How to paint a car with your own hands
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The attractiveness of the appearance of the car is largely determined by the quality of body painting and the state of the paintwork (LCP). A brand new sparkling car pleases the eye of a happy owner. But gradually the sun, water, pebbles and sand flying out from under the wheels, small and not very traffic accidents do their job. The paint fades, small scratches and chips appear, and there it is not far from the first signs of corrosion. And if you can still come to terms with the loss of beauty, then rust is like a cancerous tumor that can lead to the need to replace individual body elements. Comparing the cost of painting with the prices of body parts, you have to admit that painting is still cheaper. However, painting is also not a cheap pleasure. Therefore, many, having familiarized themselves with the prices, think about how to do it on their own. Well, nothing is impossible. The work is painstaking, requiring patience and accuracy. But if there is enthusiasm, time and hands growing from where it should, you can try.
Varieties of painting
We can talk about full, partial or local painting.
In the first case, the body is painted completely on the outside and partially on the inside - where the paint should be regular. This type of painting is used when the paintwork is burned out and cracked throughout the body or there is a significant amount of damage in different places.
Partial painting involves working with a single element of the body, it can be, for example, a door or a hood cover.
Local staining is done to hide minor scratches or damage.
For partial or local painting, the correct choice of paint tone is of particular importance, otherwise the painted area or body element will stand out against the general background.
If you are going to completely change the color of the body, remember that then you will have to issue new registration documents for the car.
What is required for work
Equipment and tools:
- Keys and screwdrivers for dismantling and re-assembly of hinged elements;
- Compressor;
- Spray gun;
- Priming gun;
- Sander;
- Rubber spatulas for applying putty;
- Scraper;
- Stameska;
- Brush
If you want to save yourself from unnecessary torment in the process of work and get an acceptable result, the compressor and spray gun must be of good quality.
Required consumables:
- Dye;
- Automotive putty;
- Anticorrosive primer;
- Varnish;
- masking tape;
- Polyethylene film to cover surfaces not to be painted;
- Rags for wiping;
- Sandpaper with different grains;
- White Spirit;
- Washing off old paint;
- Rust cleaner;
- polishing paste.
Protective equipment:
- Painting mask;
- Respirator;
- Gloves.
Many materials used in the process of painting a car are very toxic, so in no case should you neglect protective equipment. It is especially important to wear a mask when spraying paint from an aerosol can, even if you are working in a well-ventilated area or outdoors.
The choice of paint, putty and primer
If you don’t want to throw away money in vain and redo all the work again, paint, varnish, putty and primer must be selected from one manufacturer. This will minimize the possibility of incompatibility issues.
A single layer coating will give a matte finish and provide body protection from external influences.
Additional protection and shine will be given by varnish, which is applied over the base coat of paint.
A three-layer coating is also possible, when another layer of enamel with reflective particles is applied between the base layer and the varnish. High-quality repair of such a coating in garage conditions is not possible.
For self-painting, you need to buy acrylic paint, which dries at room temperature. Some types of automotive enamels require heat treatment in a drying chamber, in which the air is heated to a temperature of about 80°C.
In garage conditions, a high-quality coating with such enamel will not work.
If the car is completely painted, the exact match to the original color does not matter. But with partial or local painting, even a slight difference in tone will be unpleasantly striking. The color code and other technical information are indicated on a special nameplate on the body. True, it is not always possible to find this nameplate quickly, it can be located in different places. You can refer to the service book, which usually has an insert with various codes for this particular car - VIN code, equipment codes, engine, gearbox, and so on. Including there should be a code for the color of the paint.
However, this does not always help determine the exact color, since the paint may fade or darken over time. In any case, it is better to seek help from a specialist, providing him with a suitable sample, for example, a gas tank hatch. A professional colorist will select the exact color using a spectrophotometer or a special palette.
Fading of body paint color can be uneven, so different localized areas may require a different shade of paint. In this case, for the correct selection, the colorist will need to leave the car entirely.
It is better to purchase a synthetic finishing putty, specially designed for body work. It has a fine-grained structure and provides good surface leveling. For deep scratches and dents, you will need a universal putty.
What should be the place to work
The room should be well ventilated and spacious enough - at least 4 by 6 meters.
In winter, heating must be provided, as the normal temperature for painting a car is around 20°C.
An important factor is good lighting. You should be able to see what you are doing and be able to distinguish between shades of color. You may need to purchase one or two spotlights.
The garage must be clean. Remove cobwebs and crumbling plaster from the ceiling and walls. Do a wet cleaning. Moisten the floor, walls and ceiling with water to minimize the chance of dust on freshly painted surfaces.
Try to get rid of mosquitoes, flies and other insects. Use a mosquito net if necessary.
Definition of the scope of work
Any type of painting consists of several stages.
The first step is to wash the car and remove all dirt. After that, it is necessary to make a thorough inspection, identify any damage to the paintwork and mark with a marker or chalk the places where there are scratches, chips, cracks or dents.
If the dent is small, and the paintwork is not damaged, then it may not be necessary to paint and everything will be limited to straightening. The same applies to shallow scratches, under which the metal is not visible, then it will be enough just to polish the damaged area.
In some cases, fixing dents, on the contrary, can be too complicated and expensive. Then you will need to conduct a financial assessment and decide whether it is worth replacing the part with a new one. If there is a need to purchase body parts for cars of Chinese brands, you can do this in the online store.
Preparatory stage
The part to be painted should be removed, if possible, or the hindering attachments should be dismantled. Taping moldings, seals and other non-paintable parts with adhesive tape or masking tape is not the best solution, since moisture can remain under them after washing, which can subsequently ruin the paintwork. If possible, it is best to remove them.
