Painting With Step-By-Step Instructions
By Andrew Carlsberg

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Copyright © 2012
All Rights Reserved

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Table Of Contents

Learn How To Do Car Painting With Step-By-Step Instructions
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Warning:
Things You Will Need
1 - Stripping The Paint
2 – Metal Work, Fixing Dents & Removing Rust
Fixing Rusts In The Car
Patching Up Small Holes
3 – Smoothing And Filling
Types Of Fillers
Applying The Filler
4 – Initial Painting
Sanding
5 – Final Paint
Options For The Top Coat
Applying The Final Top Coat
Final Buffing

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Introduction

Painting a car is very expensive, but sometimes we have no choice but to have our cars
repainted. In most cases, you can consider yourself lucky if you are able to dish out at least
$3000 for a “fairly decent” paint job. But in reality, you will most likely dish out twice or even
thrice that number if you want a quality paint job for your beloved ride.
Of course, you can try to do things on your own, which is exactly why I created this book
to help you accomplish that task. How To Paint A Car In Seven Days is a complete, step-by-
step instructional book material that will teach you how to paint your own car in under seven
days (assuming that the weather favors you of course). By following the instructions that I have
laid in this book, you don’t have to dish out tens of thousands of dollars for repainting your car. If
you turn out to develop your skill in car painting, why, you can even do car painting as your main
source of living!

Warning:

Please consult your doctor before trying to follow the instructions on this book. Some
people might be irritated by the chemical compounds included in car paint and other materials
that are used in car painting and your health is more important than anything.

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Things You Will Need

Here are the things that you will need for a car-painting project:
1. Gloves
2. Goggles
3. Face mask
4. Chemical stripper
5. Grit paper
6. Sander
7. Welder (not necessarily needed, unless you need to weld-in parts to replace rusty
sections of the car)
8. Welding mask (for welding)
9. POR-15 Paint
10. Paint spray respirator
11. Paint gun
12. Masking paper / masking tape(for covering the car while painting)
13. Filler
14. Paint
15. Fiberglass cloth (just in case you need to cover in some holes)
16. Painter’s suit
These are the minimum requirements that you must have, but these are not all the materials
you will use. More will be introduced in the book, and not all of them will be utilized because
each car will have its own different sets of problems.
Having said that, let’s start learning how to paint a car!

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1 - Stripping The Paint

In any car painting project, the first thing that you must do is strip the car of its old paint.
Decide on to take apart (to strip paint from underlying parts) and
how far you will go in stripping the paint. The best paint jobs must old paint stripped
and as much as possible all moldings, trim and bumpers
would be stripping the whole car to the shell, but for an paint
job it is not necessary.

Strip the car in whatever means that Chemical strippers will do a nice job, but
they remove all residue (not to mention they also make a
mess on the floor). Any small stripper left in some corner can ruin a paint job. And
besides, chemical strippers usually smelly and they burn the skin if not handled properly.
Just to add so all filler must be removed and

papers, sand the car until you see the underlying metal, but do not sand it too much because
you might create some deep scratches or vents if you overdo it.

job or you used a lacquer primer, a simple
be careful. Once you hit the metal, use an 80-grit paper better
paint adhesion. If the
removed and replaced. You can either use the 9- knotted wire
brush on a 4-1/2 inch angle grinder. I prefer the wire brush, but the choice is up to you

finances. Media
blasting with Walnut shells or d but is not recommende
hurricane. You
can also acid dip the car which will remove al paint, but the car must be entirely
stripped.

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2 – Metal Work, Fixing Dents & Removing Rust

After you have the car stripped, the metal work should start next. Metal work means
fixing the small damages that he body of the car might have sustained. This is important
because paint cannot hide the dents and scratched in a car.
this way
done.
Unless you are an artisan then you will have to use some dents. Be sure to not
have a bump in the final paint finish that cannot be
sanded down.

Often,
What you must do is to exchange the large dent or bum
holes t
through the holes.

Fixing Rusts In The Car

There is only one way to fix rust. Cut it out,
-
surface
should be plain steel and must not have any coating (e.g. galvanized
coat) weld. Use
wire brush or sander to prep the metal.

depression to the body metal for the patch to set in. A tool
is

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The new metal must be completely welded in
using a good MIG (metal inert glass) curren
tack the
metal in place using s inches around the patch.

a very slight pressure needed to hold the pieces together.
to 1/2 inch stri
surrounding metal gets too hot
to hold your hand on lay your hand over the area that is being welded.

minutes for a 6-by-
rolling
process. This process puts stress on the metal in the welding process which ca cause
warping reduces this possibility. The welding
spotted. Moisture can come in from the
filler, rough up the metal with a 24 grit disk on a 7 inch
grinder s
needed to cover up the patch.

