Painting your car, or having...
Painting your car, or having it painted, is a rewarding experience. Many times though, the end result seems like magic when a job turns out great. Likewise, repairing a botched job can be a nightmare. Follow along as we show you what you'll need to paint a car the right way, and then you can decide if you want to tackle it yourself or leave it to the professionals.
One of the biggest expenses we incur while fixing up our cars is the paint job. As the cars we love get older and older, it's just hard to find one to restore that doesn't need a significant amount of body repair. If you live in the rustbelt or certain coastal areas, your car may even need to have all or most of the sheetmetal replaced or repaired, which involves hours of labor and significant cost. While it would be nice to just drop the car off and write a check for a new paint job, the fact is most of us are on a tight budget and simply can't afford to do that. Even if we can afford to have a shop perform the work, we want to make sure the body shop we're using has all the tools and equipment to repair our car properly.
The decision about whether to attempt body and paint work yourself is a tough one. If you're like us, you have more time than money, so you may be tempted to perform the bodywork on your car yourself. Be warned, however, that bodywork can be an arduous and frustrating task. Replacing sheetmetal is dirty work and involves hours of drilling, grinding, and welding . . . and that's just the beginning. After the sheetmetal repairs comes the hammer and dolly, then the body filler, then hours and hours of priming and block sanding to make the panels straight enough for paint. If you get bored easily, the repetitive process of straightening body panels can drive you crazy, but if you're patient, the actual physical process of performing bodywork isn't too tough.
There is, however, a certain touch that's required to get panels super-straight. Experienced body shop personnel will tell you that you can't tell if a panel is straight by simply looking at it . . . it has to be felt. This "feel" for straightness isn't something that comes naturally to most people; it has to be learned. Some people, this author included, simply never acquire the feel that tells them a body panel is straight, so we have to leave that part of the process to a professional.
But even if you can't get the panels razor-straight yourself, you can still save money by performing some of the bodywork at home. If you can drill, grind, and weld, you can replace sheetmetal panels, and roughing in the panel with filler and block sanding isn't too tough either. As for the actual paint job, however, be careful if you don't have a paint booth at your house.
We have seen some great paint jobs on cars that were restored by owners in their own garages, but then we've also seen some pretty crappy ones. The outcome of a paint job is dependent on a lot of variables, so unless you're pretty comfortable performing bodywork, prepping, and painting, or don't mind spending the money and time to re-do things as you learn, you might want to leave it to a professional shop. If you really are into performing bodywork yourself and don't want to screw things up, consider taking a class at a community college or tech school to learn the basics. There are also books available that can be very instructive, but in the end, there's nothing like experience.
 The first step to checking...  The first step to checking the condition of your car's sheetmetal is to strip off the paint and bodywork on top of it. While this can be performed by having the entire car media blasted or dipped in a chemical stripper, the cheapest way is to simply grind the paint and filler off the car with an electric or pneumatic grinder. |  Heavy Metal If you want your...  Heavy Metal
If you want your paint job to last, the metal underneath must be free from oxidation (rust). If rust isn't completely removed and neutralized, it will reappear, chemically destroying the body filler, primer, and paint, and causing your new paint job to bubble. Any good body shop will tell you that a great paint job starts with proper metal preparation, and to properly prep the metal, you'll need the right tools. |  Once stripped, there's a good...  Once stripped, there's a good chance you'll find metal that needs to be removed and replaced. An air chisel will come in handy here, as will a sawzall with a metal blade and a die-grinder with a cutoff wheel. |
 Most body panels are spot...  Most body panels are spot welded in place, so a spot weld cutter like this one from Blair Tools is a very useful tool. The cutter will remove the spot weld, but unlike a drill bit, it will leave the metal underneath so the new panel can be welded to it. |  Fortunately, replacement panels...  Fortunately, replacement panels are available for most Mopar vehicles, but you may have to cut your patch panels from a replacement quarter-panel like we are in this photo. Again, a die grinder with a cutoff wheel works great for this job. Panels that aren't available from the aftermarket will need to be fabricated. |  To hold panels in place for...  To hold panels in place for fitting and welding, it's nice to have a good set of Vise-Grip-style clamps. The bigger the repair, the more clamps you'll need. |
 Whether you're replacing an...  Whether you're replacing an entire panel or just putting in a patch, you'll need a welder. Sheetmetal repairs should be welded using the "stitch" method, so the heat doesn't warp the new panel. |  Body panels are made from...  Body panels are made from fairly thin steel, so it doesn't take much energy to weld them. Even an inexpensive welder like this small Lincoln unit is sufficient for most bodywork you'll encounter. |  If a panel is dented but not...  If a panel is dented but not rusty, it doesn't necessarily need to be replaced. There are many types of dent pullers available that can pull the metal back into shape, saving you the trouble and expense of installing a replacement panel. |