Thanks for watching the video! Check out the LearnAutoBodyAndPaint VIP Program to learn more about DIY auto body work and paint.
Complete Paint Job (Non-color Change)
Considering that you have 25% bodywork and primer spots across body panels…
When painting the same color base, you don’t need a lot of paint. Keep in mind basecoat material volume will double when mixed.
Complete medium size sedan (Toyota Camry) car with 25% primer covered. You’ll need about 2 quarts of basecoat. That will give you a gallon of sprayable material! And you should have leftovers!
Overall, when doing a full respray same color, you’ll never need a gallon of basecoat. Small Miata (1 quart base = 1/2 gallon sprayable). Large Ford F150 (3 quarts of base = 1.5 gallons sprayable). You should have leftover!
Basecoat spray technique: Spray primed areas first (get it fully covered) then dust entire car 1-2 times. Proceed to spray 2-3x coats of clearcoat.
Once you see that the car is fully covered evenly, you can proceed with spraying your clearcoat.
Lighting is very important when spraying base. You need to make sure you covered your primed areas before spraying clearcoat. If you are thin on base in primed areas and spray clear, you’ll need to do the job over.
Get Help With Lighting from GunBudd!
ATOM-X Spray Guns partnered with GunBudd.
When you invest in any ATOM-X spray gun, you get a free GunBudd Ultra Lighting System!
Or you can easily get GunBudd on Ebay, Amazon or at ZooLaa.com for best deals.
✔️Allows you to spray in total darkness
✔️Easily see and blend metallics, pearls and flake
✔️Spray low light areas like door jambs, trunks, under vehicles with ease.
Complete Paint Job (CLEARCOAT)
Normally when doing a full respray, you’d want to make sure that you have at least a 1 gallon kit of clearcoat!
Clearcoat
prices range from $100 – $350 for a
1 gallon kit.
How much should you have for a full respray?
A 1 Gallon Kit.
How much will you use?
Anywhere from 3 – 4 quarts of sprayable clearcoat.
A 1 gallon kit MIXED will give you 5-6 quarts of sprayable on average.
NEVER mix all of your clear coat at once, you may not need it!
Basic Clearcoat Mixing Ratios
1 Gallon Kit – 4:1 = 4 parts clear and 1 part hardener
2:1 = 2 parts clear and 1 part hardener
2:1:1 = 2 parts clear 1 part hardener and 1 part reducer.
*Reducers and Hardener info*
👉 Fast: Touch up jobs. Single fenders, bumper cover, door and small blend jobs
👉 Medium: For complete paint jobs in 70 – 88 degrease
👉 Slow: For complete paint jobs in hotter temperatures 90 + when you need time for flowout
Complete Paint Job Color Change
Basecoat Amount Needed
When completely changing the color you need to consider if you’re also painting the door, hood and trunk jambs. This will usually take an additional quart or two of sprayable basecoat.
Keep in mind basecoat material volume will double when mixed.
Complete medium size sedan (Toyota Camry) car with up to 80% primer covered. You’ll need about 3 quarts of basecoat. That will give you a 1.5 gallons of sprayable material! This should be enough for any small to medium size car.
Small Miata (2-3 quarts base = 1-1.5 gallon sprayable). Large Ford F150 or Family Van (1 gallon of base = 2 gallons sprayable). This should be sufficient. If you want to play it extra safe, then get an extra quart of basecoat.
Primer/Sealer Talk
👉 Does the car need to be primed one color?
👉 Can I paint black basecoat over my red car without primer?
👉 Can I paint over sanded clearcoat?
Download your FREE 85 Page Auto Body And Paint Manual now!
Be part of the #BossPainter community now! Join the LearnAutoBodyAndPaint VIP Program!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonybrichie/
Like me on Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/learnautobodyandpaint/
Other Helpful Links:
How To Paint Cars for PROFIT – Estimating Material Cost and Labor To Make Money! 💲
🚙 POR 15 Rust Inhibitor – Can You Spray Basecoat Clearcoat Over POR 15?
🚘 Can You Sand Out Runs In Basecoat and Respray Days Later?
Can you Paint Over Single Stage Paint And Basecoat Clearcoat Prep Ideas 🤔
Car Painting HACKS: Basecoat Clearcoat and Undercoat Removal
Tony, I’ve used one brand of epoxy primer (Eastwood) over a different brand of sprayable primer. I’ve already purchased a poly-primer (Eastwood) which I plan to spray and do my final blocking. The issue I have is they don’t have or can mix the color I want so I’ll have to switch brands to get the color I want. Should I use a sealer from the new brand of color/clear coat before spraying color?
I want to paint a 328i (small car) in a colorshift/chameleon paint. It sounds like I need to paint the car black first. However, the black is not the principle color, it’s just a base that the colorshift sits over. After that, I’m told that the colorshift pigment is added to clear, and that becomes your basecoats. I’m not sure if that means there are clear basecoats as opposed to clear clearcoat that usually sits on top of the basecoat. If you have any knowledge about that please share. But main question is how much black should be enough given that it’s not the main basecoat?
It’s a tri-coat. Did you sign up for the free auto body training that we offer? https://learnautobodyandpaint.com