Patching Up Small Holes

For surface rust in areas like the floor board where dents have there are
some Swiss cheese-
scale and sand away paint from the surrounding
area for abou Clean up all dust with a vacuum
etch the new metal that is not rusted. POR15 will not stick to clean m unless chemically

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etched, b coat of POR15
fiberglass
cloth. After it has dried
dries faster when it is damp out. It will not lift with the formatio
to peel that fiberglass cloth off again.

it paint for lack of
going to top coat the POR15 then you need to spra
through. I also recommend using
it under on the back side and over the back side of the welded-in patches.

not the same as rust converters (e.g. "Extend") does not convert the rust,
but instead covers it up which helps in getting to the rust which stops
any further rust spread. Don’t forget to w
your hands you will wear it for about 2 weeks. (
Toluene, Methel-ethel keytone, Tricholrethene, gasoline, Alcohol, Lac thinner, Carb
cleaner, Brake cleaner with Hexane, s get it off. Nothing worked.)

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3 – Smoothing And Filling

Now that all the dented and rusted metals are fixed, we need to make the car smooth
before we start painting it. And contrary to what most people believe, t
long and are much
and hard to find, hard to apply, hard to sand… really hard to use. And not
to mention that used can cause corrosion and paint problems.

Types Of Fillers

There are several types plastic fillers and it is important that you get to know each and
every one of them. Fillers with Fiberglass threads

spe --
cracking.

There is also a fine- imperfections and spots left
fro are made to be used either under or over the paint
and they to do so. These fillers
inch. The generic "Bondo" brand filler i sand.
You will find the f any higher priced than the Kmart
Bondo, but in my experience Bondo is much more tricky to sand.

Applying The Filler

Applying the filler can be somewhat of an art in itself. As a general rule and precaution,
m than what you think you will need. (this takes some

mixing;
cures because it hardened too fast. Too

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for ever to harden or might not harden at all. This is a tricky situation and only time and
practice can help you perfect this part.

will get unworkable (meaning, you can’t possibly use it anymore for filling) in 5
minutes, become turn totally hard after about 2 hours. Fillers
are
edges to avoid over-application. Once the area is properly covered, filler
from the edges to the center using the plastic scraper tool, it as smooth as possible to
the final contour. Once sandable, use a 9- random orbit sander with 36 grit pa
desired contour holding the sander almost totally flat to the metal.

file and 80-grit
paper. Work the air file in random directions to
also use a Dual Action (DA) sander with 80-grit paper. Never
use finer than 80-g more
rip
primer will take care of them. If you have to ap
I learned the hard way.

Another thing to remember about painting, can see low spots but not high spots in
the finish. Therefore, filler slightly high and don't have a low spot. I learned this
with a small sanding block.
filler that will show
You will then "feel" the high and low spots
th

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any more might require another book to get all
the information across.

Note:
do not clean your paint gun at once,
you will soon paint will cure in the gun in a short time. (
setting up before I could get it all sprayed on). N more hazardous
than the old lacquers and enamels so wearing a sufficient. At the minimum,
you should use a paint spra you are sensitive to chemicals or have some
breathing problems like asth then you need to wear an air-
pump sits outside and pumps fresh air in to you.

You could alternative wear a scuba or firefighters air tank. Most modern
through the skin and just to be on the safe side
painter’s suits when spraying paint. Paint can also affect and irritate your eyes, so do your
absolute best to protect them. Those little swimming pool eye covers and goggles
have a full face respirator. For most people, the paint exposure is low for a
single paint job that the respirator is a good enough solution on your health
condition too. (Paint sick standing outside the
door watching me). Use your own good judgment, but try to be on the “safe side” as much as
possible

Just to add, most
separate instructions from the paint store.

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4 – Initial Painting

For painting you will need a paint gun. I use a Devilbis
useless with today's paints. They
are just too t out from a suction feed gun. (High volume low-pressure)
HVLP guns may be used if yo
using a baking oven to make the finish smooth out.

we need to cover
up the bare met
what is underneath. I use Ditzler DP-40 epoxy primer. It mixes 1 the DP-402
catylist. You could also use Dupont Variprime acid primer.

the metal 2 good wet coats,
should be top co

sanding for proper paint bonding. I usually wait a
-
DU4 hardener, and 1 part DT860 reducer.

each coat flash before applying the next. Let the
and preferably overnight before you do the sanding prevent the
shrinkage of the primer you sandings with lacquer to
allow the reducer to completely evaporate. the old lacquers were usually not
high quality
be used with modern top coats as they may react and reduce p
time.

