Advice/Progress Thread, update on pg4, 5/26/10 Options

[captb]

Hey guys, if you have restoration experience i could really use your help.

The paint job and all the dents finally put me in the position to sell the 6g. problem was i couldnt find a car that can match the 6g's "feel" if you know what i mean. Since having a shop repair her is so expensive, i figured ill tackle restoring her on my own. After watching alot of youtube videos and reading how-to's on restoration, im confident enough to try it, but still have a few questions and would appreciate your opinions.

(1) money and quality wise would you recommend i do a maaco job or tackle painting on my own(either rent a booth or enclosed tent)?

(2) are there any considerations/advice for using bondo or other recommended products on non-metal surfaces such as the bumper and sideskirts? will the flexibility of the bumper be a problem?

(3) Im pretty much gonna sand/bondo the entire car and am considering a bodykit. If i were to get a cheap one off ebay, will getting the thing to fit be the same as sanding and bondoing the thing, or will i need to do some fiberglass work? Id love the gt-four look, have any recommendations on where to get bodykits for cheap?

(4) I am also having problems with rust below both doors. Rust cant be seen from the outside, but looking from the inside, it is definitely a problem. Would u recommend i restore it myself by cutting and welding or just replace the door entirely?

(5) When i do paint it, would you recommend i remove different parts; hood, trunk, doors? also, would it be worth my while to remove things like the lining and windshields? id figure sanding and bondoing would be nicer with the linings removed.

(6) Any videos and/or websites would you recommend i check out before i start. most of the videos i watched seemed to be from the 80's. any videos with more modern techniques? or has restoration been pretty much ageless.

This is alot of info and questions but i would appreciate any input on 1, 2, or all of my questions.

Thanks,
-Joel

This post has been edited by captb: May 28, 2010 - 10:13 PM

[captb]

Thanks for all the advice guys. and i definitely will be weary of any maaco and any body shop for that matter. But right now im on the edge of painting myself. im out to get some supplies to start with the prep work. if i were to paint myself, what would be the cheapest for primer, paint, clear? and assuming i rent out a booth how long would it take after each coat, given that i sand between coats? just wondering if it would be a multiple day kinda thing.

808celica, you're from hawaii too. you know of any places/junk yards/websites where i can get a decent replacement door at a decent price. shipping kinda sucks for us.

[CastrolCelica]

Thanks for all the advice guys. and i definitely will be weary of any maaco and any body shop for that matter. But right now im on the edge of painting myself. im out to get some supplies to start with the prep work. if i were to paint myself, what would be the cheapest for primer, paint, clear? and assuming i rent out a booth how long would it take after each coat, given that i sand between coats? just wondering if it would be a multiple day kinda thing.

808celica, you're from hawaii too. you know of any places/junk yards/websites where i can get a decent replacement door at a decent price. shipping kinda sucks for us.

Cheapest, uh oh.. you're going down the wrong path already! Good paint, clear and primer will run you about what my paint job cost... plus you have to do it yourself. But I congratulate you on trying this though. I hope it turns out well.

To answer what questions I can, you *should* be able to paint your car in one day. Now, being that you're not a professional, I can't guarantee that you can. But yes, it's more than possible to do this in a relatively quick amount of time.

If you want tutorials per say on how to paint the car and what exactly you need to do and what exactly you need to buy, it may be beneficial to find a car painting forum and ask some questions. Trust me there's forums for everything. Hell I even found a bustling forum that deals only with buffing and detailing cars when I had questions about that. Nuts huh?

EDIT: I'm sure you already know this, but if you're doing a base/clear or a single stage enamel, you'll need curing time. So just because it's sprayed in one day, doesn't mean you should go waxing it the next. I'm not 100% sure on base/clear (especially since all brands are different), but my enamel takes about 4 weeks to fully cure. That means no decals or wax in that time.

This post has been edited by CastrolCelica: Oct 23, 2009 - 6:18 PM