When preparing an action plan for a custom paint job you
first need to think of longevity so starting with clean bare
metal or fiberglass is a must as most paint looses longevity
when sprayed over another paint job as the new paint job
will only last as long as the substrates.
After the vehicle is completely stripped to bare metal you
now need to prep the metal for filler and primer
application. This is done with metal prep and sanding discs,
th4e metal prep removes contamination and rust and the
sanding discs remove a small layer of metal so you start
with a new clean metal surface and you do the same on
fiberglass except you use chemical cleaners instead of metal
prep.
Now that the surface is clean you can apply your filler
over the metal to bring the surface to an even plane. Next
you can apply your etch and urethane fill primers as needed.
Now comes the painstaking process of block sanding the
complete vehicle inside jams and out, this could take up to
60 hour or more. Most of the car will need to be sanded with
a 120 grit hard block then reprimed and re-sanded with 240
then 320 using the appropriate block for the different
contours. This blocking step is what makes the paintjob if
it's not done right no matter how good you spray the paint
it's will only look as good as the block sanding allows it
to.
Time for applying the paint. First we spray an
appropriate colored sealer for uniform undercoat color and
adhesion then the base color coats usually 2-3 coats will
suffice depending on color hide and some colors may require
4-5. Next is the clear coat application we spray 3-6 coats
of clear depending on the sand and rub operation requested
by the customer. The clear coat is baked and then allowed to
dry 24 to 48 hours prior to sand and rub.