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One-Day Paint Job
Car in need of a paint job
Steve Dalton’s neighbor had this slightly scruffy ’91
Camaro and it quit running. A fuel-injected car, he
figured it would cost too much to fix, so he was
going to sell it to the local Pick-A-Part wrecking yard
for $200. Steve offered him $200 for it, ascertained
it was a bad fuel pump in the tank, replaced it, and
had the car running fine in a few days. It had alloy
wheels, a decent interior, and other amenities, but
the body had some scrapes and dings (and prior
work) and the paint was sad.
So Steve started doing some bodywork on it and planned to take it to a one-day type shop for a
repaint in the original color.
You’ve got a car or truck that needs painting. But you can’t afford—or don’t want to pay—the two,
three, or five thousand dollars it realistically costs to have a local body and paint shop do the work.

Or maybe the vehicle in question really isn’t worth a two to five thousand dollar paint job, but you’d
like a nice paint job on it anyway.
That is, if you could find a body and paint shop that even does a regular, full paint job. I don’t know
about where you live, but in most metropolitan areas these days, such shops make their money on
collision repair, paid for by insurance companies. They pull frames straight, replace fenders, glass,
and so on with new pieces, then spot-paint what’s needed to match the finish on relatively new cars.
Most such shops won’t even work on anything resembling an “old” vehicle, let alone do a full paint
job—especially one requiring a color change—which would require some hours of hand-work like
sanding, masking, and so on.    

And given that situation, if you can find a shop that is willing to paint your car, for whatever price,
how good are they? Car painting is probably not their primary business. For whatever reasons—
government regulations, cost of materials, cost of labor, or more likely the marked improvement in
factory paint jobs that last much longer than they used to—there just aren’t many “auto painting”
businesses anymore. There are a few high-dollar custom-paint specialists (where you’ll pay several
thousand dollars—often into five figures). And then there are the low-buck one-day in-and-out paint
places, such as Earl Scheib or Maaco, that have franchises all across the country (where you can
get in-and-out for as little as a few hundred bucks).
Since you get what you pay for in this world, a few hundred bucks doesn’t promise a great paint job.
The way we would turn a bottom-dollar finish into a decent one in the old days was to do a lot of the
work ourselves, pay more, and make special requests on how the shop handled the job. Our first
task, of course, was to take everything possible off the car that you didn’t want them to get paint on
(otherwise they would). Second was to hand-sand all the paint, being sure to feather-edge any
chips or scratches as much as possible, without sanding to bare metal. Third, the real trick was to
pay twice the going rate (which was still plenty cheap) just to get them to spray on twice the allotted
amount of paint. To tightly control costs, The Earl only allowed something like two quarts of paint
per car, which barely covered a sedan, let alone a wagon. For the extra money you could get two
coats of paint, including the rocker moldings, around wheelwells, and so on. Fourth—and this was
important—was to ask them to paint the car with the doors shut. This way they couldn’t get any
paint on the interior, which would invariably happen otherwise. Plus, the extra paint that would have
been used in doorjambs could go on the outside of the car. Finally, we’d ask them not to paint the
wheels, because no cool car had body-color wheels (especially not Earl Scheib body color), and
they’d always get paint on the tires, too. Then, when we got the car home, after letting the paint dry
for a week or so (so it wouldn’t pull off with masking tape), we’d sand and mask the doorjambs and
paint them with spray cans in black, a color to match the dash/interior, or a shade as close to the
outside as possible. And we’d paint the wheels white, black, or red and add whatever hubcaps were
coolest at the time. Then after waiting the prescribed six months or so, we would wax the car. The
remaining task was to keep it clean and take care of it. Even an old-days Earl Scheib paint job
responded very well to care and upkeep. The more you waxed it (especially as the enamel paint
finally hardened somewhat), the better it looked. If you did it right and kept the car up, even other
car nuts probably couldn’t tell it came from Uncle Earl’s. Especially if you had it painted black.
Car with areas reworked and in primer Wet sanding
GM had some primer coat problems around
this time, and the paint on the roof and trunk
had peeled. Steve had already stripped these
areas and primed them, along with some other
areas he’d bodyworked, when I contacted him
about following the paint job for this book.
Besides removing emblems and doing
spot-priming, Steve wet-sanded areas that
needed special attention, but decided to leave
most sanding to the paint shop.
body work on front fender Removing trim and preparing to paint
Steve did any bodywork that needed metal
straightening or plastic body filler, since he
trusted his own work and it would be a
considerable extra expense at the paint shop.
The shop we chose is actually called 1-Day
Paint & Body, a small chain located in the
Southwest. Steve drove the car there then
removed the taillights, license-plate bracket,
and side-view mirrors.
Parts that need to be painted seperately
Some shops don’t like to paint
loose parts, but 1-Day said it
was no problem. So Steve put
the mirrors, side molding strips,
and a new front air dam in the
trunk for painting separately.
Previous | Next


