Painting over a perfectly fine paint job...questions....

[Lucky Lager]

Ok I could not find any info on this....

For you Pro's out there, I am curious about the steps and procedures for painting a bug with no rust, no body work needed and a recent paint job (that is nice)

I am thinking about buying a bug that looks flawless but I do not like its color (I won't mention which to prevent a possible insult to someone who may love the color)

The only thing Id want to do to it would be to re-shoot it a different color. Curious if someone could share the best avenue of procedures for such a task.

Thanks
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[E-boyz67]

If the paint is as you say then pull all the glass,trim, handles,bumpers and whatever that need to be removed to get a quality paint job. Clean,sand tape and paint. Are you going to paint it yourself or a shop?
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[Lucky Lager]

(Yeah I will tear down, rubber, hardware etc.)


Im going to shoot it, Im actually good at shooting paint as I have done several friends' cars but I don't do much prep work. I have sprayers/compressors and kind of got roped into painting a car for the first time, well when it turned out great, it led to another and another etc. But I have never had a car with a great paint job that just needed to be changed.....

I guess I just need to know what process for prep is best? scuff? sanding? which grit? how much sanding?

Im a painter by accident, don't prep, mostly because I don't have much free time, but I can make time for my own ride.... any help is appreciated.
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In the wild, health care is, Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.

[jspbtown]

I use 400 for solids and 600 for metallics, but that is over primer always (I always have lots of bodywork).

I am not 100% sure if that would apply to scuffing a topcoat.

[UreKem Paints]

It would be good to ask the owner what type of paint was used to paint it and if it was an activated product. Un-activated acrylic and alkyd enamels can be sensitive to recoat and if you just scuff and shoot with more color it may lift the old finish, especially if you go back with basecoat over it. If it is a good activated finish you should have no problem just scuffing to knock the gloss off and applying more color over it. If not, you may have to seal it first with a good activated sealer.

As far as what grit to use its best to ask your paint supplier since many have slightly different recommendations...good luck
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[Lucky Lager]

Thanks! Why do people pick the dumbest colors???!!! Lol
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In the wild, health care is, Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.

[E-boyz67]

The fastest is to da sand with 320 and make sure you sand through,then use a grey scuff pad with Ajax to clean. Shoot a sealer then paint. Have you painted base coat, clear coat? That would be better.
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[Matt K.]

I have painted over nice paint jobs without problems but I usually do a test part first. Take a small part like your taillight housing and prep it for the paint you will use and paint it. As you are spraying it look for any type of reaction between the two. If the paint is nice I most times do not use a sealer as I do not want the added build up of material. If your car is nice and straight I would not use a D.A. sander as it causes tiny ripples down the panels. Try to sand with sanding blocks when possible to keep the panels straight.....Good Luck!
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[Lucky Lager]

Great idea. That makes sense. Thanks!
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In the wild, health care is, Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.

[unknown69]

It will surely involve a lot of work. You will need to sand down the paint up to the primer but before that its a must to cover and tape all glasses, trims and seals or better yet remove them.

[Campy]

Years ago, I had to repaint the 1963 bus that I had just fully restored and painted with single stage paint (To make it legal with the air resources board in Calif., I had to use a Devilbliss HVLP paint gun in the paint booth I had rented and, no matter how we adjusted the paint gun, there was some orange peel). Before I repainted the body, I cleaned the body with wax and grease remover, blew it off, then I went over it with 500 grit wet sandpaper to get rid of the orange peel, then 600 grit wet sandpaper. That scuffed up the paint prior to repainting the body.
Before painting, since I had installed the front and rear windows with new seals, instead of removing them I used a plastic knife to lift up the rubber seal and poke fairly thick electrical wire between the seal and body, going all of the way around the seal. This lifted the edge of the seal away from the body; blue masking tape was then put on the underside of the seal and around the edge to the outside od the seal. When I repainted the body, paint went on the body underneath the seal. When the paint was fully dry, I removed the tape from the window seals and pulled out the electrical wires. Using this method, there was no ridge of paint along the edge of the seals.
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