Quick advice on DIY spray painting...

[Jim 2]

I did a search but couldn't turn up any simple advice really.

 

In short I want to buy a new one of those rear number plate light surrounds (that corrode like hell and rust) and spray it up myself. It says in ETKA that it comes primered and ready to paint, and I have some proper VAG Flash Red spray paint (and another can of lacquer) - obviously its a very small piece of trim and doesn't need to look perfect or anything, but other than spraying the thing carefully and lacquering it after, is there any other work I should do before / after on it?

 

Thanks!

[Andy665 0]

Didn't know you could still get these Jim, any idea how much?

 

Apologies for going off-topic :D

[Jim 2]

Its showing up as about 6 Euro's but that translates almost directly to pounds if my recent trips to the stealer are anything to go by..

 

Few people on here have told me you can still buy em from VW so I think they're still available! :)

[Andy665 0]

I'll ask when I'm at Dane Chester tomorrow, get full VW staff discount there :D

[Yandards 0]

The spare one I have in a bag is not primed, just zinc coated.

 

To be honest Jim, just go for it, it is hard enough to see the thing on the car so you might as well just give it a shot. Get a tin of zinc primer to start, couple of coats of that then move on to a high build primer, make sure you stick a coat of white/grey on before you start the red to get a good colour match.

 

Oh and you won't need lacquer on a red car as there is none, lacquer is metallics only.

[Supercharged 2]

Yeah - they don't come primed, they are a fiver ish

[gradeAfailure 0]

See, we thought that, but in a couple of places it definitely looks like lacquer on the bodywork... apologies, I digress...

 

I wouldn't bother with high-build primer, you're not trying to even out any surface imperfections on such a small piece! Just a few good even coats of a gray zinc primer, flat it back with w&d, then a few good coats of the Flash Red should see you right... If you feel you should lacquer it, w&d the paint then again, a few good coats of clear on top... If it all goes pear-shaped, just let it dry, sand it back and do it again! Nae worries... :lol:

[gsbellew 0]

Its etch primer you want, not zinc primer, zinc primer is for rust proofing purposes, etch primer is designed to adhere to metal substrates that would ordinarily not take paint well.

 

Also with regards to laquer and straight non metallic colours, its not strictly true to say that a non metallic colour does not need laquer as they can either be direct gloss (no laquer) or base coat, which would need laquer.

 

I am not sure what volkswagen used on the late Corrado's, but I know mk3 golfs were clear over base, would stand to reason that the later Corrado's may also be clear over base too.

[Jim 2]

See.. three posts about painting, all with differing suggestions on what to do! Obviously I appreciate the input guys but its just confused me even more now ;)

 

Whats the deal with wet and dry.. is it a sort of sandpaper or something you need to use wet? Sorry but i'm a total painting newbie but as I say, just spraying up a tiny piece of trim you rarely see is a good place to start and make some mistakes! :)

 

And what sort of grit / weight would I want of wet and dry?

[daves16v 1]

Jim, if you can wait, my car is going in for some paint in the next month and I'll get him to paint your bit too if you like. I need that part doing on mine also. Won't be any charge on such a small item.

 

Let me know.

Dave

[JIMMI 0]

Im a spray painter so what im gonna tell you do is correct, i know this as i do it every day !!

 

[align=center]BUY[/align]

 

[align=center]1 SHEET OF 800 GRADE WET AND DRY[/align]

[align=center]1 CAN OF ANY PRIMER (UPOL STUFF FROM HALFORDS IS OK)[/align]

 

Quickly prep the light cover with the 800 wet and dry using plenty of water then dry it off properly making sure it is clean and dry. While doing this put the can of primer, paint & lacquer in warm water. When the cover is dry give it a quick clean off with some white spirit or similar.

Put a piece of clean paper on the bench or wherever you are gonna paint it then put a very fine dust coat of primer on it you dont even need to completely cover it just a nice even coat will do. Wait two mins or so and get ready with the colour, same again very light coats until the object is all one colour with no patchiness, dont worry about a shine of any sort with the colour. Use a hairdryer and gently fire some heat onto it for about 30 seconds then hit it with the lacquer, this is the part which determines the shine so build up slowly til you get a nice finish on it.

This will work and give you the finish you want, also as i dont know if your paint is base coat or not this way will produce the results either way.

 

Jimmi.............................

[Jim 2]

Jim, if you can wait, my car is going in for some paint in the next month and I'll get him to paint your bit too if you like. I need that part doing on mine also. Won't be any charge on such a small item.

 

Really appreciate the offer Dave! I think i'll have a go first as is something i'd like to learn about and then if I end up having a mare, then i'll get in touch ;)

 

JIMMI - brilliant, thats exactly what I wanted. You're a gent! Will have a go at this in a week or two hopefully :)

[daves16v 1]

Jim, No problem, I'll mention it again just before mine goes in.

[jonnyboyo 0]

JIM post a piccy up (good or bad) of the end result. Hope it goes smoove!

[daves16v 1]

Jim, Having paint done in about 2 weeks, gives you plenty of time to completely mess it up or make it a work of art.

[Jim 2]

I am hopefully going down to the stealers tomorrow to pick up and pay for a silly little clip that I ordered the other day - will try and order it then!

[daves16v 1]

I picked one up today £5.69 + vat

[Jim 2]

Groovy :) Thanks again for the offer Dave.

 

Can I chuck my front bumper in for some paint? It needs it the most :D

[daves16v 1]

Groovy :) Thanks again for the offer Dave.

 

Can I chuck my front bumper in for some paint? It needs it the most :D

 

Can do if you're serious, I'll ask him for a price if you like.

[Jim 2]

I have to admit, I would be interested. I have a small bit of damage and was quoted £100 by chips away to fix it..

 

I know its a cheeky question but if you dont ask you don't get eh! If you're happy to at least enquire, that'd be cool.. sure I could manage without the car for a few days / week whatever?

[daves16v 1]

Ok Jim, I'll ask the question.

 

Yeah you're right - don't ask don't get.

[Jim 2]

Right... the bit has come in to my local dealers so going to pick it up, along with the other bits I need on Saturday hopefully. Will report back on how I get on with JIMMI's guide! :)

[herisites 0]

One of my work mates attempted to repair a big scratch down the door of his car. Bless him i just had to laugh when i saw it, he just bought some spray paint in his colour and sprayed over it and he's got paint runs and everything, looks terrible!! I have offered to wet sand it down and machine polish it back up so i should finish up looking pretty good. When i get round to it i will post some pics of how i do it 8)

[Jim 2]

Right then! Had a go at this today finally.. got me 800 grade wet and dry, got a hoofing great can of the upol stuff from Halfords and got stuck in.

 

Its turned out pretty darn well thanks to your guide JIMMI - certainly not workshop quality, and certainly a "home" effort but most importantly a million times better than the scabby bit of trim i'm taking off to replace it with! I missed a bit in one of the screw recess holes and i'm not sure what i'm supposed to do about painting the flip side of the thing... was going to wait till it was dry, turn it over and do the same but the worry is that i'll get paint running through to the other side through the gaps? But anyway here is some old and new comparison shots!

 

Cheers.

[Jim 2]

Well I ended up cocking it up a bit. When it felt pretty dry I flipped it over and quickly painted the other side and lacquered it but unfortunately some ran through and stuck the bit to the newspaper. When I pulled it up a few bits of damage were done but its on the very underside and not the back bit that you actually see when the spoiler goes up so not too bad still :) At least its all painted now!

 

I didn't have a hair dryer so just bunged it in the oven for a minute on a very low temperature.. seemed to do the job ok! :)