How to Paint a Car: Methods and Ways

Painting a car costs a large sum of money, so some motorists are thinking of doing the task on their own. Self-work requires compliance with a lot of subtleties and extreme accuracy. But this does not mean that it is impossible in principle. If you know how to properly, how to paint a car at home, it will turn out well.

Why and how to properly paint the car

There are many reasons to paint, ranging from the desire to refresh the color of the body to the elimination of traces of scratches, chips and defects after the accident. You should immediately pay attention to the importance of preparatory activities. By your own efforts you can:

• prepare the surface;
• make grinding;
• degrease;
• Apply anticorrosive coating.

In preparation, it is necessary to remove contamination using a special shampoo. With the help of an abrasive remove old paint and traces of rust. Degreasing is aimed at removing organic contaminants, residues of bitumen and grease. Anticorrosive layer is used for primary and secondary priming. Only after that can the enamel and varnish be applied. The final step is to dry the surface.

If the car owner is trying to save money on the services of specialists and plans to do all the work himself, he should buy the best quality materials of well-known brands. It is necessary to acquire:

• acrylic colorless varnish in a can;
• degreaser (white spirit, kerosene, acetone will do);
• primer and rust remover;
• sandpaper, a brush with metal bristles, a spatula, and a chisel.

In addition, you will need newspapers, a transparent film to protect the windows and the area of the body not subject to painting, as well as rags. If you are not frightened, then below is a plan of action, but if you lose enthusiasm, it is better to order the painting of a car from the experts.

Plan of action when painting a car

Car cleaning

Washing - the first step, and the car is cleaned most thoroughly. The quality and durability of the paint directly depends on this point.

Experts advise to contact the car wash, where they not only wash until shiny, but also completely dry the body and thereby prepare the car for further action.

Removing the old paint

When painting a part of the car - door, wing etc. - this element is removed or the areas around it are closed with film and masking tape. The paint is removed by washing or mechanically - with an emery, brush, sandblaster.

Particular attention is paid to corroded areas. As for the rinse, leave the liquid for about 30 minutes until the layer softens, and then resort to using a spatula.

Degreasing and priming

Oil stains of organic origin and traces of petrochemicals are removed with a degreaser. Primer will ensure the strongest possible adhesion of paint with the surface, will smooth out minor defects and provide additional protection against corrosion.

Painting a car

During the painting you will need a mask, goggles, respirator, gloves and protective clothing. Plus there should be good air ventilation. When choosing coatings, you should pay attention to the drying temperature. There are formulations that dry at high temperatures in a drying chamber.

For work in the garage will do aerosol acrylic enamel. It copes with its task without criticism and dries at +20 degrees for a couple of days without a drying chamber.

After drying, the bodywork is polished, coated with acrylic varnish and dried again. It is very important that the room is free of dust, insects and high humidity.