If You Need a Respray, Can You Do Some of the Work Yourself?

If you've owned the same car or truck for many a year, it may be beginning to show its age. It could be mechanically sound, and you intend to keep it for some time yet, but it may not look very good, and you may be thinking about a respray. Yet if money is quite tight, what are your options? Should you try and do the entire job yourself, or can you do some preparation work and get the experts to do the hard stuff? What do you need to consider?

Painting Shop

As you are obviously concerned about your vehicle's appearance, you certainly do not want to do a bad paint job. It's not as easy as you might think, and if you don't spray the car correctly, it will stand out like a sore thumb. Also, you need a sterile environment, and while an enclosed garage may do, you will still need to take steps to prepare it before you can proceed. You may need to cover the walls with construction foil, wash the floor carefully to get rid of any trace of dust, get your own PPE equipment and make sure that you keep insects, leaves and other dust outside at all times. This can be difficult to achieve on a windy day!

Prep Work

As a compromise, why not do some of the preparation work yourself but tow the prepared vehicle to an expert for the actual spraying? If you have a lot of patience, you can do most of this in your garage so long as you get the right tools and equipment.

Washing and Removing

To begin with, wash the car very carefully by hand before detaching as many removable parts as you can. This will include bumpers, lights, decorative strips, windshield wipers and door handles. Put those to one side carefully and remember how to put them back.

Taping

Tape over any areas that will not be painted but were not removable and cover any hollow spaces that have been left. Ensure that the tape does not cover any area that will need to be painted.

Pulling, Filling and Sanding

Now you face the challenging work — repairing any dents and filling them in. Don't rush this, as it will definitely affect the final outcome. You also need to sand the entire surface with the correct grit and a sanding block. Be careful in those awkward corners where the paint tends to be thin, as you do not want to go down to the metal itself.

Bringing in the Experts

If you feel that you can do all of this work and, crucially, have the patience, get in touch with a professional paint sprayer. Tell them what you intend to do and how you will transport the vehicle to them, and they'll work with you. Alternatively, ask them to do the whole job if you are concerned about any of the preparation.

For more information on spray painting your vehicle, contact a professional near you.

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