FAQ: Flaking, Chipping, Cracking, Thinning Paint

albertj wrote:

Repeated runs thru an automatic car wash will give you that scuffed paint over time, Corey. Grit from other cars gets embedded in brushes and buffers.

That would make sense if I had used the car wash often, but in fact I can't remember a single time in the past decade that this car has been in automatic car wash, any time it was washed, I washed it by hand, and I've barely ever washed it.

So I guess it has to be some other reason :/

That close-up of your paint looks like clear coat failure. My car had that all over as well. In the really bad spots, you would see cloudy rings where the clear had completely crapped out. :/ You could try to wetsand and buff your car but I'm guessing those marks are cracks that go all the way through the clear.

DEMonte1997 wrote:

That close-up of your paint looks like clear coat failure. My car had that all over as well. In the really bad spots, you would see cloudy rings where the clear had completely crapped out. :/ You could try to wetsand and buff your car but I'm guessing those marks are cracks that go all the way through the clear.

Honestly, I'd rather just repaint it :/

I want it matte black!! :o

Won't happen for a while, but if I were to sand down every square inch of my car and prep the car, how much would someone charge for a matte black finish that looks decent anway? I don't have the paint, a compressor, paint gun or anything, but sand paper is cheap. I ask that because if it's stil really pricey then I'm just going to look at eventually buying a compressor, and paint gun in the future. I'd like the compressor for air tools anyway someday lol.

really my main huge problem is that I have no facility available to paint a whole car. I don't have a garage :/

Sounds good to me!

Cost for a full matte black job could be a lot. The finish is finicky and tough to get right. Since you are starting with a pewter colored car, it would also depend on how far you'd want to go with paint (jambs, inside engine bay, etc).

On a cheap budget, you could try the plasti-dip stuff. Or just go with primer black.. lol

As for prep, use 400 grit pads on a DA polisher. That's the easiest way to go. Take your time and make sure you get everything smoothed out. Failing paint needs to be stripped all the way to the metal for a flawless paint job.

My rivi started with a couple chips about the size of the bottom of a can and when i took it in to repaint it i wanted to make sure i got all of the loose paint off so i took an air gun to the chips and it looked like confetti all the paint flying off from wat i could see is the green primer under my paint was not sanded properly before applying the white base coat because the primer where it chipped was perfectly smooth and when i got to places where it wasnt coming off anymore i could see scratches in the primer where it had been sanded

Each one of these spots started out very minor then jus got bigger after i took an air gun to the loose paint and the i tried to feather out the paint with a DA sander with 180 grit paper and it would jus not feather out due to the paint jus falling off until i finally hit a part where the paint would finally feather out

looks like a greasy hands/jhericurl oil-on-hands problem - people in assembly having stuff on their hands and not really getting it all off the "body in white" before the final base/clear paint job. Corners of hood, edge of trunk lid, etc.

Like i said what i could see the problem was that where it was chipping was perfectly smooth and where te paint actualy was sticking and would feather out you could see where the primer had actually been scuffed to help the paint stick better u dont technically wanna paint a perfectly smooth area or it will flake u wanna at least sand the area with a very fine sand paper like 360 grit wet sand paper this will allow the paint to adhere properly

Have any of you guys heard of plastidip? A guy at work showed me the stuff. He used it on his wheels on this FX35 and it looks sweet. You can find lots of guys dipping their entire car and it looks great.
Watch this guy dip an S4.

I will eventually get the entire car repainted, but for now I need an affordable solution for my roof.

I am really considering the plastidip until I am ready for full paint.

Charlie,
I would carefully remove the rest of the paint on the roof, tape it off and rattle can it. If you are careful, it could come out really well. I've seen some amazing jobs done. What do you have to lose?

LARRY70GS wrote:

Charlie,
I would carefully remove the rest of the paint on the roof, tape it off and rattle can it. If you are careful, it could come out really well. I've seen some amazing jobs done. What do you have to lose?

Nothing. Nothing at all.

Hey it might even be a fun way to learn how more about painting cars.

I agree with Larry. It's the prep work that's tedious, you can have a rattle can job come out really good, even with the crappy DupliColor cans.

What's more important is the prep underneath the work. Good sanding and cleaning of what's there so you have something good to work with. Proper masking so you don't get overspray where it doesn't belong. You can also mask before you sand to protect the edges of the sunroof, etc, but you should peel off and re-mask before you paint.

Now, do I want to sand off that green olive looking primer off to the bare metal and then paint? or just get it down to the primer and paint over that? You can see in the picture the 3 different colors. The white, the primer, and the metal.

