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  • DukeOfUndersteer

    March 17, 2010 12:09 p.m. DukeOfUndersteer SuperDork

    So I am picking up my Jetta that needs a paint job and am going to do a "Do It Yourself" paint job thanks to Harbor Freight having all the equipment that i need. I am stuck on some colors that i really like, but dont know which one to choose... Duplicolor has both for the same price, so its just deciding which one.

    First, from working at Lotus, ive taken to the "Storm Titanium" color. This is it:

    The second color i am considering is the Audi "Dolphin Gray", saw it on a A4 and would think it would look good:

    So, what do you guys think?

  • Ian F

    March 17, 2010 12:18 p.m. Ian F Dork

    Are both metallic? I can only offer that every first-time-DIY paint job I've seem that did so with a metallic color had it come out a bit splotchy. I think I would chose a more forgiving color. Otehr than that, I guess I like the darker color better.

  • cxhb

    March 17, 2010 12:18 p.m. cxhb Reader

    The Louts color. I'm not sure what it is about it, but it seems to pop and look a little better than the Audi's somewhat tame color...

    It wouldn't surprise me if the Audi looked a little better had the picture been taken outside.

  • DukeOfUndersteer

    March 17, 2010 12:22 p.m. DukeOfUndersteer SuperDork

    The Audi color isnt really a metallic... this is more like the color for Dolphin Gray...

  • poopshovel

    March 17, 2010 12:36 p.m. poopshovel UltraDork

    MHO: I have a buddy with a Miata similar in color to the Lotus. We sprayed the wheels with the rattle can duplicolor metallic stuff closer to the color of the Audi, and it came out E36 M3-hot, in that "tone on tone" kinda way. It's enough of a difference in tone that it's obviously deliberate.

    Also, the HF HVLP sprayers aren't bad if you keep 'em clean. The 'detail' sprayers are really good for touch ups in tight spots, and I think they're on sale right now for $15 or so...at which point, there's almost no point in spending an hour cleaning it when you're done.

  • John Brown

    March 17, 2010 12:39 p.m. John Brown MegaDork

    Too good for roller applied hammertone paint? Jeesh!

  • mtn

    March 17, 2010 12:42 p.m. mtn UltraDork

    lotus. The other one just looks grey.

  • JeffHarbert

    March 17, 2010 12:43 p.m. JeffHarbert Reader

    I've always liked the Dolomite Gray available on TTs:

  • DukeOfUndersteer

    March 17, 2010 12:46 p.m. DukeOfUndersteer SuperDork

    poopshovel wrote:

    Also, the HF HVLP sprayers aren't bad if you keep 'em clean. The 'detail' sprayers are really good for touch ups in tight spots, and I think they're on sale right now for $15 or so...at which point, there's almost no point in spending an hour cleaning it when you're done.

    Awesome! Thanks for the tip! After im done with Pull-A-Part, stoppin in HF to check em out...

    got our plans for the "DIY Paint Booth

  • dyintorace

    March 17, 2010 12:51 p.m. dyintorace Dork

    Lotus color!

  • Ian F

    March 17, 2010 1:28 p.m. Ian F Dork

    HUGE difference between painting some wheels and painting a whole car.

    But.. if you're to throw caution to the wind and try anyway, a couple of comments about the paint booth.

    Mainly, it needs to be wider. MUCH wider. At least 12'... maybe 14. I say this because you really need to be able to see what you are doing when painting the sides of the car. My garage is about 12' wide and when I park my Jetta inside, I can just about open the doors without them hitting the walls. I have just enough room to do service work on the car (pulling tires, brakes, etc). This was the down-fall of a friend who painted his Spitfire (a narrow car) in his garage (much wider than 12'). He couldn't see the sides of the car well enough and when the car is out in sunshine, you can really tell when the spray over lap is. If foxtrapper happens to see this thread, he knows who and what car I'm talking about. If you are space limited, perhaps put the car on dollies and push it to one side of the booth and paint the sides separately.

    Light. As much light as you can rig up. I'd consider multiple 2L flourescents mounted on stands pointing at the sides of the car. Look at pro paint booths. Those have just as many lights on the walls as they do in the ceiling.

  • DukeOfUndersteer

    March 17, 2010 1:42 p.m. DukeOfUndersteer SuperDork

    In reply to Ian F:

    Thanks for the advice. ya, we were taking those plans and were planning on adding to the overall size to get the Jetta in there. We have our giant shop here to use so we have all the room to mess with. Awesome tip about the lights, ill have to add those to the lsit that i have...

  • Travis_K

    March 17, 2010 1:46 p.m. Travis_K Dork

    Ignore this if you have alot of experience pantiang cars, but... I used to go to a college that had an autobody program and i saw alot of cars painted by people who hadnt done it before. If you are going for something better than roller rustolem (and arent planning to match the stock color nesessarly) get PPG base/clear paint in a plain (as in non metallic, etc) color. Those were the paintjobs that looked good, most of the ones that people tried to do with fancy colors ended up looking pretty bad, same with cheap paint.

  • Timeormoney

    March 17, 2010 5:56 p.m. Timeormoney New Reader

    The darker the paint, the better the body work has to be.

  • GPDren

    March 17, 2010 6:12 p.m. GPDren New Reader

    Check some current mags for HF coupons. They have their 20oz gravity feed spray gun for $9.99 with the coupon (I know Honda Tuning April 10 issue has the coupon). I've used the 6oz (I think it's 6oz) touchup gun and it's pretty good after some adjustment.

    I'd go with the Storm Titanium, though both are great looking colors to me.

  • Streetwiseguy

    March 17, 2010 8:25 p.m. Streetwiseguy Reader

    Buy an extra quart or so and spray a junk door or hood or something to get the feel- particularly if you are gonna shoot a metallic. REALLY easy for an beginner to stripe his car.

    67 Impala 4 door hardtop, metallic green is how I know.

  • Appleseed

    March 18, 2010 12:41 a.m. Appleseed Dork

    Any kind of blemishes on the metal and it'll show. I helped a guy paint a Wagoneer about 15 years ago, and it fisheye'd like a mofo (oil.) Do a lot of prep. Go gray.

  • Racedreamer

    March 18, 2010 7:07 a.m. Racedreamer New Reader

    Beware of cheap spray guns. Also be sure the gun you buy has the correct needle size for the particular type of paint you plan to spray. It was many moons ago but I found Sata gravity feed guns to be very reliable.

    Do some test panels. Junk yards will almost give you the stuff that is a little beat up. Then you'll be able to get a feel for how the paint lays down, or if you'll need different reduce. Get slower reducer for warmer days and faster for cooler days.

  • 4cylndrfury

    March 18, 2010 7:25 a.m. 4cylndrfury SuperDork

    Personally, I dont care much for metallic paint, except on vintage sheetmetal. Id say go with a lighter, solid grey, and if you can mix in a tiny bit of orange, the bronzey grey that comes out can be really cool, but Im no good with paint at all, so my advice for mixing paint should be taken with a grain of salt...or a spoonful

    -EDIT- Also, Im becoming more and more a fan of a matte clear coat, this can hide a lot of bad paint technique. Im not calling you a bad car painter, Im just sayin...

  • Raze

    March 18, 2010 10:45 a.m. Raze HalfDork

    Timeormoney wrote:

    The darker the paint, the better the body work has to be.

    truer words were never spoken, thats why we painted the track rat white!

 

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