How to Paint the Car Yourself?

Let’s consider how to paint the car yourself, which tools are needed, and what we should know about the process.

You can paint the car yourself in any home garage. Of course, it is better to entrust your ‘horse’ to specialists, but if you’re risky enough, want to try yourself, and save on car service – go ahead, here are our recommendations.

Preparatory Work

You can paint the car in a garage at the air temperature of 20°С and with the lighting to allow you to see all the unpainted spots. First, you need to protect all untreated elements using improvised means, like repair film, paper, or masking tape.

Degreasing and Cleaning

Then clean the vehicle from the old layer and rust. Well-held paint can be sanded a little with sandpaper. Fragile layers are best removed with special chemical compounds.

Before you touch up the car, you need to carefully degrease the surface of the body. This can be done with white spirit or anti-silicone.

Next, clean the body again by blowing with an airbrush to remove the remaining dust from the surface, especially from openings and arches. At the next stage, the body is re-wiped with a sticky napkin.

Applying Primer and Putty

To keep the applied enamel for a long time, it is better to apply a primer layer. This can be done with a brush or a spray gun.

Next, you need to apply putty. It should be a thin layer.

Spray Gun Set up

Don’t forget to set up the spray gun! To do this, collect some paint into it and try its work on paper.

Adjust the spray gun until you achieve the most even spray pattern and the most abundant paint flow. After you draw a line of paint, a glossy streak should remain on the surface.

Do not turn on too much paint supply to avoid a thick layer. In this case, the lion’s share of chemicals will get into the air in the form of small droplets.

Too little pressure in the spray gun contributes to the spraying of larger drops, which form an “orange peel” on the body.

Amount of Paint Calculation

Calculating and selecting car paint is an important stage of preparatory work. Often, based enamel is purchased, which is diluted with a solvent in a ratio of 2/1, respectively.

This is necessary for a uniform density of the substance. Too thick paint does not pass well through the spray gun, lying on the surface in jerks. It is so difficult to evenly paint over the entire body. T

Too liquid enamel will form streaks. In addition, it is sensitive to dust – a funnel will form around the dust grain.

How much paint do you need to paint your car? This will depend on the model. On average, the base two layers take 2.5 liters of finished enamel, and for finishing, you need 2 liters of diluted varnish.

Painting Process

When painting the car at home, work out your technique. Typically, the jet is continuously applied from joint to joint. It is most convenient to paint by applying the coating in horizontal stripes from top to bottom. The bumper and hood are best covered with vertical stripes.

Start painting from the ends so that they are all evenly painted. Uneven surfaces with old paint layers or primed areas require special attention. If the paint is sprayed as usual, streaks or visible seams will remain. This is fully explained by the properties of the paint to stick differently to different surfaces.

To avoid this problem, lightly spray some paint over the uneven area. Wait for the area to dry (it takes a few minutes), and then you can safely spray the paint in a normal layer.

Application of the Second Layer

After waiting for the complete drying of the first layer, you can apply the second. It is better to re-wipe the dried surface from dust.

Before pouring the paint into the spray gun, shake it thoroughly to mix with the solvent that is up. Follow the technique developed in advance for painting cars in the garage.

Color Alignment

If you are using light or colored paint, after applying two coats you may notice uneven color, and sometimes even streaks and spots.

To even out the color, you need to apply another layer. This is a kind of “peeling” for the car. Enamel is applied by light surface spraying. The tone becomes more even.

After carrying out all the work, the vehicle should be wiped again with a sticky cloth.

Varnishing and Polishing

Protective varnish HS is applied in 1.5 layers. Follow the same painting technique. The first layer must be incomplete. Wait for it to dry. This will take approximately 10 minutes. The last layer is applied completely.

To give a beautiful shine, the surface is polished with a polishing paste. As a final step, you can polish the body with polishing water, rubbing it with a flannel cloth.

The car painting process is complete! You can remove all protective films and touch up door handles and other small details.