How Do I Get A SMOOTH Finish?

Everybody wants their paint finish to be smooth and shiny and there are a few things to keep in mind to get your finish as smooth as possible.

First, make sure and look at the slides showing the difference between a spray job where there has been no finish sanding, versus a job where detail sanding and polishing has been done after spraying.

START HERE: http://www.neilslade.com/carphotos/1photo.html

One thing most people don't realize is that most factory car finishes are NOT completely "flat/smooth" like glass. Next time you are outside or in a parking lot, look carefully at the surface of cars. Even new cars made by major manufactures generally have some ripple and orange peel to them. Look at how the light reflects off a door, hood, or roof. Surprise, it's not as smooth as glass.

Most people don't notice this slight amount of ripple because at a distance of a few feet, it's not that noticeable, and it's perfectly acceptable. Even current production BMW's and Porches, as well as other much less expensive cars will show this amount of ripple. On the other hand, you may find a 70's Alfa Romeo Spider that has a finish as smooth as glass- because it's been hand sanded and polished.

You can get a similar to typical factory finish if you simply apply your paint correctly to a properly prepared and smooth car surface.

For show cars you may want to do the ultimate in finish sanding and polishing, but for most of us driving more utilitarian vehicles, it will not be necessary to go to this length of work.

Here are just a few pointers:

1) Start out with a completely smooth base surface before painting. This can be either bare metal, repaired surface with urethane body filler, primed surface, or even previously painted surface.

The surface should be sanded with a minimum of 220 grit waterproof paper, without any sanding marks showing.

If you use an electric sander at the final stage of sanding, make sure no sanding marks show, otherwise, they will show in  your finished job. The cure is to do your final sanding by HAND.

After sanding with 220, you may sand again with finer paper, such as 320, 400, or even finer depending on how crazy you are  :-)  Remember, paint will NOT hide anything, but rather, make your surface preparation MORE visible.

2) PRACTICE PAINTING WITH YOUR SPRAY GUN.

Don't practice on your car, please. Get some horizontal and vertical surfaces that you can practice on if you have not painted before.

Make sure you've practiced or learned to adjust your spray gun for the proper pattern.

Make sure and read:

http://www.neilslade.com/CarPainting/compressor.html

and

http://www.neilslade.com/CarPainting/HVLP.html

3) Apply the right balance between WET application and DRY application--  I.e., you want to apply enough paint so that it will LEVEL OUT SMOOTH before curing (drying) but not so much that it drips and runs.

I.e. PRACTICE first.

One helpful tip is to ask for a SLOWER reducer/hardener that you mix with the color or clear.  This will allow more time for the paint to level out, without having to apply quite so much paint that would otherwise run or drip.  Bear in mind that if you use a slower reducer/hardener, it WILL tend to run easier in low painting temperatures.  Conversely, if it is 45 degrees outside, you want to use a faster reducer/hardener so it doesn't drip and run before setting.

4) You can also HAND SAND BETWEEN COATS (using 220 or finer) if you feel as though you've made an error or have applied a less than perfectly smooth layer of paint.

You can sand between any color coat, and any clear coat.

Make sure and wait for the paint to be DRY-- 20-30 minutes.

Try to repaint within a couple of hours of the previous coat- don't wait more than a day certainly, or the paint will probably not adhere well to the previous coat.

DO NOT SAND THE FINAL COLOR COAT before applying clear IN ANY CASE.  Why? Primarily because the sanding marks will change the way the light refracts and reflects, and your color will be off. Also, there is both a chemical and electrostatic bond that needs to occur between the color and clear so that they stick together.

4) The most gloss will occur when you do no sanding at all of the final coat of clear (or paint in the case of single stage formulas). Once you sand, it will never be as glossy as unsanded and polished paint. So, it's a toss up between gloss, and flat smooth surface.

If you paint the last coat and leave it alone, it will be reallllllllly glossy, but the surface may not be as smooth as glass. So-  it's a decision you have to make. Not doing final sanding and polishing and polishing and polishing is WAY easier. But if you want that perfectly glass smooth surface, you will have a lot of hand sanding/polishing to do- you decide.

Free Information Below

and Great Online Download and DVD Materials for  YOU!

Above, author Neil Slade

YOU Can Paint Your Own Car

Do A Great Professional Quality Job

Save A Ton of Money

And Enjoy It!

FOREWORD  

How To Paint Your Car- Fun!

First of all let me say I am delighted that this page has proven so popular, and that it has been the #1 page on Yahoo and Google (when it WORKS) for the search "HOW TO PAINT A CAR" and similar searches  for several years now. (I recommend the Yahoo search engine these days).

The page has LOTS of unsolicited testimonials to show what people like you are getting from this page and my materials-- so  you know this is REAL, and really USEFUL info on how to paint your car.

