[all] DIY paint jobs

[Jokeree at aol.com]

on the other hand....

    I did a paint job on my golf and a lower door panel repaint to almost 
perfect results, in my garage! I already had an air compressor, but I went 
out and bought a an excellent used gun for about $70 (if you can afford it 
and for best results you really should use a high quality HVLP gun). I 
stripped the golf down to a thin layer of its original primer and went all 
the way down to the metal in area's that had rust. i worked out the rust and 
sanded the entire car with various sandpaper grits up to 400. Up to this 
point the thing that was most labor intensive was masking off the area's you 
don't want painted. I was taking the color from faded metallic beige to black 
so the door jambs, windows, trunk, engine compartment took extra time to tape 
off. I took off all the door handles, mirrors, badges and left the door trim 
to tape off. The next step was going down to my local PPG paint dealer and 
talking over what paint system I should use. I chose (everybody had their own 
BEST opinion on what paint you should use BTW) I stuck with acrylic enamel. 
Or in other words PPG's Delstar paint system. They proclaimed that the finish 
would resemble the factory shine without wet sanding. They were right! All it 
took was a primer surfacer and sealer the actual black paint and some clear 
coat. Hardener, thinner and reducer are also a must have and therefore you 
should have a 3M respirator to filter out the harmful chemicals in the air 
while your spraying ($20 from an online paint shop) and a body suit ($15 for 
a pack of 6) because the chemicals can also soak through your skin. Even 
though it would take 2 or 3 sprayings to make you ill without protection I 
rather be safe than sorry. On PPG's website there is a write up sheet on each 
paint/chemical they sell available for download on how to use/spray that 
particular chemical. Although the paint shop should provide this for you. All 
in all the paints/chemicals for the golf cost me $169 dollars plus supplies 
and let me tell you, for a two days worth of work I cannot recommend this 
paint system enough for the quality you get at the end. I can send you some 
digital pictures of my golf if you'd like, so you can see the results. If you 
need anymore help/details, I'd be glad to be of assistance.

    Dave Farrer (no affiliation w/PPG  :)