I need tips!

[Nas Escobar]

Well I'm going to start off by saying that I'm not a professional by any means. However, I can't afford a body man or a shop at all. I barely have enough to pay rent.

So with that said, the first thing I'm going to tell you is this... The worst thing you can do is spray paint it. I only state this because it's a major pain to spray a large piece. I talk from experience. I dipped my trunk lid. It gets tedious and it's hard to give it a factory look because when you spray a large piece, your coverage area is small. It's also hard to control the spray when in it's in a can when it comes to large pieces. It's very easy to get runoff or parts with a thicker coat and others with a thinner coat. I personally would advice you to NOT paint any large piece with a spray can.

My personal advice? If you don't have the materials, shop around and ask how much will they charge you to repaint the hood. Then take that estimate and shop around for the materials you'll need. You'll need a sanding block, sandpaper, primer, paint, paint reducer (if it doesn't come premixed and ready to shoot), an electric paint gun (you can go with an air tool if you have the air compressor or can rent it), and clear coat. You also have to buff it at the end so you'll need a buffer of some sort. The buffing gives it the factory look, but the sanding gives it a uniform look as you go through coats. The sanding is what fixes the pieces that got thicker coats for a uniform thin coat. That's why you sand with medium sandpaper and go finer as the coats progress. You also need cleaning solution and a microfiber rag/towel to wipe the surface down before the new coat goes on. Gets rid of all the particles.

So it's not an easy task. It's very doable, but it's something that takes practice. If I was you, I'd start practicing with smaller pieces like trim, so you get a feel for how painting is. Start painting small stuff with a rattle can, so you can learn spray patterns and techniques. If you can get the hang of a can, then you'll be able to transition to a gun without much issue. You'll still have to learn how to use the gun, how to regulate it, what's the best way to shoot the paint, but it won't be a huge learning curve because you'll know the principle (paint uniform, make sure it doesn't run off, don't stay in one area, etc.) and you'll know more or less what result you want.

As far as primer goes, stick with gray. Primer does affect how the paint comes out, but you may get the paint to be too dark if you go with a black primer. I've heard of folks using a red primer for dark colors but personally, I'd do gray. I've actually painted pieces black with gray primer. It doesn't look bad at all. The black is still very dark and shines pretty nice (spray cans mind you). You can't tell the difference when it's on the car.

[zzyzzx]

Originally Posted by Nas Escobar

I'd start practicing with smaller pieces like trim, so you get a feel for how painting is.

Practice on some scrap metal, like a saved piece off an appliance that you threw out.