[burningsquirrels]

So... I've got this long list of items planned for the Nova... Right on top of the list at stage 1 of 7, is "Stop being ugly". Basically, the Nova runs as-is, but the damn thing has looked like a fricken field car it's entire life with me lol. I got it in a tiger stripe rattlecan paintjob special, and all I ever did to it was rattle can it "properly" and got it in a flat crap black. I also had the truck turning into a swimming pool every time it rained, so I used silicone caulk around the chrome trim on the back window. I daily drove it for 3 years this way! Wheee!

Anyways, so right now the patchy multicolor field car look is on its way out, and what I would like to accomplish is to get the car one solid color. Because of cost considerations, I'm not really shooting for a show-winning paintjob. The money could go to rebuilding the front suspension, a new wiring harness would be nice, and I also need a new rear end, everything in the interior but the gauge panels dash and seats, wheels and tires, and real safety equipment.

Now, some people were just telling me to keep rattlecanning it - one day, and 20 bucks lol. However, I don't want to just rattlecan it, I want to try fixing the small dents, priming it, and maybe applying a single-stage paint to the car as "practice" for a real paintjob in a few (but more likely several) years. Plus, I'm sure this will turn out way better than any rattlecan paintjob, and won't fade after a couple weeks. Oh, and a great excuse to get an air compressor and upgrade to air tools lol!

This is my first time doing this, so as you can imagine my to-do list is very short.

1. Use random orbital sander to remove rattlecan paintjob, and get down to the original blue.
2. Clean car off in preparation for primer and bondo, final clean using wax/grease remover.
3. Spray first coat of self-etching, sandable primer.
4. Do the bondo on all small spots, continue applying primer until smooth.
5. Final coat of primer, sand like hell with ex. Fine grit until smooth.
6. Clean off with compressed air, then use wax and grease remover.
7. Spray a couple coats of single-stage paint.
8. …done?

Does this sound right?

I got a few questions…

- Do I need to take it down to bare metal? Or can I build upon what’s under the rattlecan job?
- I heard before the first coat of primer I can wash the car with dishwasher soap and warm water to remove all dirt? It sounds like it would just rust, lol…
- The correct primer would be self-etching, sandable primer, correct?
- Once the primer is smooth all around, do I just use compressed air and wax/grease remover to clean off the car before the paint?
- Does single-stage paint just go on as-is? I am assuming that single stage just means no basecoat/clear topcoat.
- If I decide to do the door jambs, do I have to take the doors off the car? The doors align perfectly right now lol. The old hood had new-car alignment, then when I took the front end apart for the engine rebuild, aw crap it’s a jigsaw puzzle. I couldn’t put the inner fenders back in, nor did about 4 or 5 bolts LOL!

The colors I am thinking of are:

a. An easygoing blue, kind of like the glacier blue the nova originally was, since everything else in the car is blue like the door jambs and underhood and in-trunk and such…
b. White, because my bodywork will probably suck, but I can probably get body panel gaps right…
c. A burnt orange, because it’s amongst my favorite colors for a muscle car…
d. Black, because all the cars we got are black lol…

I’m leaning towards the orange because it’s not so dark that it’d show crap bodywork, and it’s more interesting than white. Plus, I was thinking of doing this little scheme: I like novas that have the chrome that runs along the rocker panel, and out to the back bumper… But since the rest of my chrome sucks and the pieces I’m talking about are probably uber-expensive… and (gasp) I like how Mopar used black graphics… I was thinking of adding a black stripe around the bottom between the wheels and out to the back bumper. I thought it’d look pretty good. What do you guys think? My only concern would be keeping the stripe’s edge to the orange straight lol. I would also paint the middle of the rear tail panel black, kind of like what the SS novas had.

Finally, some pictures of where the Nova stands as of last night. I’ve put maybe 6 hours of sanding and cleaning in already.

http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/stage1

Let me know what you think. If I’m an idiot, let me know that too

 

[Rad Racer]

Looks good man. Go for it. I am in the process of the same thing. I don't even have a garage, going to strip the car in the carport and paint in a 10x20 foot portable car port covered in plastic.

My personal preference is to strip to bare metal and clean very well. My Nova had a paint job just before I bought it that went right over what was there. It started bubbling in about 2 months and now it is coming off in sheets.

