Custom Classic Painting Advice

Prep Work
Painting cars is an expensive proposition, but there are ways to get your money's worth. Spend the extra money on body prep before you paint, and make sure everything is filled and flat. Query prospective painters to make sure they have a proper spray booth and use quality materials. Many painters use high-fill primers that leave a thick surface. On fiberglass bodies (now fairly common on street rods and other types of project cars), these primers fill imperfections like pinholes in gel coat, but they do require more sanding.


Typical body prep consists of sanding the surface with a dual action (DA) sander using 320-grit sandpaper, followed by wet sanding with 800- to 1000-grit paper. Next, spray primer and sand it down with the DA again, using 800- to 1000-grit. Tight spots and crevices may have to be hand sanded. It is important not to sand through the primer anywhere (which is easy to do on edges where the paint is thinner).

The Clearing
Then apply four to five coats of the base color, followed by a like number of clear coats. Some pro painters will do a light sanding with fine-grit paper after the first few clear coats, and then apply some final "flow coats" of clear. Once dry, wet sanding the clear smooths out the orange peel (rough surface) that all clear coats have. This is done using a hard block hand sander wrapped with 600-grit, working down to 2000- or 3000-grit paper for a smooth final surface. Afterwards, buff the clear with a buffing product on a wool pad attached to his variable-speed power buffer. The final touch is glazing the finish with glaze on a foam pad.


Pro painters recommend matching the brands of primer, base coat and clear coat. Otherwise you can end up with solvent popping (pinholes), seeding, blistering and wrinkling in the paint. And never do bodywork near a source of airborne grease or solvent, like a detail shop or a fast-food restaurant. The almost-invisible mist can drift into your shop and wreak havoc. Contamination of the paint is probably the biggest reason for poor results in a paint job.

Pro Tips
If you decide to paint your car yourself, here are some tips from the pros: