hwani.h22a.

Most of you detailers probably have painted your own car before..
Ranging from small interior parts, to even full bodykits.

Well, I do this alot also. I have quite a few experiences with painting.
Not that Im an expert, nope. Not even close.
I just read stuff over the internet, and paint stuff.
90% of the time, I had success.
Following basic steps, take enough time(especially between intervals), get serious & concentrate, and be careful with the stuff usually gets the job done right.

My question arose when i had to decide whether I should let shop paint my sideskirts professionally, or just DIY it myself.

I have painted few exterior body parts before, and it was all pretty good.
However, this one experience I had in the past.
I painted my front lip by myself. Came out pretty good.
Then after accident, bodyshop repainted the front lip. Thats when difference between the two came up.
However, it was minimal. Color was pretty much the same, only difference was how shiny it was. Finish was definitely better.
I called, and said those jobs are usually $150~$200 a piece.
I spent $35 dollars when I DIY painted it.

So my question is... Is it worth it? When you DIY paint yourself, you usually end up saving alot of money. Sometimes hundreds of dollars.
(You probably felt this too if you painted big parts before).

but if difference of longer lasting finish and durability of the paint is HUGE...

argh I don't know. Im guessing bodyshop's paint job will be tons better..
but I mean.. if you clean it well... sand the hell out of it... prime it right.. paint it right.. clear coat it right.. and take your time without rushing..
I thought maybe DIY and professional job won't be "too much" different, and cost efficient.
I mean if you are painting your whole car, I guess you don't want to do it yourself if you don't have professional equipments..

those who have experienced both worlds before..
Is there anyway DIY painters can reach to that level?
or any close to it w/o professional equipments?
(since the whole point of DIY is because its cheaper. If you buy all those equipments, it'll end up somewhere else)

I read that sometimes a cheap simple paint gun and right color of paint will result in finish that is nearly as good as DIY paints...

any opinions and thoughts?

GldCrzy

i believe the biggest diff in brightness was because the clearcoat was alot better then the average do-it-yourself stuff that they sell everywhere

XSm

my family owns 2 body shops and i still paint things like fronts lips and stuff myself...my front lip takes a beating and needs some fresh paint every year or so, so its not worth it at all to pay a painters hourly rate to get it done. if you have the ability to do it your self id say go for it! just invest in a good gun and use high quality materials if you're still looking to get close to a "professional job"

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BLACKISWHACK

Alright Im bringing this thread back to life because I want to paint some parts on my old 97 Accord.

Well my friend hit me in my trunk lid, about a 5 inch diameter dent in my trunk panel, so I took that off gave it to my friend at his school to level it out with some special clay for car bodies.

After that, there is about a 10inch by 8inch area on the panel that needs to be painted, the rest of the trunk panel is still in perfect shape. So I want to paint this 10inch by 8inch area by myself.

Where should I start off to do this? Buy a spray gun? Where to buy paint?

Thanks

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derick