How should I go about painting my car

[langelg6]

as you see in the pics the car has a flame livery but the roof is faded to high hell

my idea is to carbon fiber vinyl wrap the roof and leave the car how it is. or vinyl wrapping the car a kind of red and black theme. I do like the flames but the car wouldn't look right with vinyl wrap over the flames. how should I go about stripping the paint entirely off the car to have a clean smooth surface to vinyl wrap

 

[langelg6]

as you see in the pics the car has a flame livery but the roof is faded to high hell

my idea is to carbon fiber vinyl wrap the roof and leave the car how it is. or vinyl wrapping the car a kind of red and black theme. I do like the flames but the car wouldn't look right with vinyl wrap over the flames. how should I go about stripping the paint entirely off the car to have a clean smooth surface to vinyl wrap

Also in dire need of a passenger side fender if anyone has 1 for sale

 

[Widgmaster]

It looks to me like you have your work cut out for you. You do not need to completely remove the paint from your roof but sand it down to a smooth surface . The wrap is not transparent so what is beneath it will not show through . In the picture your provided it looks like the car was painted with the side skirts on the car . I would remove them and sand that area , the skirts and fender flares should be wrap separately . This info was given to me by a friend who works at a wrap shop. Also I am adding a link to some video that you can watch for more information. Good luck with your project ….

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[BLACK'98DSM]

Wrapping is just as expensive as painting. The difference is that paint lasts way longer. Just get it painted and stop worrying about it.

I can help you if you want to paint it yourself. I painted my car myself.

 

[bastarddsm]

I'd start by washing it with a good grease cutting soap, dawn works good. Then I'd clean the whole car with a solvent based wax and grease remover. Then I'd probably go at it with 400grit wet on a foam block. You don't have to sand the whole car, just get it smoothed out, and you should be good. If you have major imperfections you can tune them up with some filler and primer surfacer before a wrap. Essentially, for a wrap to look good, you need to prep the car as if it was being painted.

 

[motomattx]

Don't sand the car down to bare metal for any reason, the factory primer is baked on and if you break through it, you will compromise its integrity, as someone said you really need great paint to begin with before you wrap it, it can be cheapo paint or an ugly color but it needs to be consistent and smooth all over the car.

 

[EVLGSX]

Don't sand the car down to bare metal for any reason, the factory primer is baked on and if you break through it, you will compromise its integrity, as someone said you really need great paint to begin with before you wrap it, it can be cheapo paint or an ugly color but it needs to be consistent and smooth all over the car.

This is true. Its called e coat. Its electronically bonded to the metal just after production. Always best to keep the e coat in tact whenever possible.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Don't sand the car down to bare metal for any reason, the factory primer is baked on and if you break through it, you will compromise its integrity

On my hood the primer was bubling up and when it peeled off it peeled rith down to bare metal. That is one of the reasons I originally painted the car. And if you notice my hood is still primer while the rest of the car is painted...

Maybe I just got the bad one of the batch, but it is something to look out for.

 

[motomattx]

On my hood the primer was bubling up and when it peeled off it peeled rith down to bare metal. That is one of the reasons I originally painted the car. And if you notice my hood is still primer while the rest of the car is painted...

Maybe I just got the bad one of the batch, but it is something to look out for.

Was it an oem hood or an aftermarket one?

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Was it an oem hood or an aftermarket one?

OEM. It is the hood that came on the car when it was originally sold.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Was it an oem hood or an aftermarket one?

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