There have been literally dozens, perhaps hundred of How To Paint Your Car web sites that have sprung up since I first published this page in 2003. Unfortunately for the budding person interested in learning how to paint your car, many of these sites are poorly done, some impressive looking ones contain obvious mistakes , others leave out things "till next month" (!) and the worst thing, is virtually most pages showing up near the top of search engines are primarily commercial advertising platforms.

You won't have to suffer through the same bad advice I was subject to when I first started. Congratulations! If you find it helpful, then you can get further inexpensive and totally affordable online instant download information and/or the DVD. I help you, you help me survive, and I keep improving this page and materials. Human to human here, :-)

Make sure and read my additional notes at the bottom.

You can end up with a far better paint job than your local cheap OR expensive outside service. Why? Because you may care more than the actual guy working on your car for $12.50 an hour.

Above all, have fun, and enjoy your finished paint job~!

We have now created a very practical and foolproof 80 page illustrated manual (color photo version download), 62 minute online video download, and/or DVD/CD that you may purchase and keep with you out in the garage and watch on your computer and/or DVD player - so please consider picking one of these up. These will be priceless for guiding and helping you. (I keep the price inexpensive, because these days, everyone is eager to save a little money where ever they can.) So, enjoy!

Free information below on this page...  :-)

Also of great interest:

THINK and INK  Our New Brain Inkjet Ink Tests--
Save 75% $$  just by using your brain

THE REAL POOP ON PAINTING YOUR CAR

The reason I learned how to do car painting is because I owned a rare collector car that would have cost me $3000-$4000  minimum to have the body work and paint done- and it needed it. AND, I could not afford this.

So, I contacted one of my friends, perhaps the best expert on fiberglass repair and body painting anywhere, Mr. Vic Cooper in Denver. He regularly repairs and repaints the most expensive, the most exotic passenger and race cars, from Lotuses to Lambos to hot rods. He taught me how to do this over a long period of time. Since I am a writer and film maker (and he and other experts I knew are not), I translated everything I learned from him into a form that people could easily learn from right off the web. I further got regular advice from an exceptionally good paint shop in Denver that specializes in automotive refinishing.

I spent months learning what works, and what doesn't work- and when I was done I had done my first car, my white Lotus that you see on the book cover. It turned out perfectly. And the method I used can be applied to any vehicle, fancy or plain, big or small, boat or car, truck, bike, or motorcycle.

There are tons of BAD books and DVDs that look good on the surface, but in practical use were complicated and had stuff in there that was unnecessary. I wanted to make material available that WORKED as advertised, and was not overly complicated or poorly written.

You may find yourself in a similar position looking at painting your vehicle- but without having done this previously, or have done it making many mistakes and not having things turn out so good. You may not know anyone who knows how to do this, or has the time to show you.

I will show you, because it is my business teaching people- and I've been a teacher for 35 years.

If you decide it is best to paint your car yourself, you will need a spray gun, a compressor, the paint, some miscellaneous small tools, sandpaper, and a certain amount of patience. You can do it in a car port, garage, paint booth, or even in your driveway- you decide what is best for you.

You can borrow or rent the gun and compressor and save money that way, and pay about $100 for the paint and sandpaper, and if you read the instructions you can come up with a decent paint job on most cars. You will also need odds and ends which you may or may not have, light solvents, gloves, an air respirator, and other small items necessary for painting.

Or, you can spend about $250 on the gun and compressor, own it permanently and do lots of things with it for the rest of your life- like paint your house, air clean stuff, run other tools with it, etc.

If you have a special car or a collector car, plan on spending a lot of time sanding and re-sanding, and fine sanding, and polishing, and correcting your mistakes, and doing body work.

If you don't have an extra $3000 sitting around, this may be your only choice- AND you can do it, and come up with an absolutely gorgeous job. I will show you how, and my methods come from THE BEST EXPERTS possible.

If you just have an old car and would rather do it yourself than spend $300 or $400 at the budget shops for a mediocre job that they will do, you can do it quickly and end up with a finish as good if not better than such shops, and spend a minimum amount of time doing it- although you will still need the materials and equipment you don't already own, and a place to do it.

You can get the download or DVD (it is dirt cheap), or just read through the basics on this page  and get a good idea of what you will need to do.

Okay....you decide. No bull here. The best painting adventure to you!

EASY PAINT YOUR CAR HOME

*         *         *

Welcome! to

To Easy Paint Your Car

How To Paint A Car, Motorcycle, Truck, Bike, or Anything Else- All Levels

Free Information Below

and Great Online Download and DVD Materials for  YOU!

Above, author Neil Slade

YOU Can Paint Your Own Car

Do A Great Professional Quality Job

Save A Ton of Money

And Enjoy It!