Question about painting - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 04-28-2002, 08:23 AM

I have been working on my MB 190E for about two years now,. I have made about all the mods I can and I am now ready to paint. Here is my question, with all the time in effort I have into the car I feel as if I don't want to hand the car over to somebody else to paint. It is not a matter of cost the prices are not too bad. I just want to be able to say I did it all myself I feel as if I could do the motor suspension and all the other work, I can do this too. I have compressors and all the tools nessesary to do I can easily convert my garage into a paint booth for the job. Can anybody help me with more info. I have run a search and have not come up with enough info. I feel this is do-able and nobody is going to put the time and effort into the car like I will.
any help would be appreciated.

per eriksson · #2 04-28-2002, 12:58 PM

Get yourself some junk doors and prepare them for painting just as you would your car with sanding and masking and then paint them.
If they look like crap, then practice some more.............

Then when I'm painting cars I always take off doors, hood , trunklid etc and paint them separately. This makes the task easier and when the car is put back toghether it looks better with paint everywhere it should be on the inside of doors etc. Masking and sanding is much easier this way too.

Remember, preparation is everything when it comes to painting a car!!

Ashman · #3 04-28-2002, 06:02 PM

when painting anything, I go by the rule 90% prep work, 10% painting.

If you prep it right, the paint should come out right with little effort.

Just remember to take your time and do it right, don't try to rush these things.

Alon

Pete Geither · #4 04-29-2002, 07:43 PM

I know what you are saying with the "I did it myself" thing,,, but if I needed heart surgery, I would LIKE to do it myself, to make sure it's done right, having read all the books, of course, but don't think that is really the best way to go. With the new basecoat/clears, there are Hundreds of ways you can get yourself into big time trouble, I'm talking time and money here, and endless solutions that a lot of the pros don't even know. If you can afford it, and have a shop you can trust to do the job the way you want it, let them do it. To begin with, do you have a paint booth and the proper respirator so you aren't killing yourself and everyone around you? These isocyanates are pretty potent stuff. And don't tell me you want to do it in laquer,,,, don't even suggest that! The one suggestion of doing everything off the car is something we try to do as much as we can, but we also have the man power to let 3 people put a door on so it doesn't get nicked, which can just kill a job. One nick and figure on painting the whole door again and if you do it again, get out the stripper and start all over again. And of course, you do pay someone to haul all your waste chemicals away don't you? Not trying to be a smart ass, just that there is a heck of a lot to painting a car, and I suggest not trying it at home.
Pete

riske · #5 05-19-2002, 12:22 AM

If this is your 1st paint job, Laquer is the way to go. Its easy to apply . You will make some errors ,but with Laquer you can easily fix the problem areas. It dosen't require any high tech equipment or much experience to apply.
Un fortunately laquer is getting hard to find because it is high in VOC's but if you look hard enough you can find it.

Bill