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I want to try automotive painting out. i have a good compressor and a clean garage to work in. not going to do the civic at first. My grandmother has a 1989 chevy 1500 that was painted by maaco 4 years ago and the paint is gone, flakeing, cracking, chipping, falling off, etc. so i want to paint this to get experience, i figure i can't do any worse then maaco did so i want to give it a shot. so anyone with experience in this could recommend me some products or places to order the stuff. eventually want to paint my civic, so i want equipment capable of producing a quality finish. i just need a list of equipment and the steps in painting.

 
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well for painting ur garage wont do if u want a good job...because paint booths are vetilated and they constantly suck air out so the overspray doesnt make splotches on the paint... ur gonna need atleast a 30 gallon compressor to paint and do a decent job...
i advise you painting a car is not very easy or cheap
i've painted cars before but i had professional help
well if u want any parts and materials heres a list in a non particular order

1) masking tape 1/2 inch and 2 inch green or blue a lot of it
2) Masking paper possibly newspaper but its too thin u can go and buy a roll of the stuff
3) painters respirator
4) primers
5) sand paper (80 thru 1500 grits)
6) wax and grease remover
7) tach cloth
8) paint gun (good ones are around $300-$600)
9) clearcoat gun (optional)
10) universal compliant solvent
11) acetone
12) paint (very expensive)
13) clearcoat (also very expensive)
14) clearcoat hardner
15) reducer for paint
16) mixing cups
17) stir sticks
18) viscosity tester
19) spray gun cleaner
20) air hose
21) grey scotch brite pads
22) red scotch brite pads
23) water
24) air nozzle
25) experience and professional help

ill add more as i think of them but baisically dont even try it...there is a reason why paint jobs cost lots of $$$$$$$$$

26) painting suit (dust free) w/ cap
27) latex/vinyl gloves
28) shop towels
29) osha approval (otherwise they'll deem your garage/house hazardous and can kick ur *** out until they "decontaminate")

 
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Wow that's a much longer and fuller list than I was gonna put up =P

I mean even if you had all that stuff it's a lot of work, especially just prepping the car and sanding it down. Consistent primer, consistent coats, multiple coats, wet sanding to get rid of those tiny waves, clear coat, etc etc. A lot more than just buying some paint and spraying it on.

 
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painting isnt that difficult. If you want to do the best job you can, obviously you will need the best equipment. The best gun you can get will be a HVLP (High Volume Low Pressure) gun. You can use the same gun for paint as you do for clearcoat. The most important thing though is the prep work and the environment. Anything in the air will end up in your paint. There are places where you can rent a paint booth. Temperature is also important, if its too hot you will get pinholes and possibly fisheyes in the finish. All the skill in the world wont make up for a bad painting environment. Also, if you have a paint booth, they are climate controlled and vented. So you set it at a perfect temp for painting and then bake it on. Its really not that difficult, but like aki said, you can just expect to buy a gun and some paint and go at it. Two things, Prep and environment, will provide you with the best finish possible aside from skill.

 
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well i have a little experience, me and a friend painted the roof of his 73' dodge dart flat black with spray paint in his yard, yeah i know that don't count. i know it wont be easy or inexpensive. i think painting this truck may be my senior project for high school. even though the trucks paint is only 4 or 5 years old it is terrible, so i don't think i could make it any worse than it is. there is no rust and no body damage either, not a single dent, so that is a big plus. there is no wax or clear coat on it either. so besides sanding and primer, what other body prep is needed. I plan to freshly paint the garage before painting and we just put a new shop floor coating on the garage floor. the only thing i need to figure out for the garage is ventilation, i don't want to leave the door open because of dust blowing in, but i want to have circulating air.

 
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from what i understand, the prep work is the most labor. so if i wanted to get my civic painted at a shop and i did all the sanding and primer, etc. how much cheaper would it be to get painted.

 
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Btw Thanks for all the help

 
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"osha approval" where i live, i don't see a potential problem with this one. i think every redneck around here paints his own tractor, car, truck, etc.

 
Rep Power: 320

any painting is experience in my book spray paint or not...whatever u do can help u learn

anyways osha approval is not really a big deal as long as ur neighbors either dont know or dont care...also like it was stated before prep work is the hardest part other than spraying and getting it straight...

but if u do a lot of prep work on your own than if u got to a body shop which does everything not only painting than it'll save u some cash...also if u tell them its ready and have ur masking materials to mask they'll sometimes not charge u for extra labor which can be $36/hour and masking materials which can be aroudn $8-$10...anyways good luck with the painting