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Hello everyone! Hope you are enjoying your weekend!

So I was wondering if it's a huge feat to paint your own truck.. I mean, I can bend and weld metal, but painting might not be my forte, but at the same time I don't really want to spend a fortune on getting my truck painted a satin black...

Have any of you newbies (At one point of time ) successfully painted your own? What were the steps and what tools did you use to do it?

Please feel free to add photos- or go completely dummy with me! I won't mind

Thank you!

You can do it!
My first paint job was on my 89 Suburban. I like flames too.

I had a lot of help with the T'Mater but all the work was done here in my garage with cheap tools from Harbor Freight and Tractor paint from Van Sickle.

I just got done doing my 49 COE cab. Came out okay. Nothing to brag or cry about. My biggest problem was getting the paint to apply consistently. If I painted more oftem I`m sure it would have been a better job. So be prepared to wet sand the finish coats back to primer if theres "issues"
A spray both sure would have made it easier. Minimum dust. better lighing and overspray removal all ake a difference.
Most helpful item I did for my self is add lighting. You have to see the paint spray lay down, not just color the surface. If I did it again I`d probably send it out if theres a shop with a booth that it would fit in.

I'm in about the same situation as you... can fabricate and weld but beyond that I'm pretty much out of my comfort zone.

Painting is the (relatively) easy part. It's the work that goes on underneath the paint that will break your back and try your patience. Not sure how much else you're planning other than paint but start rough and work progressively finer with your body prep.

My first step was to strip off all the paint then run a DA sander over everything to get a rough surface so the primer gets a god bite.

Apply one coat of primer. This will act as a guide coat in your hunt for high and low spots. Block sand down to metal to reveal high and low spots. I used Rage Gold filler in the low spots and sanded with 36 grit on an 18" block by hand.

Once that's done lay on a couple good coats of high-fill primer and block with 80 grit dry to fill the sanding scratches. Fill any low spots with two-part glazing putty and blend. Lay on two more coats of high fill and block with 80 grit dry. Repeat this process until you can block out the entire part without hitting metal or finding low spots. Note that as soon as you hit metal stop sanding that spot. Continued sanding will keep cutting the primer but not the metal.

At this point get a rag real wet with with prep cleaner and mop it over the surface. This will give you a real good idea of how smooth your panels are by the reflections.

Now lay on two more coats of high-fill and block with 180 dry.

As a note: Do not just sand in one direction, do what is known as x-sanding, a self-descriptive term describing the direction you sand, in an X pattern. The object is simple, when you sand in one direction you create ridges in that direction, sanding no quite perpendicular to those ridges smoothes them out. DO NOT chase low spots after hitting metal! Fill them in. When you are done you should be able to block sand the guide coat off the entire panel without hitting metal or finding low spots.

When you're done with that block with 400 grit wet and then paint. Add a little detergent to the water... just works better that way.

Be sure to use a good guide coat. I know a lot of guys just mist on a ghost coat of flat black but after trying both, I much prefer work with 3M Dry Guide Coat.

I'm still blocking so no meaningful advice on the final color coat... yet.

One more thing... PLEASE wear a respirator when you paint, indoors or out.

Of course you can do it. I learned how 5 years ago by myself with a couple books and a lot of internet forum browsing. I do hobbyist level work - nowhere close to show quality. My modest shop equipment (compressor, fitler, gun, plumbing) costed about $700, 5 years ago on sale.

There is a very steep learning curve with the several paint and prep processes. Don't attempt to learn them all at once, it will overwhelm you. There are also a lot of different opinions on how to do it right. Ultimately, you will figure out what works for you and the results you desire. It will take much longer than you think. Wear an appropriate respirator for all sanding and spraying.

If you think you will only paint 1 vehicle, I would find someone else to do the paint (check at your paint suppliers shop to see if they know anyone that does side jobs) and spend your money and effort on pre-paint prep work.

Even the economy autobody paint materials are really expensive these days. Primers, filler, paint, sand paper, respirator, dust masks, masking material, degreasers, rust neutralizers, buffing compounds, will cost at least $500 for a basic paint job and when you are done, you will have a lot of excess material on hand that has virtually no value unless you decide to paint another car

You guys are simply amazing! I have printed off all these answers and am keeping 'em close by!

I really appreciate when guys (and gals) do all the work themselves, but I am definitely not afraid to admit I can't do things! So maybe I will practice on some nasty old field cars (imports, not oldies :P) first!

Thanks Woody for the time you took to tell us the steps you have taken so far. I too am thinking about painting my '50 myself and read your post with interest. I'll print this off and keep it for reference.

Many thanks!

Spot

Spot,

As a beginner I found it nearly impossible to determine if my sanding was doing what I hoped when there were several different shades of filler and or bare metal showing. It's much more productive if you are sanding something that's a single color. As soon as I started covering the area with a coat or two of high-fill the low and high areas become so obvious even I could see them.

Don't be afraid to add filler over primer, it's perfectly okay. And don't be afraid to use that primer. You will sand most of it off with the 80 grit anyway... just think of it as a thick guide coat.

Another critical thing is DO NOT chase low spots with your sanding, fill them in. When you get to the 180 grit sanding step you should be able to effortlessly sand your 3M guide coat off completely without seeing any low or high spots. If you do, fill them with the 2-part glazing putty.

For the pros out there reading this keep in mind that I'm relaying my personal "body prep epiphany" experience so it may or may not be how you do it. All I know is that it works and it's simple enough for a novice to understand... and that addresses the OP's question.