First Time Painting

[mdzaudi]

So after looking at the hood of my car the other day and noticing a few sizeable chips (thanks to colorado department of transportation putting gravel down in the winter) and some scratches, that rather than trying to patch these up, i might try an entire repaint.

What are the odds that i could get this right the first time? Any tips, tricks that might help?

[HTA A4]

No use in painting... Sorry to tell you. But they'll reappear the week after. Rock chips, just something we all have to deal with if it's your daily driver

[absolutegtr]

Its all in the prep work

[davidlizard]

You should'nt try your first paint job on an A4... IMO. For approx- the same price of the stuff you'll need,a paint shop will make a 1000X better job than you without the knowledge and equipment...

[Audituning02]

To get all the chips out the hood will need to be stripped completely, chips filled, sanded and primed. A decent repair shop should quote you around $300. If you paint it without getting all the chips out it will look like you have a bunch of Fish eyes in your final paint job thus looking worse than before. Alot of good DIY projects out there but this aint one of em'

[swrt83]

Sort of have to agree with everyone here. I thought about doing this for a while, but decided against it. VW/Audi paint is nothing you want to 'learn' on. And if it's black.. you'll never get the exact match. Trust me.. my brother went to school for autobody restoration and schooled me on this.

Probably better off trying to load up a ton of wax on it or repainting it completely

[mdzaudi]

Well my idea was to just give it a shot and see how it goes. If it turned out poorly, then i'd have it professionally done. My biggest worry was just the paint matching.

[Audituning02]

Is it just black?? If you still want to try it call your local NAPA and give them the paint code and they can mix any amount for you. If the chips really bother you the best thing you can do is get it fixed for a few hundred bucks and then put that clear protector across your hood so it doesnt happen again, if your not planning on going that far I wouldnt do it at all otherwise its just money and time down the tube

[kwik_shift]

I don't know what your plan is on getting the paint. At the body shop when they are about to paint, the computer program spits out a formula to mix. when you add it, its on scale that way you know when to stop for each additive. I know for other colors, you have to blend in order to match the original paint. But on black as long as you mix right to specs. it should be fairly close. Paint booth makes a difference as well.

[Audituning02]

OHH Yeah another idea ! Just slather on the black wax and it'll fill in those rock chips at least temporarily.

[absolutegtr]

Well my idea was to just give it a shot and see how it goes. If it turned out poorly, then i'd have it professionally done. My biggest worry was just the paint matching.

You see paint is NOT cheap. Plus buying the proper equipment is expensive also.

To be perfectly honest, I would be absolutely amazed if you did a proper/legit job, but on that same not I still say you DIY. That is the ONLY way to learn.

Go for it...i know that when i have my own space, I will definitely be respraying my car.

Like I sais, it is ALL in the prep work. Its something like 10 hours prep for 1 hour painting...something like that

Good luck

[03CrysBlueB6]

what i did was look on your local classifieds.. liek craigslist.. and search "bumper" if thats the part your doing.. i practiced on this.. the bunper was 20 bucks off of a civic. so i practiced and if i didnt get the right.. i was strip the paint and try again.. it beats having to spend 10k on a new bumper!! haha

[mdzaudi]

Well i have the majority of the equipment so i think my expenses would be rather minor aside from the paint. I can't imagine the paint for a basic black would be that expensive but DO correct me if i'm wrong.

[davidlizard]

Ok I see you really want to do the job!!

So you'll need:
sanding paper 120 grit to 1500 grit
orbital sander
sanding blocks
air compressor with air filter
bondo filler & glaze
zinc primer
high build primer
base coat paint (color)
flex additive
plastic primer
clear coat
mixing pot
was and grease remover
base coat reducer
paint thinner
HVLP gun
water
polisher
buffing compound 2-3 step kit

Good luck!!

[martini]

here is the first painting thing I did... i have these parts on my car today, and I think they came out very good.

the shop didnt give me the best clearcoat... and they only admitted it after I applied it and called them.. be sure not to cheap out on the paint... get good quality stuff

http://www.a4mods.com/index.php?page...ges/paint.html

[Audituning02]

Also one of the major elements you are missing is that of drying/curing the paint. A paint booth at a body shop bakes at approx. 120 to 140 Degrees and this is what allows the paint to lay down properly and gives you a smooth clean finish. Some shops use large heat lamps for quick drying of primer and smaller repaired panels these also cost several thousand dollars. I always applaud the efforts and initiative of the DIY'er because I myself take pride in my own personal work and of course I like to save a buck if I can..who doesn't?!?

[diagnosticator]

So after looking at the hood of my car the other day and noticing a few sizeable chips (thanks to colorado department of transportation putting gravel down in the winter) and some scratches, that rather than trying to patch these up, i might try an entire repaint.

What are the odds that i could get this right the first time? Any tips, tricks that might help?

Without prior experience and lots of professional equipment, plus a proper paint booth, the chances of an error free paint job are less than zero.