How to Paint a Сar Yourself - A Guide for Beginners

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If your car stopped looking good over time, you probably want to return it to its former neat and shiny look. You can seek professional help or do it yourself - it’s easier than it may sound and will cost you way cheaper. All you need for this are information, proper tools, some free time and effort.

The aesthetic function of the paint surface layer on the car body is far from being the main one. It is designed to protect the metal structure from aggressive environmental influences and mechanical damage. Car paint protection helps to preserve these features.

Painting a car is a complex procedure that will require you to obtain certain knowledge and skills  and get special tools and materials. However, a deep study of the question of how to paint the car yourself will boost your confidence and help you to carry out all the work correctly. Preparing tools and materials is the starting point.

What Tools Do You Need to Paint a Car Yourself?

It is important to not only collect the necessary tools from the list, but also to understand what operations they will have to perform:

- Screwdrivers and wrenches - for dismantling individual elements;

- An electric drill and nozzles for it - to remove the old coating and foci of corrosion;

- Welding machine - to eliminate defects that occurred due to a violation of the integrity of metal structures;

- Grinder - for polishing the surface;

- Spatula, chisels, scrapers and brushes - to eliminate body defects and level the surface;

- Heat gun - for removing old paintwork, drying surfaces at the preparatory stages.

What Materials Are Necessary?

This depends on the result you want to achieve. If partial coloring is necessary, the paint is selected according to the main color. Some car owners like to place accents on certain parts of the car (roof, bumper or hood). It is possible to completely change the color or shade of the body.

Consumables:

- Paint and clear coating;

- Solvents;

- Primer;

- Coating;

- Polishing paste, finishing polish;

- Sandpaper with different grain sizes;

- Gloves and mask.

A proper paint is the main thing you need to paint a car with your own hands. On the market this product is presented in a wide assortment. Paints differ in composition and properties. Each of them requires preliminary surface treatment, and involves a certain specificity of work.

Quality, performance, and method of applying paint are the main selection criteria.

Preliminary Work

- Before painting, you need to prepare the room. The main requirements for it: spacious, bright, clean, with the possibility of ventilation, protected from wind and precipitation. When deciding how to properly paint a car with your own hands, it is important to follow the sequence of operations;

- Thoroughly washing the car is the first thing you need to start preparing. With the help of special tools, you need to remove dirt and grease stains.

- Dry the surfaces;

- Remove rust spots with sandpaper;

- If necessary, dismantle removable parts (doors, fenders, bumpers, headlights, etc.);

- Eliminate damage to the body (welding and leveling the surface).

- Cover the glass and other parts you don’t want to be painted with a protective film (paper).

Coating

Leveling the prepared surface is necessary to restore the original shape.

The following materials are used:

- Epoxy resin;

- Fiberglass;

- Coating of several types - fiberglass, liquid and soft.

At each stage, the surface is dried, polished, and degreased. The thickness of the coating layer should not exceed 5 mm. Thorough drying promotes reliable fixation of the applied materials.

Padding

Gloss is first removed from the surface of the body with fine-grained sandpaper. This is followed by degreasing. The first layer of primer mixture should be very thin. It is applied with a spray gun with a special nozzle. You can additionally apply 1-2 more layers. Allow the primer to dry overnight. After that, treat the primer layer with a flatiron and sandpaper with water.

Primers can be different:

- Fillers are necessary for finishing alignment;

- Anti-corrosion ones perform a protective function, their use is mandatory if there are rust pockets;

- Epoxy is used for insulation and protection.

Coloring

Before the final stage, it is necessary to replace the protective film (paper), because it always remains contaminated from previous work. Before applying paint, the surface should be degreased. Work with it should strictly comply with the instructions from the manufacturer. Applying paint in 3-4 layers is the best option.

Clear Coating, Drying, and Polishing

These are the final stages of painting a car. The clear coating is applied 25-35 minutes after the last coat of paint has been applied. First you need to inspect the surface and carefully remove small specks with a sticky napkin.

Polishing is a very responsible process. After all, the appearance of the car depends on its quality. That is, it is polishing that determines the final result of the entire lengthy car painting procedure. 

First, it should be noted that polishing a car after painting is completely different from ordinary polishing with wax. The fact is that the polishing process allows you to correct all the smallest flaws that inevitably occur even with the highest quality painting. Special polishing tools and compounds are used for this. In the process of polishing, all kinds of scratches and uneven spots on the surface are eliminated. As a result, the surface becomes not only perfectly smooth, but also very resistant to the external environment.

As a rule, polishing is never done immediately after painting. The paint should be completely dry, therefore, you need to wait. In addition, during this time flaws that are imperceptible at first will appear more clearly and it will be possible to successfully eliminate them with the help of polishing. However, the period of complete drying after painting depends on the specific situation - on the painting technology used and on the quality and properties of the paint and clear coating.

Before polishing, it is necessary to carefully prepare the surface of the machine for this procedure. Some of the preparatory steps include:

- Cleaning the car from dirt and dust. Dust and particles of dirt can get into small pores and cracks during drying. They should be removed. The surface is very thoroughly washed, resulting in a perfectly clean condition;

- Degreasing the surface of the car. All surfaces should be degreased. Otherwise, the quality of polishing will not be high and there will be little benefit from it;

- Insulation of all elements that are not subject to polishing. With the help of masking tape it is necessary to isolate everything that will not be polished, in order to avoid accidental damage to these elements.

The bottom line

There are many individual tips on how best to paint a car. They relate to the choice of materials and the work process. An excellent result always requires financial investments, time and patience.

If you’ve decided to paint a car yourself, study the subject thoroughly. Even if you have experience in performing such work, additional relevant information will always come in handy.

Painting a car for beginners can seem a difficult process but strict compliance with the instructions for the use of materials and proper algorithm of actions will help to perform the work efficiently.