Do my own respay or use cans?

[Beanie]

The boot lid on my phase 1 is pretty horrible. The metallic paint is faded, some of the clear's come off and there's a few dings where some Muppet has seemingly slammed the boot lid onto something hard below. 

I've not tried getting a quote from any local spray painters (I'll explain why shortly) but I'm wondering if I should attempt it myself.

I have sprayed the occasional panel or bonnet before now but that was waaaaaaay back in the 1990's. It went ok.

I understand that preparation is everything and being only the boot lid, even someone with my lack of patience could do the prep work on that size panel.

I'm wondering if I should use spray cans (rattle cans I think you guys call 'em) but I'm concerned that the paint on my car has faded a bit since it was re-sprayed (not brilliantly but also not completely crappy) seemingly a few years ago before I bought it.

I've also got some rust coming through just to the rear of the door sills so I'm thinking that that would need doing soon-ish so I could use the boot lid as 'practice'.

The other thing I could do is hire or buy a semi-professional spray gun and go from there.

Has anyone here done your own paintwork? How did it go? What would you recommend I do?

The reason I'm not getting any quotes is because I'm also needing quite a bit of paint work done on my Toyota Soarer. The best price for bonnet and boot is $1000 (about 500 quid) so assuming I bite the bullet on that one, I won't have much money left for the 306.

[kentiiboii]

As for paint, I'd go to someone that will match it up to your car using cards and then mix it up.
It's more expensive but it's worth the extra money as the match is usually great.

As for painting panels, me personally I'd use a spray gun for the better finish as rattle cans are harder to get a good finish on bigger panels.

Have you tried finding a replacement boot in good condition?

[cpikey316_]

I have this dilemma also, my 2p is;

You really need somewhere to do it, if its gonna be a visible piece. Dry and wind free. Not a problem in Australia probably!

How fussy are you? I guess if you were really fussy with paint you wouldnt even consider doing it yourself.

How much time do you have?

Im wrestling with this myself, as some parts of my Pajero need rust removal and spraying. Thankfully, most of it, is not visible stuff. So im probably gonna have a crack at it myself.

I've done alloys before, and took lots of time sanding and cleaning between coats. They did pretty well!

[Iceman299]

Can always spray it yourself and if it doesn't turn out well, sand/prep it to save labour costs at a bodyshop.

I sprayed my alloys today, spending about 30min/wheel and they came out pretty nice for a rushed job and cost £1 a wheel  (2 cans of primer and 2 silver from poundland)

[Beanie]

Poundland. Jeez I miss that shop. Nah we have nuthin like them over here. Well we do have cheap shops but usually pretty crappy.

I'm not a perfectionist really. I suppose I'd treat doing my boot lid almost as a project. While it is quite dry in Queensland right now, the majority of the time it's extremely humid so if I am gonna do this I'd better crack on with it.

I am also aware that we have zillions of tiny insects that, no doubt, would do their best to stick themselves to the new paint.

I think finding a replacement boot lid over here in the same colour is like finding an honest lawyer. I think the term 'rare as hens teeth' would be quite apt.

[insomaniac45]

With a little time and effort, you can get really good results from rattle cans.

I used to only spray with rattle cans as i dont have a compressor. I do have a small hobby airbrush, but that is useless when it comes to large areas (anything over a coaster size)

This was all done with rattle cans.





unfortunately i dont have any finished project build photos, as it was all lost in a workshop fire.

2500grit wet and dry, plus a washing up liquid mix is your best friend when it comes to rattle cans.
When the surface is prepd for primer, i do at least 2 good coats of primer, then rub it with wet and dry, once cleaned and acceptable, i then do at least 3-4 coats of color. This then gets flatted with 2500 wet and dry. all while wet, and it is best to leave your paper in a bucket for at least 20 mins before rubbing. (this allow the paper to soften a little, and prevents deep scratches being created while flatting off)

once again cleaned and dry, i then do at least 6 coats of lacquer. Alot i know, but once that is dry, i then flat it off, and hit it with cutting compound, then a really good T-Cut. It comes out like a mirror. It is alot more work than spray gun, but this system has enabled me to get consistently great results, and all it really costs is time.


Tony.