The clear coat on my car was peeling away and the color is fading badly. However I can't justify spending $3000 (as quoted to me by a paint shop) to paint my car. Maaco quoted me $1800, still too high. I need to paint this car but I didn't want to spend a ton of money.
Hello Rustoleum.
Supply list.
Rustoleum Satin Hunter green 2qt ($20)
4 cans of light gray Rustoleum primer ($16)
2 cans of Satin Hunter green ($10)
100% mineral spirits (to thin out the Rustoleum) ($9)
Sand Paper 80, 600, 1000 ($10)
Spray gun ($34)
tape ($20)
shop vac ($34)
Tack cloth ($15)
palm sander (borrowed from a friend)
Rent paint booth (about $50)
Bag of white cloth ($5)
Here's the original paint and car.
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5692.jpg)
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5691.jpg)
I spend one full day just removing parts. Bumper, side mirror, mudflaps, wing, wind shield wipers came off.
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5759.jpg)
Many, many hours of sanding, and sanding... and sanding. Hope you have a good MP3 player because that palm sander is loud and annoying. I was listening to Dream Theater!!! Get all the way to the Primer, or metal... and smooth it out.
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5758.jpg)
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5757.jpg)
Then clean the surface using a cloth with mineral spirits. Then hit it with the Tack cloth to get all the loose paint and dirt.
Blue tape all surface that you do not want to prime. Then prime every thing.
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5764.jpg)
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5763.jpg)
I rented a paint booth, many places will rent it out to you. I work on an Air Force Base that just happened to have a awesome paint booth. I painted 2 days for about 50 bucks, which is a great price!
It was a trail and error in the paint mixing department. I kept the gun at 20 PSI, and mixed the paint about 80 % paint and 20% mineral spirits. After every coat, I baked it at 140 degrees for 30 minutes, then applied the next coat.
On the first day, I sprayed 2 coats. Drove Froggie home and wiped it down with mineral spirits. Inspected to see how the paint was and see if I have missed anything. I sanded everything down with 1000 sand paper to smooth it out even more.
I went back again and painted it. This time I move the spray gun much slower. And here are the results.
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5772.jpg)
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5776.jpg)
![Image](http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h316/raytheater/CIMG5773.jpg)
I got the wing from GANUE and painted it flat black.
I really enjoy this torturous sanding experience. I know the green isn't really everyone's cup of tea... get it? Tea... green... sigh. Satin is much, much easier to paint. I didn't have to worry too much about the shine.
I think the green came out pretty smooth. I will return to the paint booth and spray maybe 3 coats of clear. I will post more pictures of my car in the sun in a better setting.
If anyone wants to do this, I recommend about 5 days off. Patience in sanding and numb hand. Also, I recommend the satin colors, easier to hide mistakes.