Do your own car painting, preparing and painting the sill of a Lotus Elise

In this video we are preparing and painting the sill of a lotus elise in the DIY paint booth

[@Gentleboy80]

This was the last push that I needed to go for my own project (Booth + painting my car). Great job + video. merci beaucoup for sharing all your experience with the world ;-)

[@rossl2544]

P1200 is way fine for primer, you should be looking at using P180 to P320 before primer and before the basecoat P800 to P1000 depending on colour is more than enough, you go to fine and the paint will have nothing to stick to and could/will just peel off in big sheets. by the way its easier and faster to just dry sand it with some da discs and it makes less mess. when you was talking about sanding with your fingers and getting strips is called tram lines and you can also get these when your using a sanding block to if you use the sanding block in the wrong way. if you use the block the way you was using it you are more likely to get tram lines in the panel, if you use the sanding block at a 45 degree angle you are less likely to get tram lines as there is less of an edge to block if that makes sense. you need to be careful about using thinners on a panel as a cleaner due to the fact it can cause any old paint to soften which with the solvent of the new paint can cause a reaction where the old paint pickles up and lifts away from the surface (i guess in this case it dose not matter as there is no old paint to worry about) you can also warm paint up by putting it in a bucket of warm/hot water before you mix (of course keeping it in the tins it came in and youll have to do it with both the paint and the hardener) this also thins the paint down so you require less thinners to make it the right viscosity. you dont always filter paint it depends what type of paint it is your using for example you dont filter a HS (high solid) primer as you can remove the solids. Panel wipe is also a wipe or spray on and wipe off chemical once you have panel wiped the part you should not touched it again with your bare hands as you can transfer oils from your skin to the part again (the use of rubber gloves here helps when tack raging things down) . you should not let the basecoat fully dry before applying clear coat as you could end up with the clearcoat not bonding very well to the basecoat, you only need to wait for the basecoat to go to a dull shine all over then your ready to apply your clearcoat. when mixing paints its always faster to pull the solids up threw the hardener and thinners than to just stir the paint around in the mixing cup, also be sure to use the mixing stick to scrape the sides and bottom of the cup to make sure all the paint gets mixed in well. to reduce the amount of overspray in the air you just need to lower the air pressure a little. it looks like you had a good result for your first try in the booth mate, the only thing i would say is maybe a little heavier on the clearcoat would have given a nicer finish as it looked like it never quite flowed out like glass. it also looks like the panel could have done with a small amount of filler in it, if you pause the video at 16 mins and 43 seconds towards the left hand side there looks to be a low spot on the back edge (the edge furthest away from the camera, i guess its just under the door shut) but all in all very good job mate, can not wait to see old rusty painted up :)

[@D3Sshooter]

Hi Ross, that is really a great write-up. Thanks do much for the details and insight. I have seen that little dent ( well slight dent) . I was considering it to remove it . But then again its where the door sits, and can't be seen when the door is closed and real low to the ground. So , I decided not to spend time on it.

[@oliverscorsim]

Long time painter/body guy/ resto guy. I agree with everything this guy said except the base drying part. Depends on the paint but for the most part all systems give you 24hrs for a chemical bond. I can't really understate how big of a deal p1500 before primer is. It's gonna fall off in the coming years. For a nice perfect part anything under p500 is fine but any smoother isnt gonna bite in for a mechanical bond.

[@scattkiwiman]

nice ! making your own paint booth and painting yourself, talking about perseverance !

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks for the comments

[@marcchantal5016]

You are very talented. More videos please

[@kimchipig]

Excellent work! I learned so much from you in this series. I will never paint a car but I really enjoy learning how to do it. I also have the utmost admiration for all the dedicated pro painters out there. There are lots of you and it is really an art and a science that takes a long time to get right.

[@D3Sshooter]

Thank you, and indeed i found out that the more I know about a subject , the more I know that I know nothing.

[@Electrolab28Ag]

D3Sshooter, nice job on the painting, however, one piece of advise when using a tack rag or cloth.....always open the tack rag and let it breath, then bundle it and wipe the panel lightly., if you rub the panel two hard you can introduce the stickiness from the rag into the paint or panel and can cause problems.

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks for pointing it out.... and indeed you are right

[@453421abcdefg12345]

An excellent result, and I am sure that you put far more effort into this than a "professional" sprayer would, as they know what shortcuts they can get away with, and to them, time is money, I am still unsure about the clearcoat system, as there are many vehicles driving around with very bad clearcoat separation problems, but it does give a very shiny finish with relatively little effort. The problem you will now have is when you fit the panel to the rest of the car ! You will end up spraying the whole car. Many thanks for posting this.

[@D3Sshooter]

Thank you for the comments, I always try to do better.. I have seen those problems as well on separation on some cars. Although , I believe that the painter went el cheapo on clear coat or a none compatible coat. I need to paint the clamshells (front and rear) left door and some other parts. The paint is made to color and the panels that can stay look as good...

[@stanleyabdilla2530]

thank you very much .ive been hoping to find an article like you produced

[@D3Sshooter]

You are welcome!

