spray painting a car- not directly Contour related

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

I have a friend who just finished college. Plenty of loans to pay off and he works hard so there isn't money to throw around. He drives a 95 Neon in white. Large areas of the paint have peeled off exposing the grey primer beneath.

I know it's not going to look "great"... and probably not even "good"... but I was thinking of helping him out and getting a can of spray paint (correct color code from store) and painting these areas.

I assume I can just clean the areas with soapy water to ensure no oils, lightly sand perhaps, and then mask the surrounding area and spray it?

Is there any way I can blend the edges so that the inevitable color difference isn't so dramatic? How is blending done by the pros, is it a wet sand or something?

I've heard that if you use aerosol spray paint, you must wait a really long time before clear coating or the paint will wrinkle. Something about the chemicals in the spray paint and the clear coat reacting. (i'm not even sure this car has a clear coat, will check)

Any other tips on using spray paint on a car?

Again: I've used spray paint enough to know it won't look stunning, but anything so it doesn't look so nasty from 50 feet away will make him happy.

Thanks
Brian
99 SVT

It can't look any worse can it? Spray painting it will only make it look a little better at least right?

You want to spray a little larger than the area that needs to be painted. If he's on a tight budget I would say prime, paint, paint, clear, clear with thin coats. Thick coats will cause the paint to run/drip. Wetsand with a block between coats and be sure to clean the painted area thoroughly after each sanding.

As far as blending, I haven't been able to do it. I guess it's something you learn from experience.

Of course the obvious stuff like painting during optimal temperatures, humidity, wind-free and dust-free environment, long even paint strokes, etc. will help.

Some tips I've read:
- Run the aerosol can under warm water for awhile. Apparently it helps the paint flow more smoothly out of the can.
- First coat of color should be applied as a speckle. Apparently this will help the second, more thorough coat stick to the surface and reduces runs/drips.

It's not a one day process - just be patient. Start in one of the more obscure areas so that when you reach the more visible areas you have some experience under your belt.

HTH and good luck.

Here's a compiled/edited/abridged How-to I've pulled together from a few sites:

- Wash and clean the area to be repaired first with soap and water, and then with a wax and grease removing solvent like DuPont's Prep-Sol, First Kleen, tar and bug remover, or mineral spirits.
- Repair any heavily damaged areas like rust, holes, or dents using coarse sandpaper and the appropriate body fillers, rust treatments, fibreglass patches or welded metal to restore the basic contour of the damaged area. (Details on these procedures are too involved for this forum)
- Sand and prepare the surface for primer. Wet sand the area to be repaired with medium grit paper (220 grit to 320 grit). "Featheredge" the repair area to have a smooth transition of the edge of the repair using finer papers, working your way up to 500 grit.
- Clean the area to prepare it for primer with a cleaning solvent like DuPont's Final Kleen, or a tack cloth at minimum.
- Mask off any area that you do not want to get primer or paint on. Use a good quality automotive masking tape and paper to cover out 18" or so. Do not mask right up to the actual repair so as to allow room to blend into the existing finish, or mask at a natural dividing body line like the edge of the panel.
- Spray primer on all bare metal and/or fibreglass surfaces and overlap onto the surrounding area with several coats of primer. On very small area's, try making a stencil out of cardboard with the cutout slightly larger than the area to be primed. Hold this stencil 1" above the surface while spraying the primer to direct it only on the needed area, yet still blending in around the edge. Avoid spraying right up to the edge of any masking tape. Let the primer dry for 2 to 3 hours.
- Wet sand the primer and surrounding area to prepare it for paint with 400 grit to 600 grit paper. If blending, wet sand the area where the paint will be blended into surrounding area with 1000 grit paper.
- Clean the surface again with Final Kleen or tack cloth to remove any sanding residue or other contamination from the surface to be painted.
- Spray your paint color on the repaired area, using light coats (especially at first). Apply 4 to 6 coats of color, waiting about 10 minutes in between each coat. Don't rush it and don't spray heavy coats. It will take the first 2 to 3 coats to completely cover the primer, then apply 2 to 3 more.
- If clearcoating, let the paint color dry for about 30 minutes and then spray 2 to 3 medium coats of clear lacquer. Either extend each coat of clear beyond the previous coat to allow for a tapered blend edge, or sand the entire panel with 1200 grit paper and clearcoat the entire sanded area. Let dry for 8 to 12 hours depending on the temperature.
- Depending on the results so far, lightly wet sand the repair with 1000 grit up to 2500 grit to remove any "orange peal", overspray, or rough areas.
- Polish smooth with rubbing or polishing compound to obtain a high gloss.

Great how-to Pete!

