Calling all autobody guys

[Mike Schmid]

I'm seriously considering a paint job this summer.  I'm not going to pay someone else to do it, I'm doing it myself... sooo... what do I need to know?

I've got a pretty good handle on the basics, I'm going to get ahold of a compressor, paint gun and then line the garage with plastic and fly at it.  
I don't expect a show winning paint job, I just want it to look good.  I'm keeping it gloss black so I won't have to worry too much about jambs and the engine bay.  

What I'm not sure about is:
*how to get all the trim off without busting clips?
*where to get clips if you can't reuse them
*what's best for sanding/stripping the paint? random orbit sander, chemical?
*the basics of block sanding
*the basics of wet sanding
*tips and tricks to keep dust down, and get a nice finish without the aid of fancy drying equipment
*how to mask the doorjambs and not leave a ridge between old and new paint
*how to fill a hole? (specifically, I'd like to shave the rear wiper)
*anything else I need to know

The body is pretty clean save for door dings, paint chips and the like.  I'm considering some minor custom work but I'll figure that out as I go.  Thanks guys.

[Travis Merrick]

Tips and Tricks, wel well.  Your doing it in your garage right?

Have a fresh air line, the paint can be very dangerous to the body, really bad chemicals.  Are you doing just exterior paint job?  Masking paper and masking tape is what we use.  Use the tape to do a solid line then stick more tape attatched to the paper off of that, this makes for a smooth edge.  When preping for painting, do not take the paint right off, paint actually sticks better to paint, so just lightly sand it with your hand and a block and get in all the grooves, it should look flat black after prep work is done.

To fill holes we used either fiberglass or simply bondo, on the reverse side of the whole (in the trunk) line it with say chicken wire and take the bondo with the right hardening and place in hole, this will give you a great surface to apply the bondo, apply and make a bubble up and sand down so that it is level, add some primer and walla.

[Mike Schmid]

Okay, that's pretty much what I was thinking.  So you say leave the paint eh... hmm... hopefully no one used silicone based wax on it before it bought it... After sanding the first layer of paint off what do you use to clean it up and get all the dust off prior to painting?  An air line should do it well enough... When I did my motor I took her down to bare metal and cleaned with brake cleaner until the cloth came out clean then painted, but obviously that won't work if I leave the old paint and have body filler all over.  

What I was going to do is build a plywood box with a squirrel cage fan it it then remove the window and replace it with that to evacuate air and fumes and whatever.  Then a set of cheapo painter's coveralls with a hood and gloves with a good respirator should be good enough for safety.  

And yeah, I'm just doing the exterior.  I'll take the bumpers off and build a rack for them and then the rest of the car I'll leave together save for trim removal.  I don't want to get into dealing with jambs and the engine bay, that's more work than I want to do.  Plus I don't want to have the car layed up for long.  

Is that all you need to do for masking?  Will it just peel off and leave a nice line without flaking or breaking the paint?  I've painted some engine parts and stuff like that and masked the trim or pieces I don't want painted but I've never dealt with a paint to paint masking.  Like for custom paint, say racing stripes for instance (don't worry, it's not getting racing stripes) do you just use regular masking tape or special tape? and just peel it off when you're done or lightly sand the edge of the tape first?  

Thanks for the info, much appreciated    but I still need to know about the trim... that's my biggest worry, I don't want to spend a bunch of time on paint only to have to drive around with no trim anywhere because I busted all the trim and trim clips getting it off   :roll:

[Travis Merrick]

About the trim.  Take everything off that you can possibly take off, markers etc.  To mask all you use is 1/8" masking tape, 3/4" masking tape and masking paper.  First sand the car down, dont take down to metal, very bad, paint sticks better to paint.  Take the 1/8" masking tape and line everything that you dont want to be painted on, ie trim, windows, headlights, grill, etc, then take the masking paper and the 3/4" tape, line the papers one edge with the tape and apply it to the edge, so its just overlapping the 1/8" tape and cover everything necessary, a razor blade comes in handy for everything.  Razor blade is your friend!!  Dont be affraid to cut pieces of tape in small chunks, dont try and angle the tape as it will bunch up, clean your car prior to sanding as well, tape doesnt stick very well to dirt, heh.  But yah keep the tape fully touching the surface, no lifting or bumps so you have a smooth surface.

To clean off the sanding you can use gunwash, or paint thinner in a spray bottle (if you have one of those pump bottles).  First you blow everything off with the air gun then take the gunwash, spray and rub, it takes all the little pieces you missed off.  Pretty much clean the car with this stuff as it will leave it looking very dry.

And remember one consistant motion when spraying, keep going at same distance same speed and let go of the trigger before you stop the gun.  You wont get runs, drips, light and heavy spots.

Hope this helped yah out.

[Mike Schmid]

Have you ever taken trim off our cars?  Any specific tips for how to get it off?  Although... with that said I was out looking at the car the other day and there's a heck of a lot of trim that borders paint so I might just say forget it and take off the easy stuff (lighting, etc) and leave almost all the trim on and just mask it...  I'm just worried about having stuff not go back on properly or fall off or whatever and I don't want to deal with those problems.  Besides, it is new black paint over old black paint beside black trim so you shouldn't see any masking errors unless you're real close...    

Are there any good books out there or online resources that'll walk you through a paint job?  Like what grits of sandpaper to use, that sorta stuff?

I've done a fair bit of wood finishing in my day, especially with a paint gun shooting sanding sealer and clear laquer so I've got a handle on spraying it's just some of the other stuff.

[Chris Andrews]

The shop manual does talk about removing the "aero-parts".    I'm sure there is a technique involved, I'll give it a closer look tomorrow and see if there is anything special.

Clips can be ordered from the dealer.  The difficulty lies in getting the exact right clip/pin/whatever as I have discovered.....   I did finally get the right pins for my trunk.  

[Chris Andrews]

Shop manual:  (Plymouth Laser)

REMOVAL OF SIDE PROTECT MOULDING:

1. Using the plastic trim tool, pry of the side protect moulding

2. Using the plastic trim tool, scale off the both-side adhesive tape which sticks to the body.  

(my note: the picture does show some clips.....)


REMOVAL OF REAR AIR SPOILER:

After the rear air spoiler mounting bolts or screws have been removed, move the rear air spoiler to the rear of the vehicle, remove the rear air spoiler from the tapping screws, and pull off the rear air spoiler.

>..now that sounds easy, doesn't it?    :evil:

Putting some of these items back on with the double sided tape involves heat guns (IR), cleaning solvents (MOPAR SUPER KLEEN) and  the tape  3M ATD Part No. 6383 or equivalent.    

Hope this helps.