I'll admit, I have no idea what I'm doing. That's why I'm here

So my 98 LexusGs400 is what I'm going to be trying to get up and running. I'm not sure how bad the paint technically is, but it's pretty bad. So what I want to do is spend all the time it takes to change it from the default champagne color to black

So this is where I am confused, I bought the following for prep work:

Dura-Gold Premium 320, 400, 600, 800 Grit Gold Longboard Sandpaper
Dura-Gold Premium 5" Green Film Sanding Discs 400, 600, 800 Grit
Interface Pads
Dura-Block Sanding Block
Orbital Sander
Scruff Pad
Wax & Grease Remover
Variety pack of scuff, scouring, sanding, cleaning, blending pads

That seems pretty straight forward, right? This is where I am confused

I bought this Epoxy Sealer
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016QO0MIS?ps ... ct_details

I got mixed info and totally confused. I was told that I bought the wrong sealer since I'm going to hand sand with 320, and I need something like a 180 for a sealer?

That's where I'm confused, because I don't know how low to go, I've been told to leave the factory sealer on, and I was told that 320 is fine, and just shoot the primer once I'm done sanding and prepping.

Am I missing something here?

Please post some pictures of what you are working on. It is very hard to give advice when we cannot see the condition of the paint and vehicle.

I've had this argument elsewhere recently.

If you're sealing and intend to high fill over the sealer then P180 is fine. If not and you intend to top coat over the sealer then you should finish the substrate under the sealer to one grade coarser than you'd want for the top coat. Essentially this means P600 under sealer for a metallic/pearl or P400 for a solid colour.

I haven't looked up the TDS for that product but it should say all that, plus maybe give you options for mix ratios for sealer (sandable or not) and primer (probably sandable).

Are you sure that you want to do a full colour change to black? It's a huge amount of work to do it properly and black will show every single mistake you made.

The problem with this whole scenario is your factory paint is 25 years old on that car.

Discussing technique is all speculative without seeing the condition of the car. Post a picture or two.

Sorry about that, I thought I correctly uploaded them lol

So just a quick update, I am trying to correctly set my expectations and know this won't come out perfect or close to it. But the paint is probably a 2/10 at best right now, it's pretty bad.

I'm new to this stuff, so I don't know how far down the paint has chipped, or how much is exposed exactly. Like am I looking at the factory primer? Am I looking at metal?

So I did as much research as I could, YouTube videos, reddit forums, here mostly and I came up with my list of things to buy.

It does not have to be black though if you guys recommend I choose an easier color that warrants an overall better outcome, I'm all for it!

It beats the boring champagne color the car came with (in my opinion) and anything will be better than the 2/10 it's in right now.

So I'm definitely open to any tips or suggestions for sure.

paint is bad it sure is! you should plan on striping to bare metal. your looking at base coat and factory primer. do the black its cheep, and easy to spray.
Jay D.

Definitely need to strip to metal.
Personally, I would shoot it with two coats of epoxy primer first.
Follow that with 3 coats of 2k build primer. Look up how to guide coat and block sand, there are sticky posts at the top of each forum topic, plus visit the Info Center.

Black is either going to look exceptional or it's going to show every imperfection. The difference is the quality of your body work and paint prep.
The other thing with black, is you will be washing the car all the time, especially if you live in a dusty environment.

'68 Coronet R/T wrote:Definitely need to strip to metal.
Personally, I would shoot it with two coats of epoxy primer first.
Follow that with 3 coats of 2k build primer. Look up how to guide coat and block sand, there are sticky posts at the top of each forum topic, plus visit the Info Center.

Okay, so this clears absolutely everything up! I was so **** confused, because I didn't know what I was looking at lol.

I won't be doing any bondo or filler or anything like that, there are no dents on the car and I am not looking for absolute perfection, you know? I will be trying my best, but my own expectations are realistic for me.

I've looked up some tutorial videos and researched threads here on this website too.

Paint Society's youtube channel has taught me a decent amount. Here specifically he mentions to hand sand versus DA/Orbital because hand sanding gives you a much finer sanding job.
https://youtu.be/C-knrFFCwq8?t=299

After I sand, sand, sand, and do some more sanding, with the 80 grit. Do you have any recommendations for colors? It doesn't have to be black, but if you recommend an easy color I'm all for it.

I've seen some responses that say lighter colors and grey are easier, is that correct?

From one newb to another I suggest you just start with one panel.Say the trunk lid take it off sand away and see.Im only about $500 ahead of you in my project.The rabbit hole is big!

myke wrote:From one newb to another I suggest you just start with one panel.Say the trunk lid take it off sand away and see.Im only about $500 ahead of you in my project.The rabbit hole is big!

Yeah, most definitely. Just gonna sand one panel at a time. I'm in no rush, you know?

Been doing lots and lots of research, it appears that block sanding is still the way to go for inexperienced people like me. It looks like using an orbital sander could damage the metal if you're not careful, I'd rather not risk that. So that's what I'll do first, block sand the entire thing one panel at a time and go from there.