I need to spray a couple of new panels before fitting them to the car. Is this a job that I could consider doing myself? Never sprayed anything before in my life.
We've had a quote from a local sprayshop to do them for £170, and we might find someone cheaper I guess. Is it worth trying to do it ourselves or should we leave it to the experts?
"GB" gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
How good do you want the finished job to be?
How big are the panels? How old is the car? What colour? Metallic? Clear-coated? Were you thinking of using rattle-cans or proper spray equipment?
Reasonable, but doesn't have to be perfect.
Front wing and large wraparound bumper on an 8 year old Punto. Was wondering whether to leave the bumper in black tbh.
It's a solid red colour. I'm not sure whether there's a lacquer over the top - I'd say probably not.
I'm assuming the rattle cans would be prohibitively expensive for that sort of area, so it might be cheaper to buy/hire a spray system. Can you get a reasonable result with the cans?
For £170 I'd grab that offer especially if you have never sprayed anything before ...by the time you hire stuff and buy paint ,thinners ,tack rags ,wet 'n dry etc and you need clean premises out of dust and wind etc .That's assuming you don't make an arse of it .
Will he charge the same if you fit them first cos if you damage them during fitting you'll not be best pleased will you ?
God knows how many years ago, maybe 30, I bought a very cheap Apollo low pressure paint sprayer which I intended to do my old Marina up with. It never in fact got used on that but I did a door for a friend's car in black cellulose and some other odds and sods and it made a lovely job. Maybe not quite to Rolls Royce standards but a fantastic glossy finish. I got a couple of small runs which needed buffing down which was entirely my own fault for going a bit too heavy with the coats and a couple of minor pinholes which probably meant I hadn't got every trace of contaminant off the base coat but nothing that was the fault of the gun itself. I'm sure with more practice I'd have got even better results.
The modern equivalent is probably this for £96.
Colour match is the issue. Rattle cans would come to about £30. You can get a decent finish with them if the prep is good but the colour match will be s**te.
I'd pay the sprayshop, unless you have the gear and experience. I have painted small items with cans, and you can get a good finish, but anything larger will take a long time and be pricey.
Thanks all, for the advice. I'm going to see what quotes I can get for the painting.
Tim.
Have something to add? Share your thoughts — no account required.
Ask the community — no account required