I have a 1993 Honda accord and because of the age the clearcoat on the tops of the car is burning away. So to fix it I want to paint it myself but re problem is I don’t know weather to get lots of spray cans and clearcoat cansor what. My uncle has a paint sprayer. What are the steps to just parts of the car. Thanks
I have a 1993 Honda accord and because of the age
The MAIN reason is because you’ve probably NEVER waxed the car. I’ve had 12+ year old cars that’s paint was in EXCELLENT shape when I finally sold them.
You’ll NEVER get it to look decent with spray cans. What kind of paint sprayer?? Electric or air??? Electric won’t work that well either…And a air…You’ll need to LEARN how to do this. It’s not as simple as “fill container and spray.”
Before you even begin to spray…you’re going to have to do a lot of prep work…This means LOTS AND LOTS of sanding.
I agree with Mike.
If you don’t spend a very large amount of time on prep work and/or if you don’t know what you are doing with the paint sprayer, you could wind up with a result that looks worse than it does currently.
Why so accusatory???
The likely case is not the original owner(even likely 3rd or 4th), it was repainted along the way due to body work, Honda put poor paint on(not typical).
My only advice before jumping into painting is get a estimate for a quick job. It is much cheaper than most think to simply repaint, body prep is where the price of body work drives up.
I hope you realize that I was agreeing with Mike’s statement about the likely outcome of the homemade paint job. I was not agreeing with his statement to the effect that the OP was at fault. I surmise the same thing that you stated, namely that the OP is likely the 2nd or 3rd owner of the car.
I can’t totally agree with Mike’s post on this one. While spray can jobs will never approach the quality of a proper job, we’re talking about a 16 year old car here.
Personally, when I needed to do some repair work on the side of the bed my old pickup (banged it up by heavy use), I got a pretty darned decent job using spray cans. When waxed it was almost indistinguishable from the surrounding areas. I’d recommend the following procedure.
Prep the surface well. That means, filling, sanding, and cleaning wherever appropriate. Be sure to use glazing compound over the filler tro get a good surface smoothness.
Assume that you’re going to do a larger area than you’d like, keeping in mind that blending the paint with the surrounding paint or spraying entire panels is the trick to reducing how onvious color variations are.
Prime well. Wet sand the primer with 150 or even 220 grit paper. Clean.
Spray in thin coats, always moving the can toward the spray. That reduces overspray. Use plenty of thin coats.
Wet sand with 220, 400, and then 1000 grit. Experiment to see what seems to work for you. Clean.
Buff out with rubbing compound and polishing compound (NOT “car polish”). Clean thoroughly. I personally prefer a wet sponge on a buffer or variable speed drill for these tasks. Use lots of water and lots of compound. A wet slution is best.
Spray with clearcoat, using the same “toward the spray” method.
Buff out with polishing compound.
Clean well, give it a week to cure, and wax.
Yeah, it’s a lot of elbow grease, but done properly it’ll really improve the ol’ buggy.
I can’t totally agree with Mike’s post on this one. While spray can jobs will never approach the quality of a proper job, we’re talking about a 16 year old car here.
Point I’m trying to make…is that unless the paint is falling off the car…why bother…it’s 16 years old. A spray can job isn’t really going to make it look nice…just a little better then what is currently there. Not worth the effort in my opinion.
Understood.
But…I still got the same feeling of satisfaction keeping my old '89 pickup looking good that I got getting that first car…a 1961 Beetle…in shape. I guess it’s the little kid inside me that still likes his bike shiny.
I believe andrew i was referring to MikeInNH.
Spraying is the EASY part. It’s the preparation required before anything gets sprayed that takes hours and hours…You can’t “touch up” the clear coat on a car roof or hood. They must be refinished completely…That means it all gets sanded off, primed, color, clear coat…
What happened to Alex the OP?? You guys are talking to yourselves! (again)
You should start with the hood and experiment. A little wet sanding with 220 grit, cleaning with a wet rag and drying will do it. Then spray clear coat from a spray can and you will be surprised at how good it looks.
I might try that nut what re price?
Ya because my uncle recently sold his 1992 lexus LS 400 and the paint was perfect
Sure, that’s easy for you to say!
;-))
If I were to take it to a pro like mako or something how much do u think they charge?
In my area MAACO occasionally offers a “special” for $249. It’s quality may vary by shop, but the one I’m familiar with was pretty darned decent.
It’s a cleaning with minimal prep and an overspray. Any prep you can do beforehand will improve the results.
I like your detailed answer. WHERE do you suggest getting the supplies? Any brands you prefer?