Amount of Paint

[cjenkinsjr80]

Hello FGMC,

 

I'm about to paint my entire car, Under hood, jambs, under trunk, etc. I'm wondering how much paint would it take to complete. I'm estimating a gallon but hoping someone whos been down this road could help me out so I don't over/under spend.

 

Thanks,

 

Charles

[montefrazer]

Need more info. Type of paint? Single stage or base clear? Color and color of primer/sealer. HVLP or high pressure gun? Name brand gun or Harbor Freight special? Fluid tip and compressor size? Will you wet sand flat and buff or just paint and call it good?

[Jared Richey]

A gallon of base will do it, that gives your two gallons of actual spray material, when its mixed in a one to one ratio. The only jam we didn't paint was under the trunk on my car since it was a glass lid. We also had a brand new gravity feed, waste less Paint gun.

And that was 4 coats of base on my car instead of three on most base clear paint jobs.

[Leghome]

When we repainted my 72 this past winter we used 5 1/2 quarts of paint before reducing giving us 11 quarts spray-able. I bought 7 to make sure I had enough. Did not want to be painting at midnight and run out. This was a base coat/clear coat combination. We painted the bottom side of the deck lid and all jambs giving all painted areas three coats along with using a value shade sealer right before applying the color. My Ferrari Red was a value shade 2 which is an off white sealer. The sealer gave it a brighter color versus going over a light gray base. We test painted a couple of scrap to see which looked the best. I painted the bottom side of my hood satin black so that could take up an extra 1/2 pint.

[monte70car]

When we did our 70 El Camino we used a gallon of paint doing all the jams and some seat parts, paint is base clear. On my 70 Monte we used a gallon and didn't do the jams or under the vinyl top or the trunk lid.

[montefrazer]

As you can see, different amounts for different people and processes. Still need details about what you're doing or else just get extra for touch ups later. You will need it sooner than you think.

[bigtankjones]

I used a Gallon and a half of color and the same in clear. I had at least quart left over. I did the jams and the doors and the under the trunk lid. I would rather buy extra then not enough.

[Steve G]

painted my Nissan in Diamont basecoat.. 0ne gallon did all the jambs, entire engine compartment, the outside, the campershell, and the hood 2 more times, plus i still have a few ounces left over.

Tried to paint a honda accord (just the outside) with a gallon of PPG basecoat and ran out before full coverage.

Some brands cover better than others... some colors cover better than others.

Want the worst of the worst?...GM millennium yellow in PPG waterbase.

[jvssmail]

The paint is a small part of the expense involved in a full paint job, when you take into account all the time involved in the prep work. I would try to figure out how much paint you will need based on the answers above then order 50% more just in case. Once you get started you never know what's going to happen and even if you can get more if you need it you never know if it's going to be an exact match. So order more and make sure you save some for touch up down the road if nesesary.

[KLASSIK1]

there are hundreds of great painters to every 1 great restorer , the prep metal finish primers fillers sealers discs sandpaper etc that will add up in cost , the final gallon of paint is the least costly of the journey expect 3k-4k in prep and materials possible more depending on level of detail and quality

 

Leo

[Leghome]

I purchased all my materials at the jobbers where I work. My costs on all materials was over $2,900 and that is with a pretty decent discount.

[Sam (Bones)]

I try to tell people about the material costs, and they still think they can get a good paint job for $5000

[Mike 57]

Leo is right on the prep costs. A quart of sandable primer is over 50 with the hardener, sealer is the same.

 

By the way mine took 7 quarts of Dupont color. I did the inside of the hood and trunk and all the jambs.

 

Make sure you stay with the same product line from primer to clear.

[Leghome]

Make sure you stay with the same product line from primer to clear. That is an excellent suggestion. We sell Xalta new name/Dupont and we carry the entry level Xalta/Nason Products. We have several people that mix the primers/sealers with the better clears and generally have no problems but by doing so there is no warranty by the manufacturer. We did have one customer that did use all Dupont products and had a problem. They reimbursed him for most of his product costs and the car was selected for the Hot Hues Calendar that Dupont put out at the time.