Car: Prepping for paint

[the_matrix_guy]

Hey, I need to paint a project car (7th gen Accord) and I need some recommendations and advice. Disclaimer: I’ve never painted a car before or done any sort of body work. I have been reading online and it looks like my best option is an orbital sander? With 400-2000 sanding pads?

The clear coat is bubbling and flaking all over and there are sunspots exposing the bare metal. It’s pretty bad. But since it’s a project car that I am gifting to my aunt — and the car isn’t worth anything to begin with, I’m going the DIY route and spray painting it using the high-grade automotive paint. Even if it doesn’t come out perfectly, it’ll still look a hundred times better that what it looks
like now.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Jonnydread]

I know nothing and can't help you, but please tell your dog I said hi.

[Jonnydread]

I am going to blame that more on the jack russel part than the pit part, mine is full pit and currently doing this:

[Carp]

Jonnydread that's not a Pit....it's a Piggy!

[the_matrix_guy]

Beautiful dog

[JohnB]

I haven’t done it on a whole car. I have a YouTube degree in diy paint though, lol. You are polishing a turd. You are right. Tape tape tape, then sand sand sand, tac tac tac, and then paint. It will look 1000x better.

[the_matrix_guy]

I haven’t done it on a whole car. I have a YouTube degree in diy paint though, lol. You are polishing a turd. You are right. Tape tape tape, then sand sand sand, tac tac tac, and then paint. It will look 1000x better.

Wait whats “tac tac tac” is that the bondo/putty?

[Grendel]

Tac Cloth, a sticky cloth that is used to clean up the debris from sanding, dust,...etc.

I did prepping part time for a automotive painter (he did a lot of big rigs) many decades ago in HS and the prep work and cleanliness are the most important parts of a paint job. Jack would make us start all over in the prep work if he had a hint we rushed anything. Be patient, let the sand paper do the work, we were never allowed to use machine sanding too easy to screw it up. learn when to do dry and wet sanding they both have purposes. Clean, clean, then clean some more. Take time masking and be detail oriented (razor blade is your friend). That bumper is plastic so there are additives for the paint to make it more flexible once it cures.

[the_matrix_guy]

@Grendel

Got it. Thank you 🙏

[TwonTamal]

I have only done an unpainted door handle, much like the bumper you have. But I can tell you from experience, even on that small car part it was a lot harder to get even coat all around than you would think. I was super careful with the strokes and nozzle distance, but I still had one or two runs on the edges. Good luck with it.

[maggot]

I know very little about this, but definitely look into using spray-on adhesive after sanding and before painting (especially on plastic parts). I've been told that's very important.

[the_matrix_guy]

Does the “adhesive promoter” have to dry before painting?

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

It only has to look good from more than a foot away. It's not supposed to be a trophy winning show car. No one is going to be crouching and looking at it from inches away. Forget about perfection. Just take your time and it will look way better than a cheap Macco paint job.

Best of luck. . Paint it a shiny and bright color. That will help make it really pop. I would do red myself.

[the_matrix_guy]

Thank you. You’re absolutely right.

Color wise I might do black though, since the inside, like the inside areas of the doors, the cabin, even the inside of the hood and trunk, etc. is black. It would be way more difficult. And I think you’re supposed to remove the doors and paint them separately.

[the_matrix_guy]

Jonnydread

Here’s the little rascal:

[Jonnydread]

You can tell he’s a bastard by the way he sleeps

[Chuck E Ducky]

Those pointy ears! He’s cute!

[Chuck E Ducky]

Main thing is prep it all in the prep work. Honestly it might be better for you just to get a cheap HVLP sprayer from harbor freight. You will go through a ton of rattle cans it’s going to be a lot more costly.

I have seen some great jobs done with just standard spray paint. But there is a lot of sanding between coats. Watch some YouTube videos.

Have you considered this?

https://www.dipyourcar.com

[Grendel]

To go along with what Chuck E Ducky is saying here getting a "cheap sprayer" or borrowing one is the way to go. You can spray outside just got to do it on a very calm day, watch your over spray, and keep the surface as clean as possible. You can setup tarps as a wind block to make an ad-hoc paint booth. Also if you go the way of using a sprayer, find a automotive paint supplier and go talk to them they are usually pretty helpful with recommendations on paint and additives based on your project. Hell they might steer you away from base coat clear coat and go to a single step paint for a project like this. It has been years since I've done any serious painting so I expect there are options out there I am completely unaware of so talk to a good paint shop to get some advice.

[ford]

Nice car. I have one very similar but in silver.

My DIY YouTube skills pointed me to this video https://youtu.be/lbSIjsUeWZQ?feature=shared

I bought all the gear to touch up the couple of panels that look bad but never tried to fix the paint.

A week or so before I planned to start I had some goober bump into the back of my car at a stop light. He was on his phone and wasn't paying attention. We both pulled over and checked the car over. It was a fairly light tap, shook hands and went about our day. I had a friend in the car and he was super stressed about the experience, "Oh my god, if that had happened to me in my car I would be freaking out!"

He drives a car a couple years from new as opposed to my 07 Accord.

That got me feeling pretty zen about it all. Right now I have a mechanically excellent car. A pretty good leather interior with cold AC and a pretty awful exterior... Maybe that's good for me. I don't live in the best neighborhood so not having the best looking car around is a bit of a plus. Also it's freeing not worrying about dings, hail storms or children with markers.

[the_matrix_guy]

My aunt lost everything after the divorce. She made more than the guy she married, and pays him $700 in alimony every month. She had to get rid of her car lease so I’m trying to do something nice for her.

From what I am reading severe paint failure is very common in early to mid 2000’s Hondas. As well as the stereo LCD screens going out. Have you thought about replacing the stereo? I got an Xtrons head unit for $200 and it modernized the whole car. It was worth it. It has a 10” screen with app support, GPS , Android and Apple support, it also makes the stock speakers sound at least twice as good.

Oh and i have to fix the sagging head liner — another issue common with 7th gen Accords. It’s the only thing I have left to fix in the interior now.

[ford]

Yea, I don't mind the stock look of the dash, but I did replace the 6x9 speakers in the back and that improved sound quite a bit. If I wasn't so lazy I'd probably do the front as well.

That Xtrons head unit is sick! I may have to keep an eye on that. I often do wish I had more music to play than my CDs I have from high school.

My headliner is in good shape... The most crazy issue I have is the car at some point in its life must have been rear ended because the trunk leaks and can puddle in the spare tire compartment. I popped out one of the rubber grommets near the bottom to solve the issue tho =P

Overall, love the car. Sometimes I wish I had the 4 banger to avoid timing belts but really can't complain.

[the_matrix_guy]

Are you sure its not the trunk weatherstrips? )They go bad every 5 -7 years or so in florida because of the extreme heat but I am sure they still fail in cooler weather eventually ) This accord has rust in the trunk tire compartment because water was getting in too. But it was the weatherstrip. It was failing / cracking in multiple places. The rubber was all dry. That’s actually the very first thing I replaced when I got it

Seventh gen accords are so underrated. This car I got for 1200 has 110k mi and the engine runs like new. No engine issues whatsoever. I had to re-do the whole cooling system (new radiator, fans, and pump) but that’s because it had a pierced radiator (leaking fluid and overheating) and one bad fan. But after I fixed that: it was running like new. Honda & Toyota engines man: Absolutely legendary. This is a 4 cyl, btw. It’s a cow but perfect for commuting.