 

[Al]

It sounds like you could easily get in pretty deep with the project if you strip the paint. It appears like you just want a "mud and flood" for now? Enjoy the car a bit better without the spray bomb effect until you have the resources for something better?

I've done a few of these on trucks and such. It comes down to picking and choosing what little dents you want fixed and leaving the others. Get rid of all the rattle can paint so it does not lift the new paint. Use a single stage acrylic enamel and give it your best shot, lighter colors are indeed better. I'd go with whatever color the door jambs are as you do not want to prep and paint these for a "quicky".

This will get you by for a couple of years but you will end up sanding all this off later and doing it right. - nothing wrong with that really, it gets you by.
Things can change a lot in a couple of years and this project may take an entirely new direction by then.

Ideally, stripping, removing the doors... sanding, block sanding, more block sanding is the way to go but that's your choice in time and money.

just passing along some thoughts.

 

[MOJO64Deuce]

Hey, you can do! it but then be safe use a RESPIRATOR! and also use whatever brand of paint manufacturer ie., Dupont,PPG,Sherwin Williams etc., etc., some "Fancy" single stages will have a catalyst-hardener, this not only helps with paint flow, it helps the paint job retain it's "hold out" quality or longevity,and it also allows you to Wet sand out blemishes like..Orange peel, some guys opt out of the hardener, at which time all bets are off is far as durability, but personal preferance will take over, cost, time and money. "the usual suspects" My personal favorite Paint Dupont it costs a few bucks more but the results are worth it, GOOD LUCK! P.S. the respirator protects you from Catalyst/Hardener it contains Isocyanates, I sure hope I spelled that correctly. Be Very Careful with this stuff,

 

[Guest]

just don't get any paint on yer Honey's Volvo... she'll kick yer a$$ !!!


C'Mon Squirrelly !!! you can do it !!!

 

[MARTINSR]

I think you are "basically" on the right track but you are ahead of yourself and have simplified some subjects that deserve more discussion and MUCH more than this thread can handle.

Lets start with a few simple questions:

1. What exactly is your "expectations" of this project?

Answering that will lead us to what exactly you want to do as far as stripping the paint off.

2. What is under that rattle can paint?

If it is original or one paint job that is holding up pretty good and not peeling or the like, you can use it as a base for a nice "driver" paint job.

3. And this is a big one, do you have the TIME and the place for a prolonged project?

Stripping a car is a HUGE, make that HUGE, no HUGE job and can be VERY, VERY overwheming to most home hobbiest. doing it in a driveway can be the death sentence for a project.

Rad Racer, I HIGHLY recommend you strip that car ONE panel at a time. Strip the panel, get it into epoxy primer and move on the next day or next weekend to the next panel. Even better, strip one panel, do the body work (or epoxy first and filler over it, which ever you choose is fine) and get it in urethane primer, block it, THEN move onto the next panel.

There is NOTHING as overwhelming to a guy who hasn't done this stuff a lot to stand there looking at a bare metal car.

Brian

 

[burningsquirrels]

1. What exactly is your "expectations" of this project?

I want to dump the field car look and get a basic paint job going. I am looking to do basic bodywork, without replacing any panels just yet. I am keeping the cost down because I want the Nova on the road looking halfway decent, while being able to spend money where it's needed more than new panels, etc. I chose white because it's the most forgiving color. I am looking at this project as "practice" for when I want to go all out on the Nova in a few years, once the interior, drivetrain, and suspension is the way i want it.

2. What is under that rattle can paint?

The original blue paintjob it looks like. I went through in some places where it looks like some bondo had been put on, or the paint had flaked off.

3. And this is a big one, do you have the TIME and the place for a prolonged project?

I have both time and place. In the "two" car garage, i'll need wheel dollies to angle it diagonally, afterwhich I can proceed to vacuum/mop the garage and get it real clean, and prep the area for painting and getting all the plastic tarps, and towelled fans in place. I'll probably call in "sick" at work hehehe.


thanks for the response brian!

 

[MARTINSR]

1. With that expectation I would avoid stripping unless there are spots where it is absolutely nessisary. Just a "sand and seal" job is what you are after.