[@Gord19]

outstanding work yet again

[@D3Sshooter]

Txs for the comments

[@Gopherdave1]

Another awesome video! Thank you.

[@D3Sshooter]

Thank you

[@zak7990]

nice video mate so u know if u spray metallic base don't leave it overnight or on the direct sun light because the metallic pigments in the paint will die and paint will change color it is best to spray base and wait about half an hour and apply clear because base dries pretty quick keep it up.

[@D3Sshooter]

Txs for the comments and indeed that is the case. In fact the open time of the Cromax base coat is max 24 hours...

[@defendermender4959]

Good video, im self taught at painting too, but find it really enjoyable as well. Theres so much work in it though. Only tip i'd add is open up your tack rag layers and use it like a ball, i didn't realise that was what you did first time i used it, until a pro told me haha they last longer and pick up the dirt better. Really good video series i enjoyed it! You'll find you'll get less dust the more times you use it when ive done homemade booths the dust is always more the first few times.

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks and indeed that is a good tip. What gun do you use ?

[@defendermender4959]

D3Sshooter I’ve a few different guns, but I’m a Devilbiss man 😂 main one is the Devilbiss Gti prolite with the 1.2 and 1.3 great gun, puts out a massive fan, leaves a beautiful finish. I’ve a 3M accuspray for HB primer which is just ok, I’d buy the Devilbiss primer gun if I had the choice again. I’ve a few other cheap ones, and a Devilbiss Starting line for epoxy primer i started out years ago with the JGA suction fed and I guess brand loyalty 😂. Try the evercoat fillers amazing stuff, especially the easy sand- it’s what UPol dolphin glaze wishes it was, blue hardener is a god send too. Evercoats plastic mixing boards are brilliant, quick wipe with a scotch brite pad and some thinner and you can use them over and over again, beats the onion boards and you waste less. If you’ve not tried them try Chris at sprayguns direct, great company to deal with.

[@muckman5509]

Another great video. Quick question, since you had both clams off and side skirts, do you think you could of completely changed the colour of the whole car properly? Or dose that require the car inside the paint booth?

[@D3Sshooter]

You could if both sills were off... But that is a major job. I did it because of the repair.

[@muckman5509]

@@D3Sshooter so if I was to do a full colour change I’d have to buy new side skirts ?

[@ceesklumper]

I read someplace you don't want to use water to clean the floor of the paint booth shortly before painting, as it will raise the humidity level in the air which is not good for the paint. Not sure if it's 100% true or how important it is, but it does make sense to me

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks for the comments, it works for me to keep the dust down. Note that there is also air extraction and I have never had an issue with it. But its possible.

[@IngeBall]

Nice job! Is there any difference in laying basecoat, metallic vs solid? I'm thinking that the "flakes" will sink towards the bottom the longer one is waiting for flashtime . Just speculating loud. Cheers!

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks for the comments,No really... I as long as you follow the datasheet of the paint and respect the viscosity, flashtimes, layers, pressure and nozzle

[@pitlion1]

Looks great!,but do you not use high volume air fittings on your paint guns and air lines?

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks for the comments, well spotted and indeed I do not... so far no issues . Off course that would be better

[@biggymoret9414]

Hallo ik had een vraag kunt u mij vertellen waar u die verwarmings paneelen hebt gekocht bvb dank

[@D3Sshooter]

Ik kocht die in Nederland infraroodverwarmingstore.nl/infrarood-panelen.html

[@biggymoret9414]

ok dankjewel ik ben nou een spuitcabine /garage aan het bouwen ik vondt uw video heel informatief ik heb wel beperkt ruimte

[@andarthome142]

Whow that first paint job came out great, why don't you wear the white suit when take of the dust with this cleaners?, i think dust from your own close came on it afther you clean it, but afther all another great video, as always Thumps upp :-)

[@D3Sshooter]

Thank you for the comments and indeed, it would be better to have worn that suit . In fact just before spraying I did tack rag with the suit on for the second time.

[@bloodreighn]

no runs? even on your first "pro" type spray? thats impressive

[@jusb1066]

es, with a real spray gun with accurately thinned paint, runs arnt that common

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks, and no because I kept the viscosity and temp as it should besides using the right nozzle and pressure... and paying attention to the distance and flow... I used to paint every so often about 25 years ago...

[@D3Sshooter]

Indeed, of one respects the mix etc... it makes a big difference

[@jusb1066]

things have improved over the years, more information from manufacturers on how to get get results from products, back 30 odd years ago, you had to work it out yourself and thus stuck to the same products for decades

[@D3Sshooter]

Thanks and indeed, that is also what I remember form those days with Glaso

[@estpst]

surprised you are not wearing gloves when using those toxic chemicals in prep.

[@D3Sshooter]

itsjustme i should and normally i do. But ran out of them and hard to get on a sunday. So yes you are 100% right

[@453421abcdefg12345]

Unless you are doing this all day every day it is hardly a concern, the biggest advantage/need of gloves, is to prevent oil marks from your hands contaminating the prepared surface.

[@estpst]

​@@453421abcdefg12345chemicals are absorbed through the skin, so it can not be good.