Painting the Car... Finally (Part 1)

I know it has been a while since my last post, but between the wettest period in Sydney's history and having a new baby, it has been hard for me to progress with the car painting.

So last week I took some time off work, which went something like this: "Guess what, I am having a week off work" I said to my wife, "wonderful, are you doing that to help me with the baby?" she replied naively. "No, I need to finish painting the car" ...silence, then I swiftly ducked below the oncoming swinging hand, and it was time to start.

First, all the hi-fill primer was wet sanded with 800 grit paper. This was very fast and you have to be careful not to over do it as you will sand right through the primer back to your original paint. Just wet sand all areas until they are smooth.

 

Next it was time to get a tow to the spray booth.

 

Now the hard but exciting part; final prep, masking and painting. Once you are at the booth (or converted garage) and you are getting ready to paint, you will need to clean the car. Needless to say, do not do this in the booth or you will get dust in there and eventually in your paint job.


Firstly blow all the dust off the car using your compressor and air blow gun. Make sure you get into all the nooks around the window, under the cowling (aka scuttle),  in the door and boot jambs, around the wheels and under the car.

Then get an old rag or sponge and clean the wheels, wheel arches and underneath. If you use water for this part, you should to wait for it to dry before painting. And finally, get a clean, lint free rag and get all the fine sanding dust of the car body and glass.

Now get the car in the booth and mask it off. The masking process is time consuming and not much fun. When masking up the car you have to make sure all the areas you do not want painted are covered.


When you begin to paint, all the airborne paint particles will get into any little gaps which have been left unmasked, so make sure you do this step properly. Mask off all the glass, inside door and boot jambs, over then engine and cover the wheels and suspension.

Take your time with masking everything up as it will save you from having to remove unwanted paint later if it is not done properly. Now, after all the hard work, comes the fun bit... applying the paint