I've been wanting to learn how to paint cars for a very long time, and finally decided that I'm gonna get myself an air compressor, gun, and all the other goodies with the extra money I have left over from Christmas shopping.

I'll be buying that 21 gallon 4 1/2 hp compressor from harbor freight, and their $40 lower end HVLP purple gun, with all the rest of the accessories there as well.

Now, this is where I need your help. I've hung around body shops plenty to know what is involved in preparation and painting, but I'm still not confident in putting out perfect results. Any tips or advice you can give me?

The first project I'd like to tackle is the cracked front end of my car. It's cracked fiberglass.

Hey i got that same compressor and gun from HF, people here where saying it might not be enough for that gun... just letting you know

I was told by my friend who uses the same combination of equipment that it's fine unless you're painting the entire car at once)?

Let me spill all my questions out in the open so I can know what kind of mess I'm getting myself in to:

Here are some pictures of what I want to repair




I'm thinking the necessary steps to repair this would be to re-drill holes so I can remount the ground effects back on to the original bumper using screws (the screws popped out when the front end hit the curb), sand down all the clear coat using 600 grit (?), prep the cracked area for repair, use kitty hair to fill the cracks, prep the new fiberglassed area, and paint the bumper/fender.

What did I leave out? Also, this is my very first time ever trying to attempt body repair, so please advise me towards the right way of doing things. Equipment recommendations will be very helpful as well. I will be willing to spend up to $700 for this entire project, as that is what I will be paying my usual shop guy AGAIN if I had him fix it for the 3rd time...

sounds like you are on the right track. Make sure to grind the part where you will put the new filler. I would use a grit much lower than 600. See what the can says on filler.

Also, be on the look out for the hood. It may look like the two are different colors if the paint has faded at all. When you are getting the paint see if they can computer match it to avoid the problem.