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Sanding

of lacquer.
This is called a "tracer". It is your guide to san paint. This procedure is called "Block"
sanding. Use 180-g sand the first coat of primer. You may think this funny, but you
can use a 3x inch piece of Styrofoam about 12 inches long stuck back to a 180-grit paper for
sanding by had has just enough resistance to not dig
in; just the perfect hand-made solution for you! By hand sanding,
diagonal strokes trying to keep the sanding stroke at least 12 inch
primer with a 180-g the paint,
changing directions every so often.


that you will see in the paint later. When sanding with a small b
we are looking for when sanding the primer is the
removal of the entire
sanding.

Just
see those massive sanding scratches go away. If,
reach the the
area because it means you is real low or
you have some "chip" spots, these can be easily polyester filler I
possible for the polyester fill to be perfect. Sand the filler
with 80-grit using the 9- random orbit sander, the Dual Action sander or the Air file. Onc
the 180-grit, add more primer.

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If you still have tracer paint or you have more filler, then try to apply 2 heavy
coats. Wipe or blow off all the
car again and not just paint a
little heavier in the areas that you know are low (meaning, the dents are quite deep)
have no tracer showing. If you have no more tracers showing, heavy coat. When it
is already dry, sand it with 400-grit paper by b Use 600-
By this time, you should already have a very smooth car ready for the final layer
of paint!

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5 – Final Paint

Remove all the masking tape or masking paper from the car as you will need to add new
ones paint job so you
want to avoid this problem as much as possible
has a
couple hours to dry before painting. It will mask it off anyway. Use the
air hose to blow air in all areas of the car; t

crevice somewhere done blowing all the dust
off the car, reapply the mas a well-ventilated area.

If you are doing the car painting f
hour after, let it blow all the dust that is airborne out. If you
want to clean the floor mess or sweep the floor, now is the perfect time for you to do so. After
that, you won’t be able to sweep the floor again until you are If you are having a calm and
clear day, you can also opt to paint outside kicked up and carried by the wind will
get in the paint, so a closed-area is almost always preferred for car paintingprojects.
will make the
dust on the floor unable to fly off and stick to your car while you are painting
OK because the water makes it stick to the floor even after the water dries.

B
job. With our fan r
Variprime
as a sealer. If you desire, 100% DT860 or 870 reducer to
make it a lot easier to then you will have to wait a couple of hours
before applying the color Non-reduced, you can go and apply the
colored paint, then you may want to use the DP red

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instead of the #40-g- color
coat.

Options For The Top Coat

Lacquer
You have several options for doing the
once the paint of
Up into the 80s GM cars were painted with non clear coat
easily with time. Most lacquer
finishes are clear coated but don't have t be.

applications, use about 3 coats of clear.
afraid to lay the paint on heavy. If you
paint too slow, they you will s
wait about a month before sanding and buffing.

Enamel

The next paint you can choose is
the Enamel will takes week to get really hard and
the whole t
temperature reducer at about 100%.

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Urethane

Next choice is Urethane single-
paint ma
waxing and does not need to be
buffed.

Basecoat

By far the best top coating is the Basecoat-clear coat
clear and D
Too dry of coat and it
will not smo
dry about an hour and sand with water and 1000-g
apply a little more color to the area where the run is.

Since
and even aft
flashed off, mix up
some Clear and get ready
part. It took me about 2 1/2

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Applying The Final Top Coat

Spray clear with 2 very heavy coats, letting it dry

minute w
shops get all the orange peel out of t
jobs so smooth
without buffing. This clear coat hours of painting and should be sanded
and buffed within 72 hours
buffing.

longer may le
hour for the previous color coat to dry and
those guys use to paint
those wild flames on cars.

Sanding clear coat is similar to sanding the 400-g
or 1200-g
out the rough areas. If you don't sand enough, rough when you
are Often, I don't even sand the
edges of the paint for this reason.

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Final Buffing

to be very careful in buffing the car
-
in a small, 2x2 area. Run t
medium pressure over the area until the compound starts to dry.

drying, increase the speed to 1500 rpm and use light pressure in order to
to a gloss. Often it takes doing this 2 o

if necessary. A buffing wheel running onto an edge will rip the paint. If the buffer
is not working the finish up to a shine, needs to be cleaned.
away at th

Foam pad. Use the Foam pad compound for th
good. As a final finish, apply some type of a
paint. Eagle 1 Carnauba was is
pretty good and smells kinda neat too.

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To summarize, this is how your schedule will pan out if you plan to paint a car
on your own



1 day to apply filler and smooth




All-in-all, the process only takes 7 days! (If you take your car to an auto shop, you will have to
wait more than a week for sure. Sometimes even months)

That’s it! I hope you had a great time reading this guide to painting your own car. With all the
equipments and materials included, you will be able to save a lot of money if you can paint your
car on your own. This is the first step towards achieving that goal and I hope you appreciate and
apply what you learned from this book! So long!



To Your Car Painting Success
Andrew Carlsberg

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