Now that you have some money-spending tips on repainting your vehicle, we can proceed to how you can actually go about with your DIY project. Before anything else, I’d like to repeat some reminders on painting your own car.
Tip #1: Don’t scrimp too much on tools and materials. If you want to paint your car the right way, you should be willing to spend some money on procuring the right materials and tools needed for this project.
Tip #2: Make sure you have enough time in your hands for this project. As I mentioned in my previous post, repainting your car can take you days to finish depending on the type of paint you use and the results you want to attain. I suggest you do this project during the weekends or during the days where you have enough time to carefully paint your vehicle.
And now, on to the actual steps on DIY car repainting. Before painting your car, prepare it for the treatment that it’s about to receive. You can do so by following these simple steps.
Preparing Your Car for Repainting
Step One: Make sure your vehicle’s exterior is completely clean. Either you take your car to the carwash or you clean it out yourself. Since you want to save money, I highly suggest bringing out buckets of water and removing all traces of debris, grime and dirt yourself.
Step Two: Degrease and wax your car. Don’t go for the cheap car wax or degreaser—the better the quality of these materials the cleaner your auto becomes. Use the degreaser to remove all remaining residues and to ensure that it’s the paint that is found on the top level of your vehicle’s exterior.
Step Three: Remove or cover every part of your vehicle’s exterior that will not need repainting. You have two choices: either you remove all the auto parts that don’t require painting or you cover them with newspaper and plastic. This will prevent nasty stains from seeping into these components or ruining your vehicle’s exterior. The list should include (but is not limited to) your car’s bumpers, auto lights, grille, door handles and windows.
Step Four: Using a dual-action orbital sander, sand the old paint away. Sanding is a great way of ensuring that the new paint will stick to your vehicle’s exterior better. Don’t forget to sand away at those hard-to-reach corners and sides. This can be a time-consuming process, so try to employ the help of a friend or family member to accomplish this particular step.
Step Five: After sanding, check your vehicle’s exterior for signs of damage. Damage could take the form of dents, holes and rust spots. Use a body filler to repair these parts. For efficient rust removal, sand away at the corroding portion of your car and make sure you get every inch of rust out of the way.
Step Six: Prevent paint form getting into your vehicle’s interior. You can do this by following step three. Use newspaper or plastic to cover your windows, sunroof and even your vehicle’s antenna. Make sure the materials you’re using won’t harm the car.
Step Seven: Wipe down all the visible parts of your car. Wiping down your car ought to remove all debris and sanding residues clinging to your vehicle’s body. Don’t skip this simple step; otherwise the new paint will end up looking splotchy and uneven.
Once you’ve followed all these steps, then you can start to repaint your car. Since the aforementioned steps can eat up a lot of time, then I highly suggest repainting your car the next morning. Make sure you repaint your car in a well-lit place. This will allow you to check if you’ve missed any spots. The last thing you’d want is to find out you missed an inch or a small space after you’ve already repainted the majority of your vehicle.
On my next post, I’ll be tackling the how-to’s of repainting a car.
