Help for a novice doing first paint job, please.

Evil_Fiz

Promoted Users
I have been consuming all the advice I can find on this site and feel better about painting my own car. I have learned the following:
- SPI products are well respected and trusted so I will use SPI Epoxy, primer, reducers, cleaners, catalysts, and clear.
- Motobase is a decent BC to use under SPI clear. I have chosen a 2013 Toyota Prius C color: Summer rain Metalic - Color code: Toyota 774, Motobase M5-1400.0 Aqua P. M. (I am still consuming information on how to spray metallic)
- You can never prep or clean too much (Paint prep threads have been bookmarked).
- A good gun is important. I am considering the Iwata W-400 and the DeVilbiss FLG-5 as my BC and CC gun (I may even spring for an LPH400 and sell it later). I will be getting the TCP Global gun for high build and 2K primers with 1.8 and 2.5 tips
- I m not done collecting information but the one bit I have not found is a step-by-step procedure on how to actually paint the car. I have searched here and elsewhere.

May I trouble the community for a guide on what steps to follow once the entire car has been sprayed with the initial application of epoxy over bare metal? The metalwork has been done but the car will need filler in some areas. I am mainly interested in the order to follow and how to address jambs, firewalls, and channels. Interior painting is also a mystery to me.

Any advice or details you are willing to share will be greeted by appreciation and gratitude.

The car for reference
ROTISSERIE_IN_USE_01.jpg


ROTISSERIE_IN_USE_012.jpg



Cheers,
Emil
 
Perhaps we can address your questions specifically. What you asked in your initial post was pretty broad and would be rather time consuming to answer in one shot.

As for your question about work order. Once your metal work is complete and all paint and rust removed, working from the inside out is a good idea. Or work progressively section to section. There are no hard and fast rules to it.
 
Have you read this?


Don
I have read it and bookmarked it as well as many other relevant posts on this site.

@Chris_Hamilton: I will attempt to be specific.
I have seen references to "Jambing" and understand the term to mean painting areas such as door sills and the surrounding opening as well as the channels around lids and fenders. In my case, the headlight buckets and "nostrils" would probably qualify as well.
What I'm unclear on is:
- How do I go about doing this? Do I base and clear the areas and then sand back the overspray on the surrounding exterior panels before painting those?
- When I spray the interior, should I do the door openings as well in the same pass? Or should I base and clear the interior first then do the door openings?
- Where would the line of demarcation be between the various areas?
- Are there any tricks for painting hard-to-reach cavities such as behind the dash and the inner rear quarters?

Thanks for your time guys,
Emil
 
Many different ways to do it. Most of the time the interior is done first and masked off. Door, hood, and trunk openings are sprayed with the outside. Doors, hood, and trunk sprayed separately, if color allows. This is just one scenario, and no definite right or wrong way of doing it. The only trick I know for difficult ares is to use a touch up gun.
 
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I am just a backyard hack but I avoid prepainting and back taping jambs like the plague. I either paint the doors off the car and paint the jambs along with the shell or I hang the doors and paint the jambs while painting the shell by opening the doors. What I can’t get with the doors open I can reach from the outside with the doors closed. This works well and I get decent results.

I also paint the interior first and mask it off for the rest of the job.

Don
 
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