When you decide to paint the car yourself there are most likely well-founded reasons for you to roll up your sleeves and try the easier route: automotive paint spray cans. There are so many reasons why an automatic touch-up with spray cans can be a hit or a miss. That’s why we collected the 5 mistakes with do-it-yourself car paint with aerosol cans to be avoided.

Update February 9, 2023: Latest and most useful content and links for readers

1. PAINT YOUR CAR BY YOURSELF: HOW MANY AEROSOLS DO YOU NEED?

The most common first mistake is made in evaluating the convenience of paint a car with spray cans. Self the cost Auto body repair can be cheap compared to the value of a used car, so don’t be fooled by the price of a can of spray paint. The key question to answer is: How many spray cans do you need to paint a car? Evaluation is easy, since a box of 400 ml have a yield of approximately 1-2 m2. So if you multiply the number of cans by the coats needed (depending on coverage) and the products you need (at least base coat + polish), you’ll get an idea of ​​the starting costs. The larger the area to be painted, the higher the costsbut also the risk of making mistakes. Beyond the mirror cap, the handle or the scratched circle, it is better to aim for a professional result in bodywork.

2. DIY PAINT A CAR: WHAT DO YOU NEED MORE CANS?

At costs painting a diy carcosts should be added for me consumables which are not usually available in the garage:

• abrasive papers of different grits;
• aerosol insulating primer;
• masking;
• anti-static dust cloths;
• solvent;
• silicone cleaner;
• etc

Finally, consider an additional cost: inexperience, which may result in wasted material or rework. It’s only once you’ve made an estimate of all the materials needed that you’ll understand if the business can really be worth it.

3. WHERE TO PAINT THE CAR

If you are convinced that do-it-yourself car refinishing is more convenient than professional work, then be very careful about choosing place to paint the car. The minimum requirements that cannot be missing are:

• to carry EARthat is to say at least gloves, mask suitable for powders and solvents, protective goggles;
• paint in one ventilated but dust-free place and that it does not cause harm to other people or animals. It can help keep them glued to the ground, water spray with a vaporizer a few centimeters above the ground;
• direct light is essential for check that there are no imperfections coarse (flies, lint or anything that sticks to the paint, drips, uniformity of coverage, halos, etc.);
• weather: paint on rainy days or over 30 degrees in the shade will certainly have negative effects on the paint.

4. DIY PAINTING YOUR CAR: PREPARATION AND MASKING

There preparation of the surface to be painted with the cans this is crucial as any microscopic imperfections will be further accentuated by the spray paint applied. SO:

• Not believe you can fill in small scratches with paint (risk of overflow and dripping);
• after sanding with the correct order of progressively finer abrasive papers, depending on the depth of the damage to be rectified (up to transparent/color primer/epoxy primer/sheet metal in the presence of oxidation), the surface must be thoroughly cleaned dusted then degreased with anti silicones;
• mask very carefully the areas to be protected, preventing the masking tape from being touched by the spray paint. Otherwise, you’ll end up with very ugly steps that clearly show the stark difference in tone. What to avoid instead of trying to blend close to undamaged area.

5. UNAVOIDABLE MISTAKES WITH SPRAY CAR PAINT AND DIY

A DIY car paint that went wrong with spray cans it can be the sum of many small oversights related to the equipment and the unsuitable place. Even after buying everything you need to paint a car with spray cans, remember that the result is strongly influenced by the flow of air and paint, which is skillfully managed by professional bodybuilders. With spray paint instead the pressure always tends to decrease during use and therefore the paint will be less atomized and less uniform. The risk is common when trying to cover large areas, but is limited by trying not to touch the bottom of the box and only making small touch-ups. It is assumed that you will also need to carefully follow the instructions in the datasheet to application and drying time. It becomes crucial to respect the times since they change between:

• wet-on-wet car paint from the color base, to the application of the transparency, without interruption, except for short breaks;
• car painting with varnish application another day as soon as the color base is applied. In this case it will be necessary to wait until it is completely dry, slightly dull with very fine grain sandpaper (about 2000) and clean with an antistatic cloth.

DIY PAINTING A CAR: FINDINGS AND TIPS

Once all the general assessments have been done, you will be able to understand if buying a used spare part in better condition when scrapping the car (when possible) can be a cheaper solution. However, remember that it is always it is better to drive an efficient and safe carwhich has received essential routine maintenance, but with some signs of age, instead of investing money to make it beautiful, with brakes, shock absorbers and fruit tires. This is also an assessment to consider before embarking on DIY car painting at all costs. In this article, however, we explain how much it costs to paint a car in the body shop.