If There's One Project Not Many Enthusiasts tackle, it's painting their vehicles. Most do-it-yourselfers think it's complicated and messy, and if they screw up, their work is final. While it's true that painting can be tedious and frustrating, if you follow a few simple steps and basic rules you could possibly crank out a basic paint job your friends will envy.
A garage paint job will turn out as well as the amount of effort you put into it. We're not talking about a showstopping paint job here (which of course you can achieve with some work); we're talking about a good, quality paint job you can do yourself, even if you have never painted a 4x4 before. think of it this way: you paid a nominal amount for that old rig in your garage; do you really want to spend thousands for a halfway decent paint job? Heck, have some fun and do it yourself!
Let us put a home paint job in perspective for you. Depending on your skills and ambition, you could paint your vehicle and do an amazing job for about $300 to $500. Also keep this in mind: More than likely you're going to take your 4x4 on the trail and scratch it up anyway. Maybe you are building a buggy and would just like to paint the sheetmetal panels. it's really no big deal, just paint it! We'll get you started with the basics-it's up to you to do the best job you can and make a masterpiece out of that jalopy.
Supplies For A Basic Paint Job
A. HvLp spray gun with regulator.
B. Flat-faced sanding board (hand file).
C. Wet-sanding sponge block.
D. Body filler applicators.
E. Dolly for bodywork.
F. Chemical degreaser and cleaner.
g. nason paint catalyst/hardener.
H. nason paint.
I. Body filler. use a good quality body filler, not the cheap stuff.
J. thinning the paint requires use of virgin acetone. Do not use the lacquer thinner or acetone you find at the hardware store.
K. Seam filler. this is a flexible, paintable material used to fill seams.
L. Wet or dry sandpaper. you will need 36-grit up to 1,500.
M. Compressor (not shown).
We didn't want to paint a whole vehicle, just a door from one of our projects to help us choose a color. We're sure there are computer programs that could have done this for us, but painting was much more fun and it's good practice. the door we chose to paint wasn't in bad shape and required very little bodywork. | 
Disassemble as much of the vehicle as you can. things like door handles, hinges, and emblems are usually easy to remove. When removing our door handle, both screws snapped off, so we'll deal with this problem later. if you are removing parts from an older vehicle, oil the nuts, bolts, and screws the night before. this will ease their removal and prevent problems like these broken fasteners. | 
An easy way to keep all your parts together is to place them in a Ziploc bag. We realize this isn't cool, but it works and it works well. if your memory is really bad use a marker and write the part description on the bag. |
The window sweep weatherstripping on this door was cracked and hard as a rock. We cut along the edge so we would still have a place to stick masking tape. We recommend removing the strips so you can paint underneath. if you don't remove the weatherstripping, push your masking tape underneath it, sticky side up, and then fold the tape over. This will keep the tape from being blown off by the spray gun. | 
If your old paint is in good shape you don't have to strip your car or parts to the metal; it can be used as basecoat. Wash all the parts with soap and water, then wet-sand the paint with 400-grit paper. Make sure the edges of any chips in the paint are sanded smooth. Proper prep work is the most important factor when it comes to a good paint job. | 
Not all body fillers are created equal. use a good quality filler and follow the manufacturer's directions to a t. Mix only what you can use in three to four minutes, and use the proper plastic spreader as well as a good base. Once it starts to harden, get rid of it instead of trying to work it in. |