Newbie (new project)

General Discussion. Make yourself at home...read, ask and answer!



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PostPosted: Sat May 19, 2018 11:46 pm
I have a little bit of experience as a machinist of working with metal, grinding it down, and polishing small metal pieces in a shop. But very little experience with working on cars or car bodies.

I have an older Honda Civic that had the same manufacturing defect as most the black models of my version. The problem is Honda refused to fix their own mistakes because warranty had just expired when I asked them what was going wrong with the paint/finish on my car.

That said, I am thinking on just fixing things up myself, as Honda wanted $1600 in order to fix THEIR own mistake.

Being a total newbie to this, I am curious what the experts have to say on the issue here? I have included pics to show the problem.

I don't mind learning a few things along the way, if this would be a reasonable project.

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PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 6:13 am
Needs to be stripped down to at least OEM primer and possibly down to metal. Once the clear has failed, then the base color has been compromised and neither is a suitable substrate to do any paint work over.



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PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 6:44 am
it could be a reasonable project. however, if not equipped with the proper tools, that alone can cost $1600+. then another $1000+ in materials.since the CC failure extending onto the rear QP's ya have work there and im going ot guess the front fenders look the same, so work there( as chris mentioned, at least down to OEM primer) then base and clear, which blending base isnt hard but not so simple a caveman can do it. then the clear- that doesnt get blended. have to do whole panels.
its a big job but doable. youre pretty much looking at a complete repaint. i say that because if you get looking closely at the rest of the car youy will probably find chips, scratches, and all them good things that happen to paint over the years(take a look at the front bumber cover alone) and adding new paint and clear to just certain areas, it'll probably stand out.

read the threads at the top of this forum highlighted in blue.



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PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2018 12:43 pm
Thanks for the input. I definitely have a lot more research to do on this first. I was sort of hoping I could stop by Harbor Freight and pick up what I don't already have, but I guess it's more complex than that.

Will keep digging into things.

When I first went to Honda, only the roof and the trunk was peeling away. The rep said he'd seen a lot of Hondas like mine, and if the roof has it, so does the rest of the areas, just takes longer time to notice. So getting the roof and trunk done would be pointless without the whole car stripped basically.



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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 8:07 am
my first vehicle was a 96 raggtopp mustang i picked up for my son when he was serving in afghanistan. it was a southern car and pretty much same paint condition-clear on hood,trunk,fender and quarter panel tops shot. paint chips here and there but a very solid car. i found a man that did body work/painting in a personal shop and he worked with me- let me do the prepwork( in my garage) and he ran the guns-shot the primer(which he let me sand in his shop), base, and clear. l there was a LOT of prep- i pulled off all the trim, lights, bumpers- all the good stuff so it didnt look like a maaco job.
came out pretty good and well worth the work
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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2018 3:05 pm
The_Apprentice wrote:I have...very little experience with working on cars or car bodies.

I have an older Honda Civic that had the same manufacturing defect as most the black models of my version...

That said, I am thinking on just fixing things up myself, as Honda wanted $1600 in order to fix THEIR own mistake.

Being a total newbie to this, I am curious what the experts have to say on the issue here? I have included pics to show the problem.

I don't mind learning a few things along the way, if this would be a reasonable project


It looks to me like you should first ask yourself a few questions;
A) What paint tools do you currently have? Compressor, DA, Sanding blocks, hoses, connectors, respirator, sandpaper etc etc etc - You said that you didn't have a gun, so you'd need at least one (or two) of those.
B) Do you want to get into bodywork/paint as a hobby?
C) Or is this a case of, I need my daily driver's paint corrected?

If it is a case of just wanting to get your daily driver's paint fixed, find someone to paint it. It will be seriously cheaper in the long run.

If you want to do it yourself and are ready to spend the time and money, than this is the place. But prepared to spend money on all kinds of things, like prep materials, tools and the primers/paint/clears themselves.

I'm not trying to scare you away, but if you just want that one car fixed then I couldn't see how the capitol investment would be worth it. I started doing this stuff about a year and a half ago as I had always wanted to. I stopped counting how much I have spent as it is now a hobby of mine. As an example, I just spent over $250 on different tapes for practicing and laying out graphics. It is not a cheap hobby.
Sent by the random thoughts from the voices in my head...

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PostPosted: Wed May 23, 2018 2:09 pm
If you don't intend to make auto restoration a career or long term hobby, I would find a reputable shop to prep and paint it for you. As mentioned above, the cost of all the tools, equipment, sandpapers, primers, paint, clear coat, and a place to do it can and will add up into the thousands easily. I mean, just a gallon of paint still in the can will be anywhere from $200 to $800 or more depending on brand and color and you'll need more than one. Clear coat is $200 plus a gallon easily and primers aren't much cheaper.

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