What Is the Car Painting Process?
Painting a car is an involved process, which is why even an inexpensive paint job can cost several thousand dollars. Once you have a place to paint a car, there are many steps that need to be taken to get a good paint job.
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Bodywork and prep
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Fixing any bodywork is the first step. Whether its rust repair or collision repair, many cars need to have some type of bodywork done on them. Before a car is painted, as many parts as possible need to be removed, from bumpers to headlights. High-end paint jobs usually include disassembling the car down to a bare shell prior to painting.
Block sanding
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A car often needs to be extensively block sanded to get the surface as flat as possible and to eliminate any waviness in the metal. This is done with a large sanding block and guide coat that shows high and low spots during sanding. If the car wasn't stripped to bare metal, then items like windows and trim that weren't removed need to be masked off with tape and paper. The car is scuffed with sandpaper before painting. This can be done with 220-grit sandpaper. The car is then primed.
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Primer
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Before the car is painted, it is primed. The primer coat is then sanded before the color coat is applied.
Paint
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Before it can be applied, the paint needs to be mixed with hardener in a mixing bucket and then poured into the paint container on the spray gun. The car is then painted with the spray gun. For a single-stage paint job, the paint is applied in one stage. For a base coat/clear coat, the paint is applied in two stages.
Polishing and reassembly
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The new paint finish is then polished, and the vehicle is reassembled.
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