Paint and Molding

I had some questions for anyone who does their own paint. What companies do you prefer to use for paint, primer, and clearcoat. Also does anyone know if DuraGlass is just fiberglass or is it body filler. I'm working on doing a nice show setup for my Eclipse but the whole paint thing is new to me and I'm still somewhat new to molding and fiberglassing. I want to do a candy base color and I know that the first coat of color has to be different from the primary color. What else needs to be done for a candy color?

House of color makes great paint.

I'm considering painting my car, too. I hear it's hard to do, and expensive. If you're interested in the basics of painting, this is the best writeup I've found clicky (http://www.layitlow.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=131465).

HoK makes some nice stuff that's showish. I think their paints are a little too over the top, myself. They are popular for candies. The problem is that a nice candy takes several coats to give it that opaque depth. At the prices HoK charges, that gets expensive. If you fuck it up, which is easy to do, then it's a bit of money down the drain. Try starting with an easier paint job, first. Your other option is to take the car to someone else. A nice candy can take a week in a paint booth, easy.

Duraglass is filler, I believe.

Not that it mattered for this question, but try putting your car's info in your sig for future posts. Good luck with your project, too.

I think the biggest part of doing the whole thing is the part that if you screw up you have to start from scratch. I've laid paint before and I know what it's going to take to do the job it's just that I've never laid candy on a car before. I have the booth and the time doesn't mater because the car doesn't run yet. Buy the way does anyone know where I can get a cheap block for the 420a I need the Entire lower end. If someone has one for sale then please hit me up.

a candy is very different from a basecoat/clearcoat. everything has to be perfectly even and in uniform otherwise you'll get dark and light spots. i personally wouldn't suggest spraying candy yourself unless you've taken classes for it. it's not like a normal paintjob.

since its kinda the same type of question. does anybody know about sprayinging the chrome chameleon paints? i want to eventually make my car black with chameleon ghost flames but i dont know if they are any different then regular paint or not. also should i spray the flames before or after the clearcoat?

i don't know about chrome kameleon paint but i sprayed some chrome illusion and it went on just like regular paint.

you can do it either way you want to, base and then clear followed by ghost flames and then clear again will give you a much shinier look because there's more layers of clear, as long as you let the clear dry for 48 hours before taping off the ghost flames. also, ghost flames aren't just white flames. true ghost flames are sprayed in a pearl paint and they are only visible at certain angles. there was a great write-up about them somewhere, i'll see if i can find it for you.

k i basicly mean where its a outline of flames then fades into the body color on the inside of the flames

no, if you look at it straight on you can't see them but then as you walk around the vehicle you can see them a little more and more each time. like if you drove by someone, they wouldn't be able to see them if you were directly in front of them but as you drove away you would see them more and more. that's why they're called "ghost" flames, you only see them from certain angles.

i wouldn't recommend trying true ghost flames unless you're damn good at painting. there's a certain technique to doing them and it's not for the amature to try.

as for the chrome look theres a lot out there that wasn't out a long time ago, like mirra chrome. water borne and it is so f**king awesome I wish I would have thought about it (makes plastic look just like chrome and its easy to spray) there are several paint companies that are experimenting with water borne/ water based automotive paint and they are comming up with some kick ass stuff. even candy colors are turning this way. this is a good/ bad thing for reasons I won't list (boring) but for someone that has never touched a paint gun, done body work, preped a car for paint, taped up custom graphics, wielded an airbrush, sprayed clearcoat, held a buffer, all the correct way. let alone has access to the body hammers, grinders, sanders, sandpaper, primer, paintguns, paintbooth......etc. this kinda stuff is left to pros if you want your ride to look right. the learning curve is huge. but that said it ain't rocket science. if your that interested go to a local shop and ask about being an aprentice, thats how I got started at 14 yrs old. now I am 28 and make about $90,000 a year on the side in my own booth. but if your only wanting to paint your own ride then honestly, think small. not tring to be an ass but this stuff ain't cheap and candy paint is high dollah stuff to use. but even that stuff pales in comparison to pearlesents (chameleon). some of the high end ones I sprayed in the past cost about 1500 a sprayable gallon. and don't even try the " I'll sand it down and primer it myself with krylon, and then pay to have it painted to save money" crap either. 95% of the time a reputable painter would tell you its getting stripped the right way and by the time they are done with stripping it your out of your savings 10 fold. and the others, you don't want them working on your car anyway. go get a book about this kinda work (not a haynes) it will give you the idea. and the foresight of whether you can handle this kinda stuff on your own or not.

I'm reading a few books on this right now, and it is cost intensive. It also says something that most Home Depot DIYers take their cars to get painted for them. On the other hand, paying 500 dollars for a shitty job from Maco is bullshit.

While the DIY crowd may not have the expertise to lay the paint right, they're more likely to spend the time necessary to prep the car right. It's also worth mentioning that most of the tools necessary for the job can be rented. Then again, as slowgs said, be realistic. Simple paint jobs are hard enough, don't put more on your plate than you can handle. A well done, simple job, will look much better than a shitty pearl.

how about powder colors. Does anyone know anything about laying powder?

how about powder colors. Does anyone know anything about laying powder?

if it's a large area it will become tough to keep it even but if they're just small little pieces, go for it, it's not very hard at all.

as for the expensive paint:

i bought some stuff from PPG called Radiance. It's a gold basecoat and a kelly green color coat. it'll look like a candy apple green when it's done but about 100x deeper (not darker, deeper). 1 gallon basecoat (gold), 1 gallon color coat (green) and 1 gallon primer ran me $2000. it's going to cost over $1000 to spray it and one little fuck up and the whole car needs to be re-sprayed, but when it's done it'll be fucking nice.