if your looking for flat i highly sugest hot rod flats it is very forgivng to work with and is a great paint to shoot for your first paint job

 

I sold automotive paint for years. I had plenty of people walk in with zero experience or knowledge. In many cases, I walked them through what they needed and how they needed to do it. One guy did a stunningly awesome custom paint job on is $60,000 custom 72 Camaro that came out better than the professionally done House of Kolor job he had done on it originally.

Be aware, your initial investment is likely to be much more than you might imagine, especially if you don't already have a compressor and basic paint tools and supplies.

 

Hey bud long time no see how you been man!

 

Thanks for the tips so far guys. I do already have a good compressor and my buddy has a gun. Not sure what kind it is but he has done some automotive painting before so I wont be totally alone on this. Never seen his work but he is a perfectionist so it should turn out ok. JRK5892, I checked out the hot rod flatz and that might just be the way to go. $150 for a gallon of paint, hardner, and reducer seems like my kind of budget! What sort of prep do I need to do? Should I take it to bare metal or can I paint over the stock job. My paint and clear are in great shape.

 

Hibernating. Dealing with two wives. Trying to get rid of one. Got a cool new gig selling to car dealers for a little company where I get to talk to the owner every day (no corporate BS to deal with)... managing to have a good time without getting shot or arrested, so... life is good.

Lets meet up for a brew somewhere some time soon.

 

You don't need anywhere near a gallon for a tank and two fenders. I do that with a less than a pint. At the most, go with a quart.

 

Back when I was painting my general rule of thumb regarding stripping or painting over the existing was this... If it is original factory paint and it is structurally sound you can usually do a top-notch paint job over it. If it has ever been repainted I would always recommend stripping.

Using that philosophy I'd say you can probably paint over your existing finish. Clean it really well with a detergent, followed by a wax & grease remover, sand the existing finish and you're good to go.

 

Thanks guys! That changes things a bit! I found a local guy who came highly recommended by an indy who said he would do the fenders, tank, primary, and chain guard for $375 if I do all the tear down.. I thought that sounded good but if I only need a qt that might change things. A quart kit is only $45. I could get that and a half way decent gun and be able to paint other parts and still be around $400. The factory paint is in great shape! So if I could just paint over it that would save me alot of time.

*edit* What grit sand paper should I use over the factory job to prep? Do I need to prime or will the urethane go right over the stock clear and paint? Thanks guys, I was about to just throw it to a local painter but you have motivated me to give it a shot!

 

Harbor Freight has the tools, Pep Boys has the materials. It may take a few tries and a lot of work but when you lay down a bitchin' paint job it's all worth it. See below for example of pride in ownership...

 

You just need to scuff it. You want to use a white scuff pad and some scuff gel (Presta Scuff Stuff or something similar). Make sure you find and fix any problems - like rock chips, small dents and dings, etc.