Caj Darkmoon

Hint: Don't try driving through anyones yard, it's not good for the bumper.

Honestly though it's pretty tough. I've given it some hard scrapes, but had to actually run it into the ground to break the corner.

I wouldn't bondo over it, bondo cracks when it flexes, FG doesn't.

FlyRyde

Cool then, I'll just spray on some flexible bumper primer and a few coats of Type R White. Thanks!

rd2pimp

if you heat up the fg front bumper with a heat gun it will make the fiberglass more flexible and easier to work with. be careful not to heat it up too much becuase it will melt. then after you have it on the car go over it once more with the heat gun so you can get all your edges perfect and as it cools it will actually form to the shape of the car.

its a little more time consuming but ends up looking alot better

as for wet sanding istart of at 320 wet and work up to about 600 to make it nice and smooth. then clean it to get all dirts oils ec. off. b4 paint

ThisCelluloidDream

bumping this to see if anyone has a definitive car painting guide. Possibly taylored to the RD's curvy lines.

Tiburonsrule

I should be able to many of you guys out with questions on paint/prep on cars. I have alot of experience in this field. i was a painter at a body shop for about a year and a half and have painted two of my own cars, tibby included. Like was said earlier prep is the majority of the work. i will list some basics for you.

1. Wash your car EVERYWERE before you even start.
2. Fix any damages even small dings. (any small dent will look bigger once painted)
3. The best thing to do now is wet sand the whole car with 400 grit. (to save time you can get away with 220 grit on a orbital sander with a foam pad between the sander and paper)
4. Mask your vehicle windows and any other parts you dont want paint on.
5. Wipe your car down with a water based solvent and then with a wax and grease remover.
6. Prime the car with one light coat and then two medium wet coats. (allow each coat to dry for about 5 mins at about 80-85 degrees.)
7. Bake the car at 160-180 degrees for 12-15 minutes.
8. Use a spray on black guide coat and mist coat the whole car.
9. Wait A couple hours to start sanding so the primer is completly dry.
10. unmask your car completly.
11. Wet sand the primer with 400 grit paper till all guide coat is off.
12. Fix any small blemishes you can see. (guide coat will show these)
13. WASH YOUR CAR AGAIN (dry it off completely)
14. Mask vehicle back off.
15. Wipe down with water based solvent followed by Wax and Grease remover again.
16. Lay down your first coat of base color. (between light and medium coat and let dry for a few mins. If you want lay down 1 coat sealer before starting color coats)
17. Lay down two more medium coats of base allowing dry time between each coat.
18. Check base coat for any blemishes and fix if needed. ( do a light- medium coat again over the fixed areas.)
19. Start spraying your clear coat. First coat lay on a little light but make sure you still get even coverage.
20. Spray two more medium coats of your clear.
21. Back your car again at 160- 180 degrees for 12-20 mins.
22. unmask your car now but be careful the paint will still be kinda soft.
23. let paint harden for 1-2 hours
24. look it over for dust and other contaminents in the paint
25. wet Sand down the contaiminents with 400 grit.( but DONT break through the clear coat.)
26. Use 600 grit and wet sand your 400 grit scracthes.
27. Now use 800 grit to wet sand out the 600 grit. continue this up to 2000-4000 grit.
28. Use a buffer and buffing compound to bring the shine back to fixed areas.

Make sure if you are painting Fiberglass or plastic to put a flex additive in your primer and your clear coats. other wise they run the risk of cracking.

Also make sure when wet sanding you always use a pad between your hand and the paper other wise you will make finger ridges in the primer, Paint, etc.

Ask me if you still have any questions.

StrikeEagle

Nice job dude! Any recommendations as to how to get paint off, either solvents or sanding techniques, or something?

I just got this small Kobalt paint gun from Lowe's, I'm using it to finish furniture. Would this be ok for painting a car too?
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/kobalt-sma...-feed-spray-gun

likeyoumeanit

yeah that gun should work great

Tiburonsrule

What parts are you trying to get the paint off? and why? The best rule of thumb with paint is if it is still stuck to the car keep it on there. It acts as a good bonding base for paint on top of it if sanded correctly. If you have really bad star cracking down to the primer or E-Coat and you are working with a metal surface you can use something called aircraft stripper to take it off. ill give you more steps.

1. Remove the part you are trying to strip.
2. lay it on a big piece of cardboard.
3. but on Big rubber gloves that go to your elbows.
4. Spread about a quarter inch of air craft stripper all over the part using a bondo spreader or crappy paint brush.
5. let sit for 20-30 minutes. ( you will literally see the paint start poping up and peeling. it way fun to watch.
6. once it looks all cracked and peeled like dried mud take a pressure washer and clean off ALL stripper.
7. Get some 220 grit on a orbital sander and take off all oxidation on part.
8. Clean with water base solvent and wax and grease remover.
9. spray on a Self-Etching primer.

at this point you are now ready to prime and all that jazz.

Be very careful with The Stripper though cause that shit burns like hell if it hits your skin. Just a tiny amount will make your whole arm be on fire.

As for the Gun that one may work fine since it is a gravity feed type gun but I would look into something nicer that will atomize the paint better. what i use are SATA guns or IWATA. they are a little pricy but they can work wonders. Better atomization makes for smoother paint with better overall coverage.

StrikeEagle

I was thinking for example, my spoiler, it's starting to get white (normally black), and doesn't feel quite right. It's not peeling per se, but it's not good paint anymore.

For another example, if I wanted to paint my entire car (paint is pretty good on it), you'd recommend just painting directly over what's there? Would there be any sort of prep work, like sanding the current clearcoat or something (or is that where you'd start at the previous list of actions?)?

Tiburonsrule

My spoiler had the same issue. What happened is the clear coat separated from the Base coat and is flaking off in tiny little bits. It isnt necessary to strip the paint off all you need to do is Get some 400 grit and start wet sanding till it is all smooth again. Then prime and sand again to take out imperfections.

Make sure not to use to harsh of a grit on plastics because if you break through the paint and hit the plastic it will stand on end giving the part a fuzzy texture. If you do do this you will need to prime that spot heavy and sand it down to get it smooth again.


You always have to sand the Car if you are Repainting it. Yes my list starts with sanding the clearcoat down on the whole car. paint will only bite into something with a texture to it. if you paint directly over unsanded paint you will just be laying it on top of the old stuff and it will flake off very fast.

Edit: Personally if i am repainting a car i will Always prime the whole vehicle that way i have alot of material on there so i can get the best surface once its sanded out.