Painting my car?

[Grape]

Anyone have some good tips?
I am having it professionally sprayed, Im just doing the prepwork and Im a little nervous, dont want it to look like crap
i basically know how and the professinal is painting it for cost of paint, I prep it, thats what he said, I know sanding it but what about removing the adhesive from the lettering, or filling in rock chips?

[miwls59]

It depends on how much you love your car and what you expect to pay for a quality paint job.

Factors such as corrosion, dents, dings and other bodywork factor into the overall estimate.

If it's a commuter car, you can go low-end with a Maaco special - You do get what you pay for. It will
look good for 1-3 years.

If the car is special to you, I advise going to a reputable body shop where you can expect to pay between $2500 and $4000 (without any major bodywork) to have your car re-painted.

[Blazin]

First thing is blow out all the nooks and crevises with compressed air. Then give it really good washing, use a car soap not dish detergent. also make sure it is soap only no waxes or silicones in it. Soap it up three or four times, rinse it off like no tomorrow. Spray the water down inside all the crevises, fenders, etc. Once its dry you will need to wipe it down a couple times with a prep solvent. Dupont's 3919 is what I use most times. Any prepsolvent will work. This removes any waxes, oils, etc.
Now you are ready to prep the paint for new paint. You don't give any detail if you are just preping for paint or doing body work etc. As far as just preping the paint, you need to sand the entire exterior. A DA sander ( Dual Action ) is the best for large areas. Use 400 grit paper on it, and always keep it moving. On any rounded parts lighter presure, and roll it over the area don't go length wise. As far as up against moldings etc. use the 400 grit paper but give it a folded edge and just slide it alonge the edge of the molding. You can cover the molding with tape to prevent scratching it too. Hand sand any small areas out far enough so your sander dosn't hit the object you are sanding up to. Purple / maroon scuffy pads work good for cotoured areas, they are = to 400 grit paper. When you are done you don't want any shiny areas. You are creating a mechanical bond for the new paint to hang on to.
If you have any scratches that you can feel with your finger nail you will need to feather sand them out. Use a heavier grit sand paper 180 / 220 for lighter scratches. 80 0100 grit for deep scratches. After the heavy snad paper you jump up to the medium grit, then up to the 320, & or 400 grit. Each time you go to a finer grit you want to remove the scrathces left behind by the heavier grit paper.
When hand sanding you never want to sand in the same direction as your fingers are pointing. Always hold your hand / fingers 90 degrees to the direction you are sanding. Also when hand sanding go with the length of the body panel, like you would the grain of wood.
When you are done sanding you blow the car off paying special attention to all the crevises etc. You will need to go over them several times. Wash it again with the prep solvent. Any areas you missed will show up shiny once the solvent dries.
Do not leave any tape on over night if you are doing this outdoors. Even the good stuff sometimes dosen't like to come off once the sun dries any dew on it. Use quality tape, its worth the extra money in the long run.
As far as primers you want a self etching rust inhibitive primer for any bare steel spots. Then a high build urethane two part primer for any areas that you broke through the top coat of paint, and over the self etching primer. You can get these both in spray can if you don't have a gun. The two part urethane has a glass bulb inside the can when you shake it it breaks and mixes the two components together. Once they have been mixed the can will harden up after a pot life time period.
Take a ride to an auto parts store that sells paint, & supplies. Tell them what you are doing and they can help you with the brand they sell.

[Verist]

Please don't do it yourself if its a newer car... That is something still worth some money, because if you do a bad job painting, its really going to take a hit in value. I appraise cars for a living, bad paint job is a huge no-no! If its an old beater, knock yourself out.. it will probably look good from 10-15 feet