Learn me on Painting and Wet Sanding

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ArtFoodBMW

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Some back story:
I acquired a 1985 325e for $550 a few months back. It sat in the previous owners garage for "3 years" (although I think 6 years because that's what the receipts I found in the car told me). Being from 1985, it doesn't have a clear coat. And it sat in the sun a bit causing the paint to leave on the hood, roof and trunk. And the trunk is in question today. In the process of sitting for 6 years, I believe someone to have thrown up on the trunk as seen here:

Gross stain


And the best picture of the trunk I could find.


Anyways, I want to repaint the trunk. One to test out my painting/detailing skills. And two so my detailing vehicle is presentable.

I have a basic idea of how to paint. I've painted some engine parts, and watched a few videos. Basically I want 2-3 coats primer, 3-4 color coat, and 2 clear coat. Overlapping each spray, don't stop in the middle, blah blah

I know it's not exactly recommended, but I'll be using rattle cans for the job.

So, I want the trunk to look as professional as I can, and since I detail vehicles, I figure if anybody should do this, it's me.

I would like to know the best way to get the paint looking top-notch.

Do you think I'll need to wet-sand the paint after it's all said and done?
I've looked at few of the wetsanding threads but if there are any you would recommend I look at, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks ahead of time for any responses!
 
Do i need to sand in between the layers of paint? What grits and so on should I use?
 
Learning to paint cannot be covered in a forum message.

I suggest you do some research on the net for courses. On I know of is: Home | How To Paint Your Car - Do-it-yourself Auto Body and PaintHow To Paint Your Car - Do-it-yourself Auto Body and Paint

I took his course for flipping cars and liked it. I plan on taking if course on painting cars as well but I need a place to paint first. I don't own a garage and can't seem to find anything decent here in town. But if I do I will take the course for sure.

If you don't want to pay, search youtube, there are countless videos on body work and painting. I have watched over 50 hours of them and some are really good.

One thing you will need is gear, you need a compressor, several Tools for bodywork, a lot of products and paint. If all you want to do is 1 trunk, I am not sure it would be a good investment. You could use paint cans with 2K paint can clear. Result is not gonna as good but you will save a lot of money doing it that way.

If you have specific questions I will be happy to answer you. I have never done it before but I have the theory down for the common things you might wanna do. Maybe there are some painters here but I doubt it.
 
I just saw your second question...

You don't sand between layers of paint.

You sand after putting body filler on (Bondo) and also after priming.

For grits it dépends what stage of the process you are at.

For removing paint and going to metal, something like 36-40 grit.

For leveling body filler (for large dents) 40 grits as well.

For leveling body filler (small dents) 80 grits.

For preparing the surface for primer: 150-180 grit.

For preparing the surface for painting: 320-400 grit.

No sanding between layers of paint, no sanding between paint and clearcoat (if you use a 2 or 3 stage paint).

For removing orange peel after paint is done it's usually 1500-2000 grit. Followed by 3000 grit then compounding and polishing.

Hope this helps.

Also don't forget clean with wax and grease remover before painting and use a tack cloth as well. If you use clearcoat you do nothing between the layers of clear.

Also just a comment regarding your first post:

You should do 2 layers of Primer, 2 layers of color, 3 layers of clear. I also noticed you plan on using paint cans. Be careful of Wind. Paint cans have very low pressure and don't shoot much product. If it's windy most of the paint won't even make it to the surface.
 
Thanks for your responses Calendyr!
I'll most likely be taking the trunk off the car to paint it and bringing it in the garage so i can have a closed environment, so hopefully a spray can will do it's best.

I think you gave me all the info I need so Thank you! When I get around to doing the job, I'll let you know how it goes and post the results
 
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