Need some painting tips.

[Blksnshn]

Hope this is in the right section.

I made a deal with a friend of mine that if I did some front end work on his car he would paint the spoiler and front ground effect on my Trans Am. I did the work on his car 3 years ago and my parts are still the wrong color.


Anyway, I've decided to just do it myself but I have a couple of questions.

1. What is the best way to strip the old paint off of fiberglass and do I have to strip it all the way down? (Rear Spoiler)

2. What is the best way to strip the paint off of urithane. (Front Lip)

3. I also need to fix a the corner of the spoiler where it was runbbed down during shipping, so I will have to add just a bit of material to it. being that the spoiler is fiberglass, can I use bondo? Or is there something that would work better?

4. How much paint should I buy to cover these two parts and do I need to prime them.


Any advice would be appreciated. I'm an auto body noob.

[SSwt00SS]

Anyway, I've decided to just do it myself but I have a couple of questions.

1. What is the best way to strip the old paint off of fiberglass and do I have to strip it all the way down? (Rear Spoiler)

you dont have to 'strip' the paint completely off. you can sand down and scuff the paint, primer, block, primer, block, etc. this will help to fill any other imperfections in the process.

2. What is the best way to strip the paint off of urithane. (Front Lip)

same process

3. I also need to fix a the corner of the spoiler where it was runbbed down during shipping, so I will have to add just a bit of material to it. being that the spoiler is fiberglass, can I use bondo? Or is there something that would work better?

my preference is to match materials: use fiberglass

4. How much paint should I buy to cover these two parts and do I need to prime them.

you fail to state what color your car is. if it's a metallic, it's recommended that you blend into adjacent body panels so the eye can't pick up repainted areas.

if you have a non metallic color, the painting process is still laboring, but not as intense. you can typically paint just those specific panels and then clearcoat.

depending on how much you have to paint, and by what you are describing, I would buy a quart. if you reduce it, you will be able to make mulitple passes without running out of paint. after all, you decide when you are pleased with your results. wetsand it and then shoot clearcoat. wetsand the clearcoat, cut it with polish cutting compound, then polish it. you really are not supposed to wax newly painted areas for 3 months as a rule of thumb to allow the both the paint and clearcoat to cure

i will attach some pics in my next post, showing the process(es). note that good prep work yields the best results, so take your time and go slow. don't rush it

[SSwt00SS]

TA spoiler patching after removal of center supports:

I took out the center supports and used another wrecked spoiler to fill in the hoiles (black area). then used fiberglass to fuse everything together, and then the final product:







old '95 TA that I repainted the front end (bumper, fenders, hood), before, prepping, painting, wetsanding, final product:

[SSwt00SS]

my old '98 TA ws6 repainted the hood, headlight covers, and front bumper and sail panel





wetsanding, cutting, polish of some scratches: before and after




on the deeper scratches that were left I filled in them in by hand with a paint brush and they all but disappeared

[Blksnshn]

Wow, Thanks for such an informitive reply. Pretty much ansewered all my questions. Thank you.

The car is Black (no metallic) and the spoiler being painted is blue.

The spoiler was stood up on end and rubbed one of the front points flat, so I need to build that up a bit. Would I need the Fiberglass resin and sheets for that or could I just use resin and a hardener?

That spoiler mod looks pretty cool, If I was more experienced I would do that too. Nice work.

[SSwt00SS]

Wow, Thanks for such an informitive reply. Pretty much ansewered all my questions. Thank you.

The car is Black (no metallic) and the spoiler being painted is blue.

The spoiler was stood up on end and rubbed one of the front points flat, so I need to build that up a bit. Would I need the Fiberglass resin and sheets for that or could I just use resin and a hardener?

That spoiler mod looks pretty cool, If I was more experienced I would do that too. Nice work.

no problem, im no body expert like others on the site, but I know what works for me and the results I want to achieve

Black is easy to work with and very forgiving if you accidently screw up. the reason there are silver stripes on the hood was because I ran out of black paint...

on the blue TA, i bought a pint ($90 freakin' dollars/pint) and I reduced it to get more. I about ran out of it as well, but luckily I didn't.

please post a pic of the area you are needing to do work on, so I can see what you're working with.

i believe you will need all, the resin, hardner, and the fiberglass sheets to form what you need. you can always build up and remove. dont try to do it all at once. plus, the resin sets rather quickly. all that stuff is pretty cheap and usually the resin and hardner come together.

As far as the spoiler mod is concerned, I believe that I am the only person out there who has done this. i didnt sell the spoiler with the car, i kept it because some day, damn it, i'll get me another TA...

[Blksnshn]

[IMG][/IMG]

Both sides are like that but this is the worst one.

I really want to re paint the entire car, the clear coat is getting bad in a couple of spots but I don't really have a garage to do it in or the cash needed.

That sucks you don't have you don't have your car anymore. Were you forced to sell it?

I'm struggling to keep mine right now with the crappy Michigan Job market. I've had it since 99 and would hate to let it go.

[SSwt00SS]

yeah, you will need all the above fiberglass, resin, hardner. you can fix that, but it will take some time.

I was more or less forced to sell. bought the '95 in Oct. 2008 and was laid off Feb. 09. I held on to the TA until March 2010, and then had to sell. then not even 3 wks later I got employed back in my profession (go figure)

then i picked up the '98 Ws6 in June for dirt cheap since it wasnt running, fixed it, painted it, drove it, then was laid off from that job in Sept. 2010. Sold it in Dec. 2010. Started my own company in late Dec. 2010 and have been a contract worker for roughly 35hrs/wk average.

so it's been a bumpy last 2.5 yrs for me, but not everything in life is easy right!? things could always be worse, or have played out for me worse than they have. so I don't really complain. I realize I had options, while may in the same position probably didn't or don't.

[Blksnshn]

I feel your pain man, I got laid off (let go because the shop wasn't making any money and I was the only one there that wasn't family) a year and a half ago and have been trying to find a decent job ever since. Place want certified techs with their own tools and experience and then offer them $8 an hour.

Thought about trying to open my own shop too, just really risky in my area right now.

Thanks again for your advice, it is very much appretiated.

[Bramlok]

depending on how much you have to paint, and by what you are describing, I would buy a quart. if you reduce it, you will be able to make mulitple passes without running out of paint. after all, you decide when you are pleased with your results. wetsand it and then shoot clearcoat. wetsand the clearcoat, cut it with polish cutting compound, then polish it. you really are not supposed to wax newly painted areas for 3 months as a rule of thumb to allow the both the paint and clearcoat to cure

Good info here but I've got a few questions to ask. For a front plastic bumper getting re-painted black, what will I need for paint? An enamel with reducer? And I thought I read something that the plastic bumpers will need some type of flex additive? Any truth to that?

Also, if I have some holes to fill in the plastic bumper what is best to use?

Lastly, in your steps you mention to shoot the paint, then wetsand it and shoot the clearcoat. Won't wetsanding the paint dull it enough that it will show through the clear? And if the paint looks good, why does it have to be wet sanded first before clear can be sprayed onto it?

Thanks for any answers you can give me.