So I want to sand down my car and prime her for an eventual paint job. The clearcoats shot. I plan on using an orbital sander and some 180 grit, and I'll probably just spray can it with automotive primer. What's the best way to get into all the cracks and crevices (of course, I'll remove lights and spoiler), like the recessed eagle logo or the raised Tsi awd letters. I don't have a dremel, but if that's the easiest way I'll get one.

180 grit good lord man i would start with maybe 5 or 600.

No stick with 180. Take it as far down as you can then move up to 320 before you spray it. You can get a fine wire wheel to get in hard to reach areas, just make sure you smooth out the hard edges and whatnot before you spray the primer.

Are you going down to the metal or what?

You can apply 2-3 layers of masking tape around edges (like weatherstrips or lights) to protect them from sandpaper. And a good sanding sponge will make a quick work of any body lines. An air eraser can be used for things like emblems. An air eraser is just a small sandblaster that can be got for around $30 at a H-F.
Gather up your hard earned cash and invest about $5 of it in a tack rags. A tack rag is basically a sticky piece of lint-free cloth that will remove any fine contaminants off the surface. Of course wash the car before tacking it, and don't forget to wipe the car down with degreaser. Rubbing alcohol works ok for that if you don't have anything better.

jimsgsx said:

180 grit good lord man i would start with maybe 5 or 600.

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+1

Ive painted my cars a few times just prep first take your time, and be carefull on the sanding with 180 you don't want to go too deep or youll have issues when you paint they will show through. Use high build primer before paint remember the more prep the better youll be.

Clean and then when you think its all clean clean it another 2 or 3 times after its all sanded and then the tach cloth

Prep,prep,prep,clean,clean,clean...the most important part of a good paint job is popper prep. Sand smooth not all the way down to metal everywhere and clean as much in between sanding and before u paint as possible. Colder weather can make drying times take longer but patience will help. A tip for taping use a cereal box or other thin like cardboard to slide under window moldings and seems then fold back and tape this will allow to get a much cleaner look around edges and near rubber pieces. Sand in stages for a cleaner finish and wash the car one final time before you primer it.

You will be surprised how easy it is to smooth out old clear coat with a nice wet sand.

If it's my car I take it all the way to 1500 grit. I also don't like orbital sanders I'm straight by hand kinda guy.

I don't know what your setup is but, try to make sure the metal is warm before you primer.

I wouldn't worry about a dremel tool. chances are it will cause more work. I would just try to get in there the best you can with folded sand paper.

Afterwards you can find a can of prep-all from autozone. I used that a time or two to wipe the car down before paint. I mostly used that for when I shot people's interior trim.

I'm sure there are some professionals on the board so your bound to get the right answer. I've prepped and painted 2 show cars, 3 daily drivers and a show bike. I learned from old school mechanics but all my hardwork paid off cause they looked great. One company still uses a picture of my old celica to promote their body kits.

Any waviness in the metal at all?

You mentioned using "spray can" primer, I would not do that if you want to have a quality job, not to mention it will be a pain in the ass to spray can the entire car! go to eastwood and order some quality primer and paint and use a spray gun. And,

HallerDSM said:

Prep,prep,prep,clean,clean,clean...the most important part of a good paint job is popper prep

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Take your time, Don't RUSH!

Any Idea on the cost of supplies for paint prep? My clearcoat is peeling horribly off the entire car.

Wayne said:

You mentioned using "spray can" primer, I would not do that if you want to have a quality job, not to mention it will be a pain in the ass to spray can the entire car! go to eastwood and order some quality primer and paint and use a spray gun. And,
Take your time, Don't RUSH!

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I disagree. I used rustoleum primer on my car and I've had fantastic results. Dried nicely, sanded great. And my paint job is over a year old right now, still looking awesome.

However, I agree if you're spraying the WHOLE car, definitely get a gun.

Love your 1G, Erik. Gorgeous.

To get into tight sanding spots there are alot of different tricks depending on the surface. You can wrap your s paper around different shaped objects to get into tight spots. There are different size wire brush kits for cheap too. Solvents can be useful as well, just use accordingly. It might be a good idea depending on the condition of the paint, to primer and wet sand twice for a flawless finish in the future. The grit your using is pretty coarse. If you choose to wet sand 400 grit would be Ideal.

Some joker wrecked the paint job on the ride I bought. He had a vinyl wrap over the rare blue then did a poor job of removing it. After that he claims to have sanded it then hit the entire ride with canned plasti liner!