An Easy Way to Paint a Car
- 1). Scrub your car with a sponge, soap and water. Then use wax/grease remover to get rid of dirt, dust and anything else that can interfere during the painting process.
- 2). Make the surface of your car as smooth as possible. Use 80-grit sandpaper and a sanding block or a dual-action sander to remove paint, rust and other surface rough spots until you hit bare metal.
- 3). Start sanding the surface of the car with 600-grit sandpaper, then progress to 800 grit and 1,500 grit to sand the bare metal of the car. Use a fiber towel to wipe away sanding debris.
- 4). Wipe down the car with mineral spirits and a fiber towel if the paint you are using is oil based. If the paint is latex based, soap and water will do fine.
- 5). Cover any areas that you don't want to paint, such as the door handles, with masking tape.
- 6). Don goggles and a paint mask to guard against harmful toxins. Apply two to three coats of an epoxy primer on the bare metal surface of the car. Allow the car to dry for at least 24 hours. A high-build primer also can be applied after the epoxy primer if the car has several sanding scratches and other surface irregularities that need to be filled. Let this coat dry for at least 24 hours.
- 7). Sand the primer once it's dry with 1,200-grit wet/dry sandpaper. Always take the time to sand the coat of primer because any surface imperfections become obvious when you paint over them. Remove any dips or blotchy areas with the sandpaper.
- 8). Use a high-pressure-low-volume, or HPLV, spray gun or automotive spray paint to apply a base coat of paint over the primed car. Use a steady even motion to apply the paint. Keep moving the spray gun or spray paint so you don't create uneven areas of blotchy paint. Allow the paint to dry as indicated by the manufacturer's directions.
- 9). Finish by sanding the car with 1,200-grit wet sandpaper to remove any surface irregularities on the fresh coat of paint. Apply a second or third coat of paint using the technique in step 8.
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