About DIY Auto Painting

Do it yourself auto painting is not as difficult as you may think. With the proper tools and some research, it is possible to not only paint your own car, but to have it look great once it is done. It can be time consuming, but it is well worth the effort and it will save you a lot of money over the cost of having a professional paint it for you.

• Before painting a car at your home, check your local laws to be sure that it is allowed in your area.


• Paint in a well ventilated area.


• The prep work is just as important as the painting. Sanding and priming are the most time-consuming parts of the job, but without a good foundation, your finished product will not turn out looking the way you want.


• Be sure to cover anything that you cannot take off the car that you do not want painted. You can use newspaper for this, it works well.  If it is something you can take off, you should.


• Metallic paints are harder to work with than regular paint.


• Mix the paint with reducer, before putting it in the spray gun. Using just paint will result in the paint not spraying right. The mixture should be half and half, so the paint sprays the way it is supposed to. Too little reducer or too much will both cause problems.


• Overlap paint strokes by 50%. This means that after you finish one pass with the spray gun, you will begin the next one by painting over half of the stroke you just did.


• To avoid lines and tiger stripes in your paint, paint the first coat by going side to side. Paint the second coat by painting at a 45 degree angle all going in one direction. Paint the third coat at a 45 degree angle going in the opposite direction.


• Be sure that when you shop for paint, primer, sealer and clear coats that they are all compatible with each other. Talk to the people at the paint store to find out if what you are buying can work together, if you are unsure.