I'm looking to do my own auto-body on my F-150 that I'm rebuilding.

I wouldn't mind painting er up myself, but i've never ever done any painting except with a brush before on my own fence.

What am I all looking at for supplies, tools and overall skill required to do this?

There are lots of autobody shops in town, but I don't want to get another horror story that turns out to be MY horror story.

Autobody shop suggestions? Or DYI?

 

My pockets aren`t deep enough to do all of my projects in body shops so occasionally I can get a well experienced friend to do it. It`s a better result than some body shops with less $$ too.
If this is not possible and you want to try it yourself look into weekend or evening bodywork training course offered at Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science & Technology (SIAST) then afterwards you could take their automotive painting course. .

 

My dad painted his own car and it looked really good. The paints they have these days make it alot easier for the diy'er. You would need a compressor and spray gun which you can get a Princess Auto for a good price and they work very well and they have air tools also. You can get the paint and auto body stuff at Auto Electric and the guys there are very helpful. I would do it yourself and if you don't like how it turns out you can do it over. Just start on small parts first and work your way up.

 

Good Advice by Corner to start on some small parts!

If you've always wanted to work on your own cars and want to continue, then the investment in a compressor is certainly worth it. But if this is the only time you can see yourself using it....

Materials to paint you own car run about $2000 (from grinding discs to sandpaper, primers, sealer, filler, paint, etc). A gun can be $75-$200.

It's also a TON of repetitive manual labour. Definitely not for everyone. Lots of guys start and can't finish because they couldn't stay motivated through the stages: Metal work (cutting, grinding, welding), filler work (applying bondo, sanding, repeat as necessary), then prep (sanding, primer, sanding, primer....), then paint (final sanding, cleaning, preparing the booth area, masking, painting, cleaning, buffing)....

I took on a 56 Chevy stepside for a friend this winter. They previosuly took it to 2 major shops, where it sat for a total of 4 years - untouched. They then took it home and tried to do it themselves. Over the next 2 years they managed to get it strpped down (easy part) and one step partly welded in....before asking me to help them.

So I took it in and over 3 months finished dismantling it, had it all (frame and inner panels) sandblasted ($1500), did the metal work, bodywork and got it ready for paint ($12,000). They will now take it to a shop and have it painted ($2K -$4K), then either re-assemble it themselves (3-12 months), or have me do it ($5k).

That gives you some idea of the time and expenseto do it a couple different ways. Mind you that's for a very nice job. You could certianly cobble a job together yourself for MUCH less. As well, if you DIY, you spend $$ on tools which you'll have forever, along with the experience - which some guys value and some don't!

Hope that helped!

Now you know just how

 

Definitely some good advice there. I think I'm going to look into this so that I can get my own idea about how things are done and how much work it takes to do something like this.

Yeah, definitely if I get into it and it doesn't want to work with me (or I don't want to work with it, I'll stop and let a pro do it).

The tools I need would most likely be a good investment because of other things I could use them for.

Thanks for the great advice, its good to know that all of you can write something up to help me get a good idea of what's going to happen when I try to do this on my own.

I'm definitely looking at doing this more in the future. The F150 is just my starting point for projects.

The F150 is most likely going to serve as my towing vehicle for future projects, and it's a sweet conversation piece when you get others gathered around your personalized Ford

I'm definitely going to be looking into getting those courses under my belt so I can work on my own projects.

The good part is that my truck box has already been patched, welded and had a couple coats of primer put on it for me (in the problem/fixed spots only). The guy I bought it off of had the box JUST fixed up in his own mom-pop autobody shop.

The P.O. had been working in the automotive/autobody industry since 39 years ago, so hopefully he's done a good job.

The biggest thing now, is to get some coats of box-liner or rocker-guard on the underbelly of the box so it doesn't rust out/take hits from stones and then to paint the sucker.

How much money should I be spending on a paint gun and air compressor if I want to keep them for a while and use them in the future?

Am I looking at one of those $700, 60 gallon tanks, or just one that can can wheel around the vehicle with me, and pump at the minimum required rate the sprayer needs?

I know this is sort of a stab in the dark on both my and your parts, but a general idea is all I'm looking for... Come to think of it, those classes will probably tell me all that I need to know haha.

Thanks for all your help so far guys.

 

That size of air compressor might be a good start tho check out the CFM specs on the tolls you plan on using: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...questions.html
There is more info in the FTE Paint & Bodywork forum.
Paint & Bodywork - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

 

Best Rule of thumb: If you're gonna use it and going to keep it, buy as big as you can afford!!

I'd get a 60 Gallon compressor capable of at least 15cfm. You'll need it for priming, painting, sandblasting, and running a Da (Dual Action Sander). You can still get a decent one (PA?) for $700 new or $3-500 used).

 

I`ve got the same size as your`s Ed, about the down side is that it doesn`t keep up with my sandblaster. It is more than big enough for paint guns, feather edgers and air files.