This has been a sample page from

How to Paint Your Car on a Budget How to Paint Your Car on a Budget
by Pat Ganahl
If your car needs new paint, or even just a touch-up, the cost
involved in getting a professional job can be more than you
bargained for. Fortunately, there are less expensive
alternatives-—you can even paint your own car at home!
In How to Paint Your Car On A Budget, author Pat Ganahl unveils
dozens of secrets that will help anyone paint their own car. From
simple scuff-and-squirt jobs to full-on, door-jambs-and-everything
paint jobs, Ganahl covers everything you need to know to get a
great-looking coat of paint on your car and save lots of money in
the process. This book covers painting equipment, the ins and
outs of prep, masking, painting and sanding products and
techniques, and real-world advice on how to budget wisely when
painting your own car. It’s the most practical automotive painting
book ever written!
Click below to view sample
pages from each chapter!
Introduction - Budget Painting
Chap. 1 - Automotive Painting
Chap. 2 - Paint Stripping
Chap. 3 - Bodywork
Chap. 4 - Painting at Home
Chap. 5 - Paint Products
Chap. 6 - Paint Preparation
Chap. 7 - One-Day Paint Job
Chap. 8 - Sand and Paint
Chap. 9 - Full Paint Jobs
Chap. 10 - Restorations
Chap. 11 - Sand & Buff
8-1/2 x 11"
Softbound
128 pages
Approximately 400 color photos
Item: SA117
Price: $22.95
Click here to buy now!
This is a great book that any enthusiast will love,
whether it's your first paint job or your 50th.


 
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Custom Painting
Custom Painting shows how to produce eye-popping custom paint
tricks. Easy to read and filled with 100s of hints. Includes practical
advice on choosing the right paint, spray gun preparation, and touch-
up techniques, etc.
Custom Painting
Price:
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The Paint & Body Handbook
In this book over 450 illustrations and easy to read text are used
to explain how to repair dents and rust, replace body panels,
repair aluminum and fiberglass, perform sectioning, use lead and
plastic filler, weld patches and panels, shape sheet metal, perform
spot repairs and color matching, prepare the surface for final
paint, choose paint supplies and equipment and apply top coats,
graphics and pinstripes. You'll also find the latest information on
body working tools, environmental regulations, and current paint
equipment, techniques and products.
The Paint and Body Handbook
Price:
$18.95

Pro Paint & Body
This book is a complete resource guide that covers the entire
spectrum of automotive paint and body equipment, and body
repair techniques. You’ll find information on assessing a project
car for damage and estimated repairs, disassembly and paint
stripping, repairing dents including the latest hammer and dolly
tools and techniques, leading, welding, adhesives and plastic
fillers, latest spray guns and spray techniques, current paint
technology, body prep for final paint, color sanding, polishing,
custom colors and custom paint techniques, and much, much
more.
Pro Paint and Body
Price:
$18.95

The Automotive Paint Handbook
More than just a book on how to paint your car, the Automotive
Paint Handbook is a comprehensive resource that covers the
entire field of automotive paint technology, from types of paint
and how to perform a paint job, to advanced OEM factory paint
techniques, paint care and inspection. For years, paint
professionals from companies such as DuPont have used this
book for training. Now fully revised and updated, this best
selling book has the latest information available from the paint
industry.
Automotive Painting Handbook
Price:
$18.95

Auto Upholstery & Interiors
Auto Upholstery and Interiors is a user friendly guide that gives
you the knowledge to m
ake your interior looking like new and
b
y doing the installation work yourself, you save money and
have the satisfaction of learning a new skill.
Detailed sections
include painting interior parts, headliner replacement, carpet
kits, door panels, dashboard restoration, seat kit installation,
kick panels, trunk detailing, steering wheel repairs and swaps,
custom seat installation, using dyes, simple upholstery repairs,
and cleaning and detailing tips
Auto Upholstery and Interiors
Price:
$18.95

Fiberglass and Other Composite Materials
For many years race
cars of all types have been constructed with
lightweight materials in addition to aluminum and steel. These
include fiberglass, kevlar and carbon fiber.  This space age
technology is also being applied to many street cars, street rods,
boats, and light aircraft. Carbon fiber is now used in everything
from tennis rackets and golf clubs to bicycles, telescopes, camera
tripods, and hundreds of other products. This book offers the
latest technology and equipment to help you construct and repair
your own lightweight body panels and components.
Fiberglass and Other Composite Materials
Price:
$18.95


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MRE
PO Box 47
Grinnell, IA 50112


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