DIY Painting Pro's and Con's

[writeb]

Hey all,
First of all, I found a sick source for front spoilers, etc.. But will not subject you to a poor source without me trying it first (or trying to negotiate a discounted group buy.. heh heh). I'm talking M3 style fronts for 160USD and M5 style fronts for e36 starting at 200USD. (I know, I know.. but wouldnt you at least have a look provided the chance!??, exactly...).

Anyways, Seeing how easy it is to pull off the front bumper cover, and install another one, I was considering doing the Painting and install myself. For my particular car, it is a somewhat tricky color because BMW occassionally has that metallic paint: EG Artic Silver, that requires the glaze coat as well.

I can have access to an air compressor and painting set up, and I was curious as to anyones experience trying to paint their own body components. Is it worth it?? What about the option of going to "Joes" automotive paint shop, or Maaco, or the Stealership to have them painted?? I'm looking at this through a cost effective lens here. So if going to the Dealer to have it painted and installed is more cost effective than finding the right paint, renting equipment, time lost, etc.. I would love to have your opinion.

And also very importantly; what is a good source for obtaining matching paint!!!! 309 Artic Silver in particular... *grin*.



Writeb
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1998 318ti Artic Silver Manual Tranny.

[Blueiii]

Maaco sucks when it comes to prep work. Be prepared for the paint on the front to peel off.

The dealership will charge one arm, one leg, and a "spare" testicle.

Joe's - if by this you mean the local body shop, you get some good some bad. I'd talk to other car people in the area and find a reputable body shop that charges reasonable prices for the work they do.

Just my .02

[writeb]

Hey, thanks for the reply..
Okay, so for now, it seems like the Dealership is out for now.

That sucks about Maaco, but I'll take your advice on it.

So it looks like locating some local auto body shops to do some painting and possible install work for me. I just bought a floor Jack and jack stands recently too, so who knows... If I cant find a decent price, I may have to size up the project solo!

Writeb

[armada_v]

If you don't have all the supplies already, I wouldn't do it yourself. The cost for everything needed will be just as much, if not more than it would cost you to have the dealer do it. Alot of the products needed come in certain quantities, more than you would ever need for your project. So unless you plan on painting alot of stuff, I would do the install yourself, and have a shop paint and color match it for you. Remember to test fit the piece first, including drilling holes and actually mounting it before you get it painted. This will prevent any damage to your new paint.

[J!m]

If you decide to paint yourself, remember you will need flex additive in addition to the color, clear, primer, hardener, reducer, acetone for cleaning the gun, scotch brite to scuff it down, possibly some wet-dry paper for fixing 'problems'... Full protective gear, a paint gun (most people will not lend them out, and a decent gun will be $200 alone). Add this all up and you are looking at 7-900$ for supplies- and the quality of the application may not be up to par.

Unless you plan to do many painting jobs, you should have a professional do it.

[318tibimmer]

You said that you have access to the Compressor and a paint gun and all, if you have all that. I say go for it. I preped painted and installed a body kit for my friends 2000 Mitsubishi Marage. It came out great (Until he wreked the car). Just depending the paint will run you prolly about $60-100 for the paint/clear coat/hardener/reducer. You may need some wetdry 220grit and some bondo to fix some trouble spots, like $15-20 tops. When you are painting and the paint kinda looks funny like you can see little scratches and stuff don't worry, just put about 3-4 coats of Color on there. When you spray the clear coat on the body pannel it will all go away. I would tell you to spray about 3 coats of Clear then let it setup for a couple of days. Then sand it down again and spray it again. Then sand it down one more time and then buff it up to shine. (You will get dust in the clear coat)

[aceyx]

gleaning from what i know through (two-wheel) friends that race:

use a good hvlp gun--"good" usually runs $200-300, the binks MG1 is an excellent example. the atomization is key, since you want to put on several, very thin coats. it will turn out smoother, chip less, and since you're using a metallic paint it will look "deeper." it will also save on paint cost.

you're going to need a compressor with more than 6hp to its name. make sure the lines are clean (oil/water will seriously mess up any paint job)

as J!m noted, proper safety gear: RESPIRATOR. cancer sucks, so make sure you're using the right NIOSH mask with new cartridges.

stick to the same brand of whatever paint system you use; house of kolor, ppg, dupont, etc. primer, paint and clear should all come from the same place, as they're developed for that purpose.

spend as much time on prep as you do spraying. your results will be in proportion to the amount of time (patience) you have in doing this.

if you're doing this in your garage, set up a booth with 4 mil vinyl sheeting, adequate exhaust and a clean floor. a light spray of water will keep down dust.

practice on old body panels. go to a scrap/junkyard and you can probably get pieces for free.


HERE'S WHERE YOU START READING AGAIN:

unless you plan on painting frequently (as racers do that dump their bikes) it's probably not worth it to invest in all the gear to do this yourself. a bad paint job really shows though. your best plan is to do all the prep work yourself, then take it to a shop to get sprayed. if they're not unbolting this and that and masking parts off, you're saving a lot in labor cost. ask what it costs to spray the piece, then offer them $50 more. it sounds stupid since you're trying to get a good deal but this is a time where you'll really get what you pay for.