2. Any spots that are "flaking off" will need to sanded off and out until the edge feathers out nice and is no longer flaking. At that point those areas will need a surfacing primer sprayed over them.

3. GREAT, you'll need it!

Ok, this is how I would attack this project. I would take one panel at a time and sand it down to the original paint with 180 on a DA or other orbital sander. Don't cut thru to primer or metal if you don't need to. If you are lucky enough to find that panel free of dents or dings, prime it with urethane primer. It will now be ready to sand and paint (to be done all at one time with the rest of the panels).

If you find some dents or dings, fill them with filler, then urethane prime the area over the filler and block it with 180. Prime the whole panel with urethane after that.

After you have all panels done (you can do more than one at a time, if you feel after a few you can handle more than one at a time), you guide coat car one panel at a time and sand them with 320. After that, you prep the car for paint and seal and paint it at one time, no sanding between.

That is the wham bam run thru what you could do. There are variations to it (just ask a dozen painters and you will get 13 different opinions) but this one would work fine.

The ONLY reason I say to urethane primer over the first sanding is that to remove the rattle can you will probably need to go with a coarser paper than if it wasn't there. Priming the whole car is usually a serious overkill when doing a simple repaint. But in your case, I think it is the only way to get a decent job.

If you wanted to beat that, sand it with 220 or 280 to strip the rattle can off. When you find body work to do or flaking paint that needs some primer over it, prime just those spots. Then sand the whole car with 320 and seal it, skipping the urethane primer on every panel. This is also a "cut the chase" paint job.

It is not "hack" or anything like that. It is a "bestest" way for your project. Not the "best", that would be stripping it to bare metal and doing a full on restoration. Being you are not after that, this is a good alternative.

Brian

 

[Rad Racer]

Rad Racer, I HIGHLY recommend you strip that car ONE panel at a time. Strip the panel, get it into epoxy primer and move on the next day or next weekend to the next panel. Even better, strip one panel, do the body work (or epoxy first and filler over it, which ever you choose is fine) and get it in urethane primer, block it, THEN move onto the next panel.

There is NOTHING as overwhelming to a guy who hasn't done this stuff a lot to stand there looking at a bare metal car.

I have been. It is very slow going, and an amazing amount of work. But, I want it straight. I also don't want it coming up again so a quick-strip-paint-blast isn't going to happen. I am figuring that I have at least 6 months of work in front of me at my present rate(weekends only).

There isn't any reason that a hobbyist can't produce a quality paint job. But you had better be ready for some work.

 

[burningsquirrels]

Well, I finally went to the paint shop for the first time and what a learning experience. I picked up sandpaper for the 17" longboards, a soft sanding pad for the curved areas, and other misc. stuff. They recommended I sand down and do some filler and sand with 180. For primer, they gave me a 4:1:1 kit with 2k grey urethane primer with reducer and something else for $120 that I took home. Spray that on, and sand smooth, and use a guidecoat kit they have. Then, another coat of primer, and finish with 400. There's a single-stage kit they sell, duron's nesco (?) paint, which I will get a gallon for $125 ith hardener and reducer when I'm ready.

right now i'm working to remove paint around the rust holes in the rear windshield channel, and the 1" hole in the quarterpanel. I'll also have to loosen up the front end and get it all lined up. Then I think it'll be bondo time!

 

[1bad66ss]

Where's the pictures? My imagination isn't working very good this morning.

 

[burningsquirrels]

http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/tests/test4.JPG

that is pretty much what it looks like right now, though it's been paintchopped to see what a vinyl top would look like, and i've finished most of the sanding. i had also purposely unsanded the bottom because i also wanted to see what the bottom would look like if it was a different color, but like i said, it's all sanded now. i'll get some pics soon.

 

[burningsquirrels]

found some at work and uploaded them...

http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/DCP_0898.JPG
http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/DCP_0901.JPG
http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/DCP_0904.JPG
http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/DCP_0906.JPG
http://web.njit.edu/~gag0046/childslapping/paint/DCP_0907.JPG

 

[SS 396]

Duron,Are you Painting a House or a Car?

 

[burningsquirrels]

ha, that's what i thought too when she first said that. i thought they only made house paint, guess not.