Hey there guys. I have an 89 GT, baby blue on with grey ground effects. I have been working on repairing all the cracks in the ground effects, and next I will be repairing the few, small parking lot dents.
I would like to paint the car white, with some racing stripes in blue (I saw a picture of this paint scheme on a 90 GT with euro lights, and thought that I could handle driving something like that).
The problem is that Ive never painted a car before, and would appreciate any, and all help. So the few questions I pose are:
1.) Because I want to change the overall color of the car, will I be better off, or need to go right down to bare metal.
2.) If I do go to bare metal, will I require a rust inhibitor?
3.) What is the proper sequence for paint; meaning how many coats of what--primer, paint, etc, and in what order.
4.) What type of paint would be best for the car, and what type of paint would I need for the ground effects.
Any other advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all. Peace.
PS. When I decide to rebuild the motor, I will also paint the motor compartment.
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89 LX - 382 rwhp/407 ft/lbs - KB 2.1 Flowzilla @ 10psi on GT40 lower, MSD dizzy, coil & ignition, 90 LMAF - 42# injectors - 75mm TB, Trickflow Heads and rockers, Stage 2 Snow Meth kit, GMS K-member, arms and front coilovers, Alum. DS, , Steeda Alum U&L arms, U&L Battle Boxes, BBK CC Plates, MM Bumpsteer, Steeda Adjustable R. Swaybar, FRPP 3.73's, front control arm bushings, Earls SS brake lines, 73mm Lincoln Calipers, SSBC rear disk kit, Steeda triax, cables and adjuster
Painting a car is not an easy task, if you have never done at least a few big parts (bumpers, hoods) stay away from it.
The biggest time is spent on removing parts, old paint and general surface preparation. If the last is not done right you can expect problems in the short term.
The selection of paints is another part of the deal, and each paint requires different prep, skills and equipment.
A clean paint booth is A MUST, doing this job on garages or on the open will make things just harder, tons of dust can accumulate when you are painting and you will spend many many hours sanding and polishing.
I totally agree with Rob, not something you want to do if you have never done it before. Go ahead and finish the repair work you want to do, and then take it to a good body shop and have them prep, and paint it. You will be happier with the results. Good luck.
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Ron Arrigoni
1965 Mustang Convertible
1995 Supercharged Mustang V6
2002 Explorer Sport Trac
Hey thanks alot Ron, and Rob. A friend of a friend, had painted his own truck, and it turned out real nice. I realize that I should probably hire someone to do it, but thought that for the paint scheme I want, I will be looking at a minimum of $2500.
I have all the tools available to me, as well as a paint booth, but to keep costs low, I would like to do this myself; and hey, if it turns out bad, I can always prep it again and then send it out, but if it looks good, I would save $$$.
Thanks again guys.
Cyal8tr.
Peter
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89 LX - 382 rwhp/407 ft/lbs - KB 2.1 Flowzilla @ 10psi on GT40 lower, MSD dizzy, coil & ignition, 90 LMAF - 42# injectors - 75mm TB, Trickflow Heads and rockers, Stage 2 Snow Meth kit, GMS K-member, arms and front coilovers, Alum. DS, , Steeda Alum U&L arms, U&L Battle Boxes, BBK CC Plates, MM Bumpsteer, Steeda Adjustable R. Swaybar, FRPP 3.73's, front control arm bushings, Earls SS brake lines, 73mm Lincoln Calipers, SSBC rear disk kit, Steeda triax, cables and adjuster
Hey not a problem, if you have all the equipment and the desire then go for it. I would talk to your friend and get the imput from some bodyshop people before you get too far into the project. Good luck.
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Ron Arrigoni
1965 Mustang Convertible
1995 Supercharged Mustang V6
2002 Explorer Sport Trac
Then get all the info you can, there are some good books around.
The most important part is preparation of the surface and using the correct filler and primer. The paint can always be sanded to get rid of imperfections.
You could try using a BASE paint only, such as Dupont Chroma One enamel which does not require clearcoat.
anyone do their own painting 
