Tips for repainting Celica body sheet metal...

[slidr]

Ok, I need to replace my driver's side fender due to an accident, so I ordered a fender from someone on this site.

Problem is, it's a different color than my car.



So I was planning on taking the paint off with paint thinner (mineral spirits), sand the metal, re-prime it, sand the primer, and then have it painted.



Is that the right order to do it?


Should I assume that the paint thinner will take off the paint and the primer leaving bare metal? Should I then sand the metal, spray the primer, and then sand the primer, and then paint it? Should I use more than one coat of primer?

How many color coats and clear coats should I use?




Anyone else have any other suggestions about how to go about this?


Thanks.

[KEnny Heiser 3]

QUOTE]Originally posted by slidr

Anyone else have any other suggestions about how to go about this?


Thanks. [/QUOTE]

If you want it to look half way presentable when its done , take it to a professional body shop . What the are you thinking trying to do this yourself with no expereince, lol ?do you know how long it will take you to strip that fender with some paint thinner hehehe. To do this right and get the fender to match it should be blended .Trust me bro you will be wishing you never messed with it once you see your fender when your done with it.


sinc:Kenny Heiser

[DopeCelicaGT]

Originally posted by KEnny Heiser 3
QUOTE]Originally posted by slidr

Anyone else have any other suggestions about how to go about this?


Thanks.

If you want it to look half way presentable when its done , take it to a professional body shop . What the hell are you thinking trying to do this yourself with no expereince, lol ?do you know how long it will take you to strip that fender with some paint thinner hehehe. To do this right and get the fender to match it should be blended .Trust me bro you will be wishing you never messed with it once you see your fender when your done with it.


sinc:Kenny Heiser [/QUOTE]

I agree with Kenny. If you have no experience with this sort of thing then let a pro do it. However, if you are in a bind then you could prep it for paint yourself. That would involve you stripping the old paint yourself, roughing the surface and then putting several coats of primer on it, then finish sanding the primer a final time before painting. As far as what you need to remove the old paint LOL, paint thinner is not going to cut it. You will need to go to the hardware store and buy some aircraft paint stripper. Wear some gloves and goggles when using this stuff. Basicall, you want to take the stripper and brush it on with a paint brush, let it sit for as long as the directions say, the paint will start to bubble off, then you take some kind of scraper (razor blade, paint scraper, whatever) and scrape off the bubbled up paint. Make sure you get it all off, then wash it in like Dawn dishwashing soap, make sure it is nice and dry and free of dust, fuzz or any other debri that could get into the primed surface. Once all of that is done you can prime it. This will require a little sanding at the end of the process just to smooth out the primer, but not a lot, paint needs something to bite into. Anyways using this method you will not have to perform any excessive sanding on the fender which can cause all kinds of final finish problems. However, if you think you can do the prepping process and need to save some dough then give it a try. Ask the shop that is going to paint if first though and make sure they will give your prepped piece a final lookover/fixing if need be before they paint it. However, remember the key to a good paint job is all in the prepping process, painting is the easy part.

Anyways I have just wasted my time telling you all of that but I thought you may want to learn something. In any case if the car is over 6 months old then the paint will have to blended for the car to look right. This will need to be done by a pro. because the front bumper, most of the door on the side the new fender, the hood, and possibly parts of the other side of the car will all have to be prepped and blended for the fianl outcome to look good. As already mentioned let a pro. do this or you will regret it in the end. Later.

Justin

[evil eye]

Quoting > you both. :D

[slidr]

Yeah, well we are trying to get this whole thing done in one night, and getting the piece prepped for painting will definately make that more likely.

The guy I am taking it to is having the paint matched, and is also spraying the color/clear coats, I am just laying down the primer.


I have prepped plastics for paint before, and have done a really good job as long as I take my time and do all of the necessary steps required...sanding, wet sanding, etc.

I will give this a try myself, and of course the guy is going to inspect the job before he slaps a color coat on it.

If it doesn't look right the first time, I can always sand it down and try it again. It's not like I can do anything that is permanent.

[DopeCelicaGT]

Originally posted by evil eye
Quoting > you both. :D

LOL, nah I think it is just lazy on my part as I just copied Kenny's quote LOL! Quoting > Kenny!

[DopeCelicaGT]

Originally posted by slidr
Yeah, well we are trying to get this whole thing done in one night, and getting the piece prepped for painting will definately make that more likely.

The guy I am taking it to is having the paint matched, and is also spraying the color/clear coats, I am just laying down the primer.


I have prepped plastics for paint before, and have done a really good job as long as I take my time and do all of the necessary steps required...sanding, wet sanding, etc.

I will give this a try myself, and of course the guy is going to inspect the job before he slaps a color coat on it.

If it doesn't look right the first time, I can always sand it down and try it again. It's not like I can do anything that is permanent.

Yes but you want to keep any sanding on any kind of body panel down to a minimum.

[portopotti]

Originally posted by slidr
Pushi moj kuratc.

That made me laugh!

[slidr]

Originally posted by portopotti
That made me laugh! ;)

[evil eye]

Is that Croatian? Sure looks like it, too bad I'm not good at reading it. I think it says, "Suck my ...." :gap:

<---Croat here

[DopeCelicaGT]

What in the hell are you guys talking about? Where in the hell do you see that posted? I am lost!

[evil eye]

It's the witty title under his username, "slidr." ;)

[DopeCelicaGT]

Oh, duh I am completely blind.

[portopotti]

Originally posted by evil eye
Is that Croatian? Sure looks like it, too bad I'm not good at reading it. I think it says, "Suck my ...." :gap:

<---Croat here

How do I know more croatian than you??

[slidr]

Originally posted by evil eye
Is that Croatian? Sure looks like it, too bad I'm not good at reading it. I think it says, "Suck my ...." :gap:

<---Croat here

Yeah, I've been dating a croat for like 5 years now.


It actually means "smoke" my...

I think that's the closest thing to suck in their language.


BTW, I'm suprised you guys didn't call it Bosnian. Most people do, at least in the city I live in. We've got the most Bosnians/Croats here than anywhere in the US I believe.

[portopotti]

Originally posted by slidr
Yeah, I've been dating a croat for like 5 years now.


It actually means "smoke" my...

I think that's the closest thing to suck in their language.


BTW, I'm suprised you guys didn't call it Bosnian. Most people do, at least in the city I live in. We've got the most Bosnians/Croats here than anywhere in the US I believe.


Yeah, it doesn't mean suck, it's smoke. Joe is croatian, and his cousin is my best friend, so that's the only reason i knew.

[slidr]

Ha! Yeah, the worst statements in the language are the first ones I learned.

[DopeCelicaGT]

Originally posted by slidr
Ha! Yeah, the worst statements in the language are the first ones I learned.

That's usually the way it goes. That is how I started to learn SPanish LOL.

[evil eye]

Originally posted by portopotti
Yeah, it doesn't mean suck, it's smoke. Joe is croatian, and his cousin is my best friend, so that's the only reason i knew.

Yup, that's right. I knew it was smoke, but it's to be taken in the sense of suck.

And no we don't call ourselves or the language Bosnian, because that's not who we are. We're croatian and so is the language. :D

[evil eye]

Originally posted by portopotti
How do I know more croatian than you??

I know it's sad. I only understand it, I can't really speaketh.