Charlie, I dont know what equipment you have access to, but the best way to approach this would be to:
-Remove the strips of rubber tubing in the roof side channels. You can do this by getting hold of one of the ends with thin needle nose pliers.
-Tape off all adjacent areas very well. Double layer of tape on edges of side rails and window moldings. You can just slide the sunroof back and cover the opening with cardboard and tape to protect your interior.
- Tuck window moldings under roof panel. This will allow you to sand the edges good.
-Use a DA sander with 180 grit paper and remove all the white paint and most of the primer. If thin traces of the primer remain it will not cause a future problem.
- Make sure to feel the surface with your bare hand and not feel any transition from any product left on the panel.
-Remove all your masking and air blow the roof and all its cracks and crevuses very well. Clean the panel with wax and grease remover a couple times making sure to dry it before it dries on its own. This is very important. Dont wipe a larger area than you can dry. I usually do a 2ft by 2ft section.
-Now remask to protect from overspray .
- You should pick up a spray can of metal etch primer for the bare metal areas. SEM makes a quality product for about $18. Apply a couple of light coats and allow to dry.
-Next you want a sealer, not a primer. If you let me know what brand of paint your local supplier sells I could recommend something. Same goes for paint.
-After two coats of sealer are applied, wet sand with 600 grit on a sanding pad. This will make the panel smooth and straight. make sure to lightly sand edges as to not break through the sealer. If you do you can touch it up with sealer before applying paint.

If you have access to a compressor, a DA sander and a spray gun this way will give you a decent or even excellent job that will hold up for you. If you want to take this route i will be happy to give you more info if you need it. I can talk you through the roof paint job too when you get to that point.

If you just spray bomb it be aware that when you get the car professionally painted spray can paints usually react badly to professional porducts.

Thank you, Dave! I will take your notes into consideration if I got that route.

I just got a quote for the job:
REFINISH ROOF ONLY--
Body Labor Prep and mask roof for refinish 1.25 75.00 93.75T
Refinish Labor Prime roof 0.33 85.00 28.05T
Refinish Labor BC/CC roof 0.75 85.00 63.75T
Paint Primer and BC/CC 46.90 46.90T
Paint Materials and Supplies 18.45 18.45T
Sales Tax 6.75% 16.94
Total=$267.84

I might go with that or pay ~$45 and buy my own supplies and DIY.

That is an extremely low price to have your roof painted. If you trust the shop that gave you the estimate, its a no brainer. I honestly dont think you would be saving any $ doing it yourself. I own a collision shop in Buffalo NY and I would have to charge around $900 for that job. Good luck to ya.

bigdave wrote:

That is an extremely low price to have your roof painted. If you trust the shop that gave you the estimate, its a no brainer. I honestly dont think you would be saving any $ doing it yourself. I own a collision shop in Buffalo NY and I would have to charge around $900 for that job. Good luck to ya.

$900 For just a roof?! DANG

Dang man....900

I once paid $500 for a small door, so $900 sounds about right for the roof. People forget that a good (factory quality) paint + clear can cost $3000-5000 or more.

i would just buy a harbor freight gun .spray a few things around the garage to get the hang of the gun.read and view a couple youtube videos on spray gun set up and do it your self.
alot cheaper and more fun. its alot of work.no doubt.but this is a great opportunity to learn something new.
there's a learning curve for sure,but just look around and ask some guys questions and youll get the answers you need.
a good single stage acrylic enamel will work just fine. itll last a few years,longer if you keep it clean and waxed.

robotennis61 wrote:

i would just buy a harbor freight gun .spray a few things around the garage to get the hang of the gun.read and view a couple youtube videos on spray gun set up and do it your self.
alot cheaper and more fun. its alot of work.no doubt.but this is a great opportunity to learn something new.
there's a learning curve for sure,but just look around and ask some guys questions and youll get the answers you need.
a good single stage acrylic enamel will work just fine. itll last a few years,longer if you keep it clean and waxed.

See, that's my debate. I love almost everything DIY. And I would love a small paint project like this. I have full confidence that I can do it and do it right for half the price of the quote.

But if my satisfaction is guaranteed and the work comes with a warranty, well... there's that as a trade off. Not mention, it sounds like quite a deal compared to what you guys have seen charged for similar work.

well,the hardest part of a project is starting it and finishing it. you go into the roof project with about $150 or so in materials.you start sanding and the project will start talking to you and you get it done.pass or fail,youll have done something for not alot of money. if it fails you just start over.this is how you learn. either way itll look better than what ya got.if you cant see yourself commiting to a skill or dont have the time,well thats another story.
if you shop around you can find a painter who wont charge you the big bucks.
right now my bud is having his 07 town car painted black in single stage enamel for $600.this by a reputable vegas painter.we would do it but painting black without the benefit of a booth is too risky.dust and what not.
drive around, talk to folks at a drive meet,find out who is the go to guy for paint jobs.allmost every group has a talented painter who'll do the job for a good price.inexpensive dont mean poor quality.
$900 smackers is beaucoup bucks.my bud who is a retired paint and body man with 40 + years in the industry would do it for under $300 i bet. gotta find somebody like that in yer neck of the woods.