Should I paint my OB?

[Equalizer]

I've got a 97 forest green OB and in spite of 200,000mi., I'd like to keep it at least two more years. It needs body work, two new bumpers and another engine, but restoration might be a better/more affordable option than replacement........that is, IF I can paint it my-self

 

The scratches, keyed marks, oxidation, etc. have really added up. Last week a customer's dog jumped up all over one side and scratched the :temper: out of two doors! That did it in IMHO. I hate body work and w/leave that to a pro, but I can't get a quote below $1,000 for a complete repaint! Can-Not-Do at that price. However, I have access to the following:

-Garage

-Compressor

-Air sprayer

 

I'm not too artistic, but am willing to learn, sometimes handy under the hood and must do it while its still in the 60's-70's F, so I don't have to run the heater to warm up the garage and ruin the paint w/dust particles. Another option is to take a chance and take it to a vo-tech center so the kids can practice and do it at the cost of supplies. No guarantees and may take a long time to get it back. I suspect that I can skip the top since nobody sees that and no damage up there.

 

Do you recommend that I paint it myself?

Can I cover it w/one coat of the same color, plus one more clear coat?

Candy apple orange w/look cool, but now we are probably talking big $ :bday:

 

THANKS,

eq

[mtsmiths]

Better, do the body work (panel replacement, dent filling, etc.) sanding and detail masking yourself. Make nice with the manager at Maaco or Earl Scheib and have it painted as close to the original color as possible. Make sure the car gets a really good solvent clean and tack-rag before they shoot it. Go talk to them before you start and make sure you are doing the filling and sanding right. If you get it ready and work with them on schedule, and talk quality rather than trying to get them down on price you should get a good job.

 

If you do the make-ready yourself you can get a pretty good paint job out of the 'drive-thru paint' shops. They do use good quality materials, they just can't spend much time doing a good job on the prep.

 

I've done a half-dozen cars this way and all have come out really well (but you won't get a warranty, 'cause they don't know what you did on the base).

[cookie]

several occaisions.

I have painted them my self too, but I just don't spray as well or have the best equipement.

If you strip it yourself and do the body work you can come out with a great job. they just don't take time to take off trim or really detail it in a production shop.

My Jeep had that done and you can see the 10 year old paint on Ebay right now. Earl uses good paint becuase he needs too!

the ideal situation is to doo one coat, find the flaws and do another coat. But do you need a show job on a 97 Subaru?

[Equalizer]

Mtsmiths,

 

There aren't any of those low cost shops in my city, but might find one across state lines an hour and a half away. A body shop quoted me $200 for reparing a crese and cut in a fender. I can do the bumpers myself. That's probably no biggy. I just hear that I'll need "flexer" additive for the paint to keep it from peeling. I might just make that trip for the paint. But w/have to do all the talk over the phone and find a ride to take me there twice. Thanks for the advice.

 

Cookie,

 

If I do the car the same color, should I take it down to bare metal and use etching, etc, or just go through the clear coat, use tack rag and repaint, then clear?

[mtsmiths]

Remove all the trim, acccessories, badges, etc. that you can. Make sure you get sanded right up to what you can't remove (always where peeling starts). The main reason to stick with the original color is so the door jambs, underhood, sills etc. still match. It will make the car worth more when you eventually sell it, even if the new paint is old by then. Personally, I wouldn't clear-coat any car. Every paint job I have had that 'sunburned' was the clear coming off. I always stick to a good thick 'mud' enamel with no metallic, it is the easiest to match and always looks the most original. Make sure you order enough extra paint to keep a (very well sealed) quart or so extra for later shopping cart visits.

 

Make sure you do a good solvent wash and tack rag just before you shoot it. Another trick I learned from an old pepper tree mechanic is to 'set' the paint with a cold water mist if it isn't oven cured. After the car is fully shot, and tack dry, spray it gently with cold water set on mist. It will gloss the paint and set it hard (no, I don't know why it does, but I have done it with every car I've ever painted, and it works).

 

Mind you, I'm NOT a car painter, nor have I palyed on on television, but I've shot five or six, plus one airplane over my long life (I'm one of the board geezers).

 

Still, I would prep it and have a pro shoot it and bake it (one of the best reasons to have Maaco or Unca' Earl do it is the ovens).

[cookie]

I might not go as far as he would on an old Subaru. the oly cars I have stripped were classic Jags, XK 120 -140 and TR3s.

They had several layers of paint worth the effort.

Just sand down to smooth, prime if possible and resand. Wash it all in Tide and go for it.

[MorganM]

Body work and painting a car yourself is a huge project. No less involved or expensive then rebuilding an engine, transmission or drivetrain. I have 100+ hours in prepwork (sanding, priming, sanding, washing, and taping) and about 6 hours of actual spray time on my old '88 GL wagon.

 

I dont want to discourage you I just want you to know its a project, not a weekend warrior battle While you can do it ine a day with some rattle bombs and a case of beer I dont think you would be happy with the results

[Equalizer]

All,

 

Thanks for all of the advice. It seems to me most resonable to do the prep work myself and have a drive through paint company spray and bake the paint. However; with a new detour that I just learned about, it'll take around two hours to get to the closest drive through shops in Pittsburg. Qs:

:-\

1. Considering the distance, bugs, and need to thoroughly re-wash the car with nothing better than probably a high pressure wand at a hopefully close car wash......unless the shop lets me use theirs, or they want to wash it themselves: Do you forsee any problems w/this?

 

2. Do you recommend one paint company over another?

 

3. Do I remove everything except for the lower pin stripe and heavy lower paint section on the older OBs?

 

Cookie,

When you talk about sanding, do you mean a light sand through the clear overall, except where its chiped and scratched........then prime over paint? Would you recommend priming like this before taking it to the paint shop, or do they use primer?

 

Mtsmiths,

I'm really partial toward high metallic in the paint and lots of depth. What kind of problem does metallic have and can the problems be avoided w/an extra step? I'm not too concerned w/it looking completely original if that's the only problem. When I eventually sell this car, it might have half a milliion miles on it and not be worth a darn by then. I'm not sure what you mean by sunburned clear coat. Is that the dull oxidized look the paint gets? BTW, I am getting a book tommorrow on the subject.

I'm always ready to listen to a "geezer", especially you guys that have been-there-done-that.

 

Thanks again ya-all

[cookie]

I once bought a body shop to learn the tricks of the trade.

We used to finish everything out with a Tide wash and then rinse with water.

Worked for us.

Almost any shop you use will have a final wash as part of the paint price. Frankly if they don't want to do it over there is no reason for them to trust you. Keep WD 40 as far away from the car as you can as it or similar products will cause fish eyes. Aything with silicon is a horror.

Here in CA we have new rules that make the shops cut down on priming.

This is why you should bring the car in as close to ready to shoot as possible.

Many productions shops just sand rough areas to avoid priming.

Get a good paint book and follow the steps in there as close asd you can. Treat your painter well ( I brought them soccer T shirts as many painters are Mexican in CA and soccer is so big there). My cars got far more attention for this.

In general block sand only with as much surface area as possible. Go to a good auto painting supply company and ask for advice and the correct materials.

Feather the edges of any damaged area and prime and resand. You can feel much with your hand that you cannot see, but will come out in the paint.

I have had fine luck with metallics. the paint on my Jeep is several years old and looks pretty good.