Damaged areas must be cleaned to metal with a chisel, wire brush or other suitable tool. You should carefully remove the old primer and rust, and then carefully process the places being prepared for painting with sandpaper, gradually changing from coarse to finer. Moreover, each shift should be within 100 grit units - this is the general rule for using sandpaper at any stage of work.
As a result, the transitions from damaged areas to normal paintwork should be as smooth as possible.
For reliable cleaning of corrosion centers in cracks, pores and other hard-to-reach places, there are chemical rust cleaners. To facilitate the removal of old paint, you can use a special flushing fluid.
The abrasive grinding step is very labor intensive, but it is extremely important. The end result largely depends on the quality of its implementation.
The areas prepared for painting should be degreased with white spirit, and at the same time remove dust. Do not use gasoline or thinners to degrease or remove greasy contaminants.
If any straightening or other body work is required, it must be completed before proceeding to the next step.
Puttying
This step is also very important. Puttying is used to level the surface to be painted. Small dents are also filled with putty.
As a tool, it is better to use rubber spatulas. They may need several pieces of different sizes, depending on the size of the treated areas.
Putty should be prepared in small portions and used immediately, as it hardens quickly. It should be applied with quick cross movements, pressing lightly with a spatula to remove air bubbles. As soon as putty starts to clump, it becomes unusable, throw it away and mix a new batch. Drying time is usually 30-40 minutes. In a hot room, drying may be faster.
The thickness of the putty layer should not exceed 5 mm. It is best to apply 2-3 thin coats, allowing each coat to dry. This will eliminate cracking and subsidence, which are very likely when applying putty in one thick layer.
Completely dried putty must be very carefully cleaned with sandpaper so that its surface is even with the undamaged paintwork. If the putty sticks to the sandpaper, it means that it has not yet dried out enough. For large surfaces, it is convenient to use a grinder, gradually changing the abrasive wheels from coarse to very fine. Sometimes after sanding it may be necessary to apply another coat.
Avoid getting water on the putty, so as not to cause it to swell. Due to the hygroscopicity of the putty, you should also not work with it in a room with high humidity (more than 80%)
Before priming, treat the cleaned putty with white spirit.
Anti-corrosion priming
Without a primer, the paint will inevitably begin to swell and crack over time. All work will be in vain. An anti-corrosion primer will additionally protect the steel body from rust.
The primer should be applied in a thin layer, slightly capturing undamaged areas of the paintwork. At the same time, the primer will fill the pores and the remaining irregularities of the putty.
After complete drying, the primer must be sanded and cleaned of dust and debris. At least two coats should be applied, each of which should be dried and treated in the same way. The drying time of the primer under normal conditions is 2 ... 4 hours, but it may be different, check this in the instructions for use.
For applying the primer, you can use a primer gun with a nozzle diameter of 1,7 ... 1,8 mm, and for grinding - a grinder. When sanding, it is important not to overdo it and not completely erase the primer. The primer is also available in aerosol packaging.
Preparation for direct painting
Once again check that the machine is free of dust, then use masking tape to cover the areas that should not be painted, and wrap the wheels with a protective film.
It is very difficult to remove paint from plastic and rubber, so it is better to remove plastic and rubber parts. If this is not possible, cover them with a special protective tape. In extreme cases, masking tape or plastic wrap is suitable.
Surfaces prepared for painting should be wiped again with white spirit and wait until it dries.
Before painting, the car should not stand in the sun, so that the metal of the body does not heat up.
Painting
The enamel must be diluted with a solvent to the desired consistency, which is necessary for using the spray gun. To check, dip a thin metal rod (a nail, for example) into the paint and count how many drops fall from it per second. For normal operation, there should be 3 ... 4.
Diluted paint must be filtered, for example, through a nylon stocking, so that lumps do not fall into the spray bottle.
The optimum nozzle diameter depends on the viscosity of the paint. You may need to experiment on some test surface. To begin with, try a nozzle with a diameter of 1,2 or 1,4 mm, set the pressure to 2,5 ... 3,0 atmospheres. Aerosol enamel usually needs to be shaken for a few minutes.
Before painting, check once again that there are no dust or foreign particles on the surfaces to be painted.
If you have not forgotten about protective equipment - a respirator, paint mask, goggles, gloves - then you can proceed directly to painting.
When fully painting the entire car, you should start with internal and hidden surfaces, then process the roof, doors and pillars, then the hood and trunk, and finally the wings.
Spraying paint is carried out with uniform, smooth movements up and down from a distance of 15 ... 20 centimeters.
Two, or better, three coats should be applied, with an interval of approximately 30 minutes to dry. The paint for each new layer should be slightly more liquid, and the distance from the nozzle to the surface to be painted should be slightly increased - up to 30 ... 35 cm for the third layer.
If, during the application of paint, debris or an insect got on it, it should be carefully removed with tweezers, and it is possible to correct the defect only after complete drying.
At room temperature, it takes at least 24 hours to dry completely, but it is better to wait two days. If it's cold in the garage, the paint will take longer to dry. Do not dry a painted car in the sun.
Do not forget to rinse the spray gun immediately after use, otherwise the paint that has dried from the inside will significantly impair its operation or even disable it.
Varnishing
When the paint is completely dry, a clear varnish is applied over it.
The varnish is prepared in accordance with the instructions and filled into the gun. Usually 2-3 coats are applied, drying for 10 minutes. For each new layer, a small amount of thinner must be added to the varnish to make it more liquid.
Polishing
It is worth finishing the work with polishing, especially if small defects arose during the painting process, for example, due to small specks or insects.
First, the surface is matted with fine emery until the defects are completely removed. Then, to obtain a glossy sheen, polishing is carried out using a polishing machine. It starts with an abrasive paste and ends with a finishing polish.
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