Wow - I admire you for attempting something like this with your Vette! I'd be too afraid that mine would come out like this:

http://www.c3vr.com/vrforums/message_go.asp?MID=12794

Eric76 said: Wow - I admire you for attempting something like this with your Vette! I'd be too afraid that mine would come out like this: http://www.c3vr.com/vrforums/message_go.asp?MID=12794

Mine might , but it all comes down to what you start with. If my vette was low milaged, or in good original condition, I wouldn't think of painting it myself, ok I would think about it, but would let professionals do it.
I bought my Vette for $2500(gotta love parents), drivable, and it only needed weather stripping, carpet, seats redone(leather), shifter console, T-top headliners, door panels(deluxe), brake system leak fixed, bumper covers replaced, headlight vacuum probs solved, tires, and paint. Funny how before a project becomes yours, you can see how easy and fast it should completed. Before I bought it, I thought my father was wasting time and being cheap,"just spend the $$$" I told him. Now I own it, and I find my self doing the same thing he was doing. I wait until I find a real deal before buying needed parts. New carpet, complete set,$112 bucks on Ebay, and it was right here in town, no shipping, no tax.
Painting it myself may not create a show winner, but I will learn from it, and down the road, if needed, I can shoot it again. If you can't see a flaw in it from 3ft or 5mph, it will work for now. It will be a driver, a fun driver, and hopefully something my son(5yrs old now) will be thrilled to recieve when he hits 16.
Thanks for the links Joe, they are now in "my favorites".

|UPDATED|11/25/2003 7:14:43 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Lacquer is getting harder and harder to find. The VOC content is slowly killing production. Acrylic with a hardner is a good bet. Very durable. It does take more skill than basecoat/clearcoat (bb/cc). Many of the cars in the 80's had a waterbase, which was repaired with lacquer.
To repeat, the prep work is more important than the paint itself. I have repainted many cars, and am an ASE master body tech, as well as master auto, master truck. I teach auto at a Tech College. With that in mind I have had some good sucess in some nasty conditions. But some of that is just luck. Wet the floor and connect a ground strap from the car to the floor to stop static from attracting dust to the finish. You would be amazed the difference this makes. The air flow from the gun produces static buildup. Good luck.

Thanks for the info Ken

Alex

I have painted my 93 and it came out pretty good. I would suggest a bc/cc and not a lacquer paint. It is much more forgiving.

Also, you should remove every thing from the car. Remove the taillights, side markers, trim, etc. The front and rear bumper require a special flex additive if they are the soft type. This will keep the paint from flaking off them in the event of impact.

Use either PPG or Dupont brand. Although you will want to stay away from the Dupont Omni as it lasts only about 5 years before it starts to fade and dull.

Alex

If I had the place to paint..I would be doing the painting myself ( with Hubby's help of course! )

ALl the ''work'' has been done here at home in the carport!!!

Final paint will be done by a friend of ours that has a paint booth.