Auto Painting Techniques

Anyone who owns an older vehicle will make the decision at one point or another to repaint it after noticing that their vehicle is starting to show it’s age due to issues like fading paint, dents or dings. Before spending hundreds of dollars on new factory-quality paint job, every vehicle owner should first consider painting their vehicle themselves by following specific auto painting tips and techniques.

• Evaluate the dings and dents. If the majority of the body damage like dings or dents are on one side of the body like a passenger side door or a right rear fender a vehicle owner can save money by repainting that one area of the vehicle instead of the whole thing. It is typically very easy to paint one small section of a vehicle with a couple of cans of automotive spray paint rather than having to invest in a spray gun and air compressor.


• Before repainting, every vehicle owner should go to their local auto parts store and invest in auto paint that closely matches the area that they want to repaint. Once the paint is bought, the next step is to sand out the area with an orbital sander all the way down to the metal, tape off the area, apply Bondo (if needed), wet sand with sandpaper that is 800-grit and then apply the coat of paint.


• Painting the whole vehicle. To paint the entire vehicle, it is important to invest in a spray gun and rent and air compressor to do the job right. Before getting started, it is important to sand the vehicle all the way down to its primer coat. This will help ensure that the old paint, road grease and years of wear and tear are all thoroughly removed. After sanding for a while, the primer coat will be reached. It is not necessary to remove the primer coat because the focus should be on roughing up the primer coat to make sure that the paint will stick to the surface.


• Tape off all windows and doors. One of the big mistakes the people make when repainting their own vehicles is no taking the time to fully prepare. Taping off windows and doors will ensure that the paint thoroughly coats the entire vehicle and does not get on the window glass.


• Grease remover. It is important to totally remove all grease and gunk from the vehicle by using grease remover. This will ensure that the vehicle is 100 percent ready. After grease remover has been used and it has dried, the next step is to wet sand the body of the vehicle again and then prepare to paint.


• Paint tent. A great thing that everyone who is serious about painting their vehicle effectively should consider doing is investing in a paint tent before they paint their vehicle. This will ensure that the paint does not reach areas that it is not supposed to be and only covers the car. Many people who cannot afford paint tents usually invest in outdoor tents that they bring into their garage and then attach plastic tarps or sheets to insure that the paint only stays in the tent.


• Once the job starts, it is important to work quickly to avoid runs. If a vehicle painter does not keep their arm moving there will wind up with an inconsistent paint finish.