need advice please

S

Steves69LS3

hey guys since i built a nice paintbooth i have been getting floods of people with project cars that would like me to paint their cars. altho i am pretty decent at doing full overall jobs, i have never repainted a small area and blending.

i would like as much info as you guys can provide in learning how to blend paint correctly. it is a 2011 hyundai genesis coupe that was bumped on the rear wheel well and bumper. the scrapes are a little bit bigger than the size of a quarter and on the plastic bumper it was taken down all the way to the black plastic.

i will be using all SPI products except of course the color:mad: lol.
if also you can steer me in the right direction as to what adhesion promotors or any flex additive i need for the bumper. it is at the part where it meets the metal quarter panel. i will try to get some pics

I really would like to do the job good and correctly so if i can be led to any youtube vids showing how to blend color and clear it would be worth millions to me!!

thank you so much everyone

Have a awesome FOURTH!!

Steven
 
if you look around this forum there is already a detailed thread about it!!
 
Steve,
Pretty simple to do, an example is say you have a one inch spot on a bumper, just prep the whole bumper, some use a gray scuff pad and a sanding agent like scuff and stuff, some like me what I'm doing this week may 600 wet the panel.

Mix base like normal, if a solid color you can tune the gun down and fog in but tri coats like I'm doing, I need the gun set like I sprayed the car so it will match and blend good.

The fender where I have a 1/4 inch gouge from putting engine in, the swipe of base will be about a foot long when done.
1 coat silver and three coats of tint, let dry and tack whole fender and clear.

Of course you can call me while you are doing it if you need help.
 
think of it like a fade paint job. you have to fade the repair out so any color difference will not be noticeable . over the years i have had to do the whole side of a car to repair a door. paint the door then unpaper the fender and qrt and fade back on them . then clear it all. it is a huge pia sometimes. reason i stopped doing it 30 years ago.
 
Make sure you charge enough for these jobs so that it's worth your while. You don't want a reputation (even among friends) as the guy who will do a lot of quality work for free, or you really will have a never-ending stream of "customers"
 
it's called being a paint whore :) when you start out in this you think wow look at all the work i'm getting. believe me it is because you are doing it dirt cheap . not only are you working for nothing but you are hurting the trade . tightwads who do not want to pay what it is worth are always looking for a newbe to work over. they promise all kinds of work and are going to make you a hit. what they are going to do is screw you to death and take the profit for themselves. then comes the good buddies with insurance checks for you to sign off on. they keep the money and dont fix the car but you get stuck paying taxes on the check. if you signed it it's yours and the insurance company will damn sure file on you . charge the same as the other tradesmen in your area.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. It's a home made booth. I'm in no way looking to do insurance work and am not intending to hurt the trade. Heck after these few cars I may not ever do another lol.
 
if your doing the work you deserve to be paid. people will take advantage of a guy new to this . whether you have been at it for 40 years or 2 years it should pay the same. i would rather sweep floors than do it cheap.
 
What I'm asking for full re-dos is $2500 plus the cost of paint and misc materials. I understand what you are saying shine but I'm not putting myself out there just a few close car buddies that just don't have the means or big money for a nice paint job. I actually enjoy the work and won't be doing it long enough so it starts stressing me out like my current career lol.
I really enjoy everyone's input here and that alone gives me lots of confidence jumping into something new
 
Sounds about right to me. 1 week to strip it, 1 week to prep it, 1 week to paint and buff it.
Now I just need to raise my rates.
120 hrs x 20 = 2400 current rate at which I feel hurried, underpaid, and unappreciated
120 hrs x 35 = 4200 What I think sounds fair for a part-timer but am afraid to charge because I'll get no work
120 hrs x 75 = 9000 Should I dare to dream this big?

I think I need to finish my R/T and get it out to a couple of shows. Then when they ask what I charge I'll drop the big numbers on them. LOL
 
stripping and bodywork are not part of a paint job. a paint job starts with final prep and sealing.
 
i bill separate for everything. priming and blocking is part of resurfacing. i do not include it in paint labor.
a complete body rehab will eat up 200-300 hours depending on the car.
 
to spray the aftermarket bumper will i only need an adhesion promotor or do i also need a flex additive??
 
Depends on the paint system. SPI clear needs no flex additive, basecoat requires activator on flexible parts. Base should NOT be applied directly to adpro, use a sealer between adpro and base. Some sealers are not made for flexible parts, or may require a flex additive. SPI epoxy is OK as a sealer for flexible parts.
 
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