Respraying A Car Essay, Research Paper

In order to do a proper job you must first look over the whole car top to bottom and either write a list of all the dent and rust spots or take photos. If some panels need replacement write down what it is and the year and make of your car, weather it is a sedan or station wagon or ute e.t.c. Once you have found all work that has to be done you need to write a list of the estimated amount of body filler, sand paper and primer is needed. Once all this preliminary work is done you can start work on your car.

It is best to start from the roof down. This is because of over spray, which is annoying and harder to work with in later stages. You sand, remove any rust and dents using body filler and then primer the whole area which will also fill any shallow scratches. You then move on to the boot and bonnet. If you have bought a new panel, work on it before applying it to the car. This is an added bonus because you can have the bonnet or boot on any angle or height to work on, its much more user friendly. You should, if you want a good finish, be doing all this in an enclosed area. Any outdoor area will not be good enough. You also should have good fluorescent lighting so you can see everything. You then move on to the doors, which again if are replaced, work on them before applying them. You have to mask up the windows with masking tape and paper so they do not get any over spray on them

Once your car is prepared for painting there is no rush. You can leave your car at this state if you can t find time spray it. But if you can you first have to sand the primer just a little to smooth it out. Then you either hire out a spray booth or find somewhere that has no airflow and a good dust extraction system. You need an air compressor and a heavy-duty spray gun, you also need your choice of paint that amounts to about 4 litres, you also need clear coat lacquer, which is about 5 litres, and thinners that is about 20 litres. Once you have all this you can spray the car. You first need to mask up whatever you do not want sprayed like windows, lights, wheels, e.t.c. If you intend to spray the car yourself and you have no experience you should have a few lessons on how to use a spray gun because they have totally different characteristics to other spraying methods. Once sprayed you let it dry which takes 24 hours then apply another coat and do this again until you are satisfied with the colour. Then you apply two or more coats of clear lacquer that makes the paint look shinier and also protects it from the weather and the sun.