How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

[CamaroJeff™]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

some useful info here already, but to get a better idea...

base clear or single stage? are you changing color? doing jambs too? what condition is the existing paint in? what color are you putting on?

these are all variables in the equation. if youre doing a color change you should use a sealer. most sealers are tintable, which makes for less basecoat needed to cover. darker colors tend to cover better, but differences in brands have an impact on that too.

generally speaking... if the car is sealed and youre spraying base on it get 2 quarts. depending on what brand itll be between 1:1 and 2:1 so youll have at the very least 4 quarts sprayable. more than enough to cover and still have enough left over for touch up. there is a noticeable difference in price when it comes to basecoat, dont believe me? try buying dupont chromabase ;)

[Archer]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

try buying dupont chromabase ;)

well come on man! he is talking about color, not SUPER PAINT! lol

but he has a point... i guess it really depends on your application and paint. I use PPGs' Deltron paint. nice to work with, easy to color sand, but its a lil pricey.

Archer

[IwannaCamarosoBad]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

some useful info here already, but to get a better idea...

base clear or single stage? are you changing color? doing jambs too? what condition is the existing paint in? what color are you putting on?

these are all variables in the equation. if youre doing a color change you should use a sealer. most sealers are tintable, which makes for less basecoat needed to cover. darker colors tend to cover better, but differences in brands have an impact on that too.

generally speaking... if the car is sealed and youre spraying base on it get 2 quarts. depending on what brand itll be between 1:1 and 2:1 so youll have at the very least 4 quarts sprayable. more than enough to cover and still have enough left over for touch up. there is a noticeable difference in price when it comes to basecoat, dont believe me? try buying dupont chromabase ;)

Haven't decided between base and single stage yet, Yes I am changing color, yes door jams too, the condition of the paint right now is fair, I'm going to NBM :)

[phoenix_rising]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

just buy a gallon. its not expensive.

1. Depends on color. Different colors = different prices, also different colors require different # of coats. Like Red is a transparent color and to get a good red you can often do 2-3 coats. Black is cheapest. 2 stage paints are cheaper than 3 stage paints.

2. Depends on brand. There are a lot of brands but I would not use anything less than PPG quality. I used Sherwin Williams auto paints and the effects were less than desireable. Paint match was horrid / lots of orange peel / ended up cracking because of the temp. during spraying in the garage was not warm / cool enough.

3. Depends on if you are just spraying the outside or door jambs, decklid, under hood, engine bay. If you are just spraying the outside you will use about 4 quarts, keeping in mind you are a newb at this and it is very very easy to use too much paint. More paint = more money.

4. Also keep in mind a good clear coat is not cheap and you will need a lot of it, at least 2+ quarts. Often as expensive or moreso than paint. Red paints, pearls, metallics and other special effects are the priceyist.

I had nearly $1000 in materials and a months worth of daily hard *** work and in the end I still ended up taking it in and having a pro paint my car. If you want to paint your own car expect around that. Also keep in mind the quality of the prep and finish work will effect the quality of the paint job. So expect a lot of sanding, scuffing, and leveling (And I mean a lot).

I would suggest you not try it yourself. I had a lot of things going for me that you do not. I used professsional equipment, had 2+ people helping me at any given time, and I had the supervision of a professional painter.

Just ask around. I would actually say Maaco is not a bad idea if all they are doing is the spraying. I would spend a week or two prepping the car fixing any problems and take the car down to Maaco. Continue and finish the prep work in the Maaco parking lot and then have them spray it whatever color and make sure you get the upper package. Should be out under $1000 and happy.

Maaco is not a bad paint shop, just a bad prep and finish shop. Like I said, the quality of the prep/finish work is what will determine the quality of the paint job.

Oh also, keep in mind your car will be VERY susceptible to paint damage from the elements for the first six months or so since you will not be baking the paint. About 2 months after we painted my car there was a hailstorm and the hail literally stripped the paint off in places.

[CamaroJeff™]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

Oh also, keep in mind your car will be VERY susceptible to paint damage from the elements for the first six months or so since you will not be baking the paint. About 2 months after we painted my car there was a hailstorm and the hail literally stripped the paint off in places.

what? we wetsand and buff a number of paint jobs next day. those are the cheap/collision jobs, but clearcoat is dry enough to wetsand and buff within 12 hours. if hail took your paint off 2 months after spraying it its likely (more like surely) poor prep was the cause of the paint not adhering.

[Archer]

Re: How many Quarts of paint will it take to paint my car??

think he is talking about th e paint curing. Ur paint will be fine, its the whole not waxing for a little while unless you can bake the paint on..

and if hail stripped your paint, your surface wasnt prepped very good. should take an act of god, or atleast aircraft stripper to take it off.. or a pissed off ex..
Archer