Hey guys, was just wondering if anyone has a link to the steps needed to paint my own trunk lid. Someone did a hit n run on me and i need to replace my bumper cover and trunk lid. I just bought a trunk lid off a fellow orger but it is white and i need it to go to Granite Pearl, which is like a very dark charcoal. I really don't have the money to get a shop to do it so i was hoping someone would know a link to a good write-up or someone could post the steps that i need to do. Thanx. BTW i searched through the FAQ's but found nothing.

 

Do you have the following:

Thinner
Spray gun
Compressor
Sander
Sandpaper (Various grades)
Flex Additive (for the bumper)
Oven to cure the painted parts
Bondo or fiberglass
Masks for your face

......and a hell of a lot of time

 

Well i do have time I don't have anything right now. I am looking to find out what i'm going to need and how hard it will be. I am not looking for a "show room" paint job, just something that looks good and will last for a while. I wanted to use aerosol can's but i'm guessing that might not be a good idea. I only have the trunk lid right now and wanted to start on that and see how it comes out before i purchase a bumper cover. If i screw up the trunk then i guess i will have to take them both somewhere to get done. I really wanted to try this myself to see if i could do it.

 

Unless you plan on spraying more parts after you have all the tools necessary, they will cost you quite a bit and it may be cheaper to just have them painted somewhere. You might also be suprised at how much materials will cost, for sandpaper, filler (if you need it ), primer ( if you need it ), basecoat, and clearcoat. The only things Prinz listed that aren't really necessary are the bake oven, you can use 'speed' clear, and the flex additive. Flex additive is used to give the installer some working time to install flexible parts without cracking the paint, but when the paint cures fully in a few days it is no different than having none. As for going the aerosol route, some body shop supply stores will package colours for you, and will have appropriate clearcoat aerosol as well. If you do decide to try it out though I'll try to walk you through it.

 

I also forgot to mention the primer, paint and the clearcoat that you'd need. My guess is that you'd need at least a pint of each since your Max's paint is two stage (clear and base coats).

Don't take what I am saying the wrong way but my point is that this is a process that takes a lot of time, money, equipment and skill to pull off. Doing this with aerosol cans is going to be even more expensive and time consuming (especially if you don't take the necessary steps to prep the surface for painting). If you spray the paint onto the current finish, it's not going to hold and will crack/peel off.

On top of that, all of the equipment I mentioned is far from inexpensive. Pints of paint/clear can run between $30 and $50 easily. On top of that, you'd need the flex additive for the bumper so that the paint wont shatter on the bumper if it is bumped. Sandpaper is the most inexpensive thing on the list but you'd need quite a bit of it.

 

Well from what is sounds like I am probably better off going to some body shop or *gasp* Maaco *gasp* I'm thinking it would probably run me about $150?? Does that sound right? I really have no idea. But if i just brought them the trunk lid how much could it be, no masking no uninstall,re-install just prime and paint.

 

I'd think that it would be around $100 maybe a little more for everything.

 

dallas: Go to a local body shop supply store and they can point you to someone who might be able to paint your parts for a reasonable price.

 

Thanx for the replies/info guys, I'll keep u updated on my progress.