 

Actually, that reminds me. Sand blasting... I wanted to do a frame-off resto/mod to my truck, but I've got no idea how I would be able to get 'er sandblasted when I can't drive it to get it sandblasted.

Any suggestions on that?

And my guess is that a 60 gallon tank would be my best bet, if i wanted something to give a smooth clean finish on my paint/body work (without the hassles of having sputtering and whatnot happening cause i ran out of air)?

 

To get the frame blasted you need to strip it down and haul it to the sandblasting shop. Check around since I`ve found that prices can vary alot from shop to shop and how busy they are.

 

some of the ones around stoon will do it for less if you pay cash, i dunno if they do it around your neck o the woods but worth a try. If you do make the investment of a compressor buying a gravity fed 5 gallon sand blaster kmight be an option if you have the room to do it. For smaller stuff a blasting cabinet isnt too expensive, i saw a counter top unit on sale at princess for around 200. the more work you can do yourself saves you $$

 

I wouldn't mind painting er up myself, but i've never ever done any painting except with a brush before on my own fence.

What am I all looking at for supplies, tools and overall skill required to do this?

There are lots of autobody shops in town, but I don't want to get another horror story that turns out to be MY horror story.

Autobody shop suggestions? Or DYI?[/quote]



This is such a hard question to answer.....so many factors to think about....not only all of the tools that you will need to buy just to get started but also the knowledge of buying the best bang for your buck is important, cheapist isn't always a good reason to buy but neither is the most expensive!

Plus you need the space to do all of this and then there is the area do a proper paint and clearcoat (need to be clean and very dust free).

Of course it all depends on how good or how picky you are about a paint job. I have read and seen pictures of this guy who painted his car with a roller and some tremclad paint that came out amazing.

I have been doing airbrushing for several years now and have taken on painting my truck panel by panel (no airbrush work) this year. When I first started out the learning curve in paint work, body work and clearcoating is huge, very time consuming and expensive.....but this is why body shops charge alot of money and make alot of money as well.

This doesn't mean it can't be done yourself just understand that your going to be in it for the long haul and that it won't happen in a weekend, and the best of luck to you which ever way you decide to go.

 

Thanks for the advice. I definitely want to get into this long term. I believe I've got sufficient space and time to do this.

I'm not looking to get my truck painted in a single weekend, but more or less over 4-6 months of weekends and after-work hours... depending on my situation of friends and sports.

My dads garage is a 2 1/2 car garage that is fully heated and sealed all around. I'm not sure how it is against dust, but I could certainly give the floor and most of the area a thorough cleaning before I paint/clearcoat.

I was thinking along doing something like a friend of mine showed me with his method of painting out of his garage. He simply put up some poly sheets that you'de use for basement/wall finishing once you're done insulating. It seemed to do the trick, cathcing anything he sprayed passed the object.

Am I worried about spending money to do this myself? Sort of... Although, everything costs money. If I want this project done, eventually, it'll have to get painted. May as well do it myself so I'm satisfied.

Do I have patience? Hell yes... as an undergraduate student in engineering, and a background of farm life (14 years), I completely understand time consumption and management.

I'm willing to take the commitment to do this at this age because i've got lots of time of my hands. As i've heard from the majority of you on FTE (not you in this thread specifically), once you get a family going... things get much more tough (working on projects and getting time to spend on them).

Another question i'd like to ask is: Can I leave primer unpainted for a long period of time?

I wouldn't mind getting my engine/tranny out, getting the frame sandblasted, and then start working on the painting (last thing on my list).

This way, I'll have my truck the way I like it, without the colour... but at least it'll be in good working condition when I go to paint it... if I do.

Who knows, by the time I'm done with my truck's engine/tranny, I may not want to work on it anymore.

Anywho, I wanted to know how long I can leave my truck, wet or dry before something starts happening to the work the P.O. of my cab and box put into them starts going to waste?

Should I get things done now, or can I leave them for a while (painting)?

 

Regarding compressors, I would try to get a decent 80 gallon if I were you. I bought a decent 60 gallon for cheap, and always kick myself in the *** for not going one size larger!

I also wouldnt cheap out on some of the tools. Like a spray gun, I would get a decent one if you can.

Regarding paint, maybe someone can fill me in on this!

I called walkers autobody last december regarding some paint for my motorcycle, and they told me as of december 31st, it is no longer legal to buy the paint that everyone buys, and now all that a person can get is water based(?) stuff?

Anyone hear that? Etek??

 

You can still get Acrylic enamel paints from Walkers, this type of paint goes on ok and you do not need to clear coat it, but you have to do it right as you can't buff out the mistakes either.

I have been using nothing but waterbased paints for airbrushing for years now and they have come along ways over the years with very little VOC's.

There are alot of brands of waterbased paints out there and Etak is just one that Walkers might carry, but with all water based paints you still need to clearcoat them and they have not found a good waterbased clearcoat yet. 2 part clearcoat is still the best.