Painting my 86

[Phil750]

Has anyone painted there own vehicle? I have no experience in paint or preparation. Has anyone attempted this without any experience? How did it come out. I have had all the body work done. The original color was that Chevy funky light blue for 86. The shop that did the body work said to stay with the Factory color. Light Blue is just not me. Any ideas?
The shop quoted me 4500. for repaint. I live in Phoenix! I would be willing to do all the prep work. It’s definitely going to need sanding I don’t know how much to sand down. I am willing to try it on my own.
Bottom line, is it better to just have it done professionally?

[HTX86chevy]

depends on your personal preference really. will this be your daily driver or something that would be just for show?
my 86 is my daily so i didnt wanna blow $94282863 on a paint job that would be ruined in a year or two. i got my paint job for less a grand and its decent. still needs to be wet sanded and buffed but hey i went the cheap route and it looks ok.
before when i used it as a work truck:

after:

[4pilgrim4]

If you buy a compressor, spray gun, water separator, sand paper, primer, paint, clear coat and all and everything in between that is really necessary the $4500 might just be a bargain.

There has always seemed to be a fleet of cars and pickups around our place, even now with the kids gone. I've never bought a vehicle that someone didn't already throw away. So I have to confess; I've painted a lot of cars, trucks, campers and whatever over the years.

You could also go the cheap route using Rust-o-leum from Home Depot. I did a pickup a couple of years ago and except for being awful slow to dry, it turned out surprisingly good. There's a blog called something like "$50 dollar paint job" that even tells how it can be done simply using a small foam roller. Google it. You can't miss it!

Good luck.

[lilpoindexter]

If there is a local vocational school in your area that's open saturdays or evenings, you can use there equipment to work on your car for not much loot.

[d-666]

i did like htx86chevy..dosent look bad..and the satisfaction of doing it yourself kind of compensate for the littles imperfections..

[gchemist]

I would try my own if it was not for EPA and local regulations.

[DetroitDan]

I'm doing the rustoleum roller paint on my truck now, but I can't seem to find the time to work on it. It's taken forever, but I've got two or more coats on the entire truck, it's on the road and looks half decent. Long ways to go before it's finished. If you don't have an enormous crewcab longbed like me, and have some free time, it's definitely worth looking into. Theres another thread here called "rattle can paintjob" where it got hijacked from rattle can to roller paint, lots of good info there. The original story was on a forum called Moparts, guy did a 69 Charger with safety orange and it was beautiful. The roller paint job is legit. I did a fender with it on my 97 for practice, then did the bed I replaced, it really works and came out good, but I sold the truck before I finished it.
It's not really hard, more like a technique you have to get a feel for. Once you get the hang of it, it's easy. And it's super cheap.

Another alternative to a $4500 a**gouging would be a Maaco cheapy. My friend just had a 98 ex-cab dually done in single stage black with a little body work for under $900, and it looks gorgeous.

[DetroitDan]

Hey d-666, what's the color called on that beautiful Blazer? I love it!! I've been looking for a dark purple or plum color to do as a two tone second color over the black on my 82.