Paint Process Question

[FJ5Trackpack]

I will be painting my Challenger in my garage so I have a few questions.

1. Should do a single stage underneath or base coat/ clear coat?

2. Do you jam it out along with the interior, trunk and engine bay first then lastly do the body?

3. I have some surface pits pooping through the epoxy on the floor pans. What is the best way to stop/remove this corrosion?

Thanx for your help. I almost had the car stole from my painter. The car was sitting outside for months without my knowledge.

[Beekeeper]

I painted my Vette in my garage too so kudos to you for taking on the challenge!

1) what I did was spray down a primer/sealer first. Then base color followed by clear. Obviously the car needs blocking out before laying down color.

2) I did not paint things separately because the guy at the paint shop warned that I'd likely have different parts ever so slightly different in look from each other because there are so many variables that affect the finished look. Plus I was painting metallic so the problem is amplified.

3) I assume you are talking inner floor pans. My opinion, I'd sand out the problems and reapply the epoxy to ensure you don't have corrosion issues later. I am not certain if you can spot treat epoxy but I don't see why not. I have heard that sanding epoxy is a bear but if it's going to get carpeted, I'd just use a rotary sander to clean it up real quick and then reapply.

4) stores that sell paint usually sell to public and I think they epwould be happy to answer the finer detail questions for you as they come up. At least my local shop did. They were great and provided very useful advice.

[Beekeeper]

If on #2 you meant do jambs then body during the same paint session, I wouldn't. What I did was start painting and when I got to a jamb or wheel well, I quickly did those first then went right back to the sides without stopping. It worked out good and everything blended in nicely.

I had a helper open close doors as we went along and also manage the hose so it didn't rub or get caught. You could also remove doors and paint on stands but on mine being metallic, I didn't want the paint laying down a certain way on the car and ever so slightly different on the doors. I wanted everything to come out exactly the same for better or worse.

[jimynick]

By the numbers- 1- that's completely up to you, the factory used single stage, but if you're contemplating a metallic colour, there' s really no sensible alternative to CC. 2: yes, 3: corrosion, of any ilk, is in need of being dug out, whether that be sanding or blasting or grinding. Once you're down to clean steel, epoxy it and build from there. This, obviously, is the 30 second primer to doing paint/body work, but we ignore it at our (and our wallets') peril. good luck and Merry Christmas! 

[Chlngrcrzy]

I painted mine in the garage. I did base coat/clear coat, as i found that the single stage paint looked different than the base/clear. I painted mine in pieces, then assembled. I would do it all put together if i did it again, which i eventually will. I had a tough time getting body panels line up and ended up chipping edges and other places as i assembled.

[FJ5Trackpack]

I will be painting FJ5 . So you guys recommend to install the doors and fenders then paint?

[Beekeeper]

I do mostly because no matter how careful you are, you will likely ding up edges gettting everything installed and aligned good after. I suppose its not as much an issue for the pros. It wasnt a big deal when I did mine. No hardware was in place so I sprayed and when i got to jambs, quickly swung door open and covered them, then swung them mostly closed and kept moving forward.

But Im just a novice painter so id go with what the other guys say who have done many.

i pickd up a lot of good tips on things like youre asking just from watching u tube videos too.

[soundcontrol]

 
Following, I also wanna paint mine myself, in a few years maybe. I did paint a Dart GT 20 years ago in my garage, it came out well, but the garage did not, I put up plastic all around but still, everything got dusty. Next time I'm gonna rent a pro paintbooth with equipment, there is a guy around here that rents his place for about 400 bucks for a weekend.


Take pictures and post your progress!

[usraptr]

I will be painting FJ5 . So you guys recommend to install the doors and fenders then paint?

Hopefully you have test fit your doors and got your gaps where you want them BEFORE painting.  That way there is less chance of chipping the edges when you install after painting.  If you decided to paint them on the car I would do the back side and jams on a stand first and then install on the car.  That way you'll get much better coverage than painting on the car. When you install mask off the edges of the door/fenders etc with tape and also mask off the adjoining surface on the car with tape.  After they are installed and adjusted correctly remove the tape and paint away.  Everybody has their own techniques that works best for them.  This is just mine.  Good luck and Merry Christmas!

[jimynick]

There are rolls of variously sized foams shaped in a tubular style and having an adhesive all along it that you want to use inside the door/hood,deck lid gaps to prevent overspray from ruining your inner panel trimming. Simple and easy to use, just make sure you get the gap covered properly. 

[YellowThumper]

Search Cody's paint tips. He has provided awsome writeups here. Has made how to videos also.