Whatever you do, do it soon. Paint peeling is common on the first-gen Neons, but lately almost every older Neon I've seen has a completely orange-rust roof. (seen three so far like that, and another with 1/2 orange roof!) I've never seen so much rust on any other mid-90s car before. Paint the spots (and preferably the whole car) to prevent that, and soon.

Thanks GTO Pete, exactly the kind of tips I was hoping for.

Originally posted by bxd20:
How is blending done by the pros, is it a wet sand or something?

Blending agent is used along w/ light sanding...it's applied onto the surface to help blending of sparkles & keep the edge wet. Not for use w/ spray paint.

Pete gave really good advice & it's probably your best bet.

I did something like this a few years ago. There was a bad spot of missing paint on the roof of my little car. I sanded to the metal, primered and painted. It did look a lot better from far away, but not too great from closeup.

Those directions (above) look good. Take your time and do thin, multiple coats. It will improve the look.

can u get blending agents at an auto paint store? or only pro body shops can buy it? always wondered if there was a trick that shops had to blend.

Spraypainting is easy and you can do a really good job,just take your time. I spraypainted an entire car when I was like 17 and it looked like ass,but then I got a job at a performance shop and I ended up doing lots of paint work on our products and stuff so I learned a lot about painting. I had a '95 Contour V6 and when I removed the door ding mouldings,it peeled off all the clear coat and left a horrible mess. I had plans to have the car properly repainted what would have been this spring,but things happened and the car got junked a couple months ago. Anyways,my doors looked horrible and I had been toying with the idea of a two tone paintjob,so for $50,a week and over 30 hours of labour,I had myself a DIY spraybomb job,and in person it looked pretty good. Scuff the area to be painted with about 220 grit sandpaper,then clean it of and degrease it. Try and feather out any loose paint remaining around the areas to be painted. Start spraying and just do light coats. Wetsand with like 1500 grit between coats to try and get out any impurities or lumps and keep it smooth and clean. Do several coats and let it sit and then again do light coats of clear and wetsand it.

Here's a pic of the spray job around the lower half. Then I used a 1/8" pinstripe to seperate the colour transision.

Originally posted by hmouta:
can u get blending agents at an auto paint store? or only pro body shops can buy it? always wondered if there was a trick that shops had to blend.

My father has owned a body shop for about 50 yrs...he gets it from his paint rep that works for a local body supply/parts store.

I'd think anyone could possibly get it...but you'd need to stick w/ the brand paint you are using considering they were developed specifically for each manufacturer's product lines...Dupont/Dupont...PPG/PPG...etc.

Originally posted by SVZETEC:

Originally posted by hmouta:
can u get blending agents at an auto paint store? or only pro body shops can buy it? always wondered if there was a trick that shops had to blend.

My father has owned a body shop for about 50 yrs...he gets it from his paint rep that works for a local body supply/parts store.

I'd think anyone could possibly get it...but you'd need to stick w/ the brand paint you are using considering they were developed specifically for each manufacturer's product lines...Dupont/Dupont...PPG/PPG...etc.

sweet. good to know

Duplicolour makes a filler primer that works great for getting rid of tiny chips and scratches, whenever doing a tuch up job you want to get rid of the imperfections during the primer stage.
I would use 220 to 320 to feather in the paint with the bad spots then primer and then 500 grit to smooth the primer between coats, the amount of primer you use will depend on how bad the areas are, if you lightly dust the areas with the colour then wait about 15 minutes for it to flash between coats and then any where between a few hours to about 12 hours for it to dry before you shoot the clear on.
I have done this on plenty of cars and the results depend on the age of the paint on the car. If the paint is really bad you can always re-paint the entire panel instead of trying to spot paint.
If you try to spot paint it, the best way i have found so far to help blend it without a blending agent is to roll the masking tape long ways, so you kinda make a tube shape out of the tape, this helps to eliminate definite masking lines between the new and the old paint.

Actually your friend might be in luck.... Dodge used an experimental paint technology that year that was cheaper to use. They profited very well off it, but found out that this paint + sun = flaking away paint. So they offered a recall for a new paint job for those cars that ended up being effected... Have you friend take it to a dealer and ask them about it... He MIGHT be able to get a free paint job.

Originally posted by AliasJerkâ�??¢:
Actually your friend might be in luck.... Dodge used an experimental paint technology that year that was cheaper to use. They profited very well off it, but found out that this paint + sun = flaking away paint. So they offered a recall for a new paint job for those cars that ended up being effected... Have you friend take it to a dealer and ask them about it... He MIGHT be able to get a free paint job.

except recalls/campaigns are only good for two years following the announcement...I'd say a '95 is SOL