DIY Respray - Gun Metal Grey

Should I do this

  • Yeah go for it, you can always sand it back and try again!

    Votes: 10 62.5%

  • I don't really care it's your car do what you like!

    Votes: 3 18.8%

  • No!

    Votes: 3 18.8%
  • Total voters
    16
Samw1993

Samw1993

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I know what responses this is going to get, so please refrain from using the following.

"Don't do it"
"Take it to a bodyshop"
"It's not worth the time"
etc etc.

I've done some research and continuing so, I am planning on respraying my A3, I've found a spray booth to rent, happy days :) and have decided it's something I want to try. Now I understand it's a bit do or die but I like the challenge!

What I have figured out so far:
Prep is key, take my time make sure it is perfect otherwise the paint won't be, use progressively finer paper and a block to get an even finish. Use matting paste on the paint that doesn't require sanding. I'm going to use brand new primed bumpers to aid in this.

Use a sealer to avoid any reactions.

Primer a few coats, gradually getting thicker, flat between each coat.

Base a few coats, I am pretty sure I'm going to use 2 pack paint as it seems to be easier to get a better finish.

Laquer, same as base.

Colour sand and buff. (Any advise on this please?)

Could anybody advise me on anything else I need to take into consideration, do's and don'ts, that sort of thing.

I will keep this thread updated with my progress so you can either laugh at my failed attempt or be in awe a the finished product haha! I'm hoping for the latter!

For those who would like to state an opinion on whether it should be done or not I have created a poll but please, I beg, replies with advise only!

Thanks :)
 
Make sure you have appropriate mask/ breathing apparatus good luck with the spray good and hope it turns out how you hope. I have thought about doing mine many times
 
Thanks mate breathing apparatus etc is included with the booth so all good there!
 
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Reactions: Grale1
I'm not a patient person but I also like to go all in and try my hand at anything so I'm being patient on this. Im cheating on the bumpers a bit, they need quite a lot of repair so going to order some new ones in primer, unless anybody has any good condition ones going here? Preferably s3 front as I want the spots! I'm in visioning paint being laid in about 6-8 weeks time as moving house atm so have to wait for the next couple of pay days. In the mean time I'm going to be driving a gradually more sanded car lol!
 
Yeah good shout just mentioned it as an after thought!
 
Just had a thought as it seems it be easier to get. Gonna scrap off the grey and go for a nice deep gloss black. Is this any harder to spray?
 
good luck with the project. i'm doing something similar but on a much smaller scale. i have rust starting at the bottom of my doors plus a tree came down and scuffed my bumper so I have ordered some rattle cans in my colour from audi plus filler etc. going to give it a go. i have to worry bout blending it.
 
Cheers crazypete I was going to do repairs and touching in. Unfortunately, the more I looked at the locations of the repairs required, the more I realised I was going to be spraying most of the side of the car and both bumpers, I figure if I'm going to do all that then it'll be quite obvious where it's been done so why not a full spray with a color change! Good luck with yours please post some pictures up as you do it I'll be interested to see how it comes out!
 
Look on youtube, you can plastidip whole cars, its 60 quid for 5l on ebay and theres no prep and it peels off if you go wrong!-) jetwash proof and self smoothing. They spray it on with a paint gun on youtube.

Not sure if thats something worth considering, ive been thinking alot about that route my self.
 
Definately sounds like a good idea, just watched a video from dipyourcar.com application looks easy, prep non existant, cost effective product and amazing range of pearls etc :)
 
So are you thinking of completely stripping the car, which would be a really time consuming thing, but the most proper way to do especially if you decide to try another color (not the original). Otherwise your door insides, sills and whatever you can see, when you open the door/hood/hatch will be of a different color and that can look annoying. However this would be really a bitch of a job to do.

Or are you going to just respray everything you can see from the outside (this means no door insides, not under the hood and etc.)? When using plastidip, then it's alright I guess, as it can be easily removed (however not so sure how well the plastidip holds up to road/weather conditions etc.).
 
The game plan is to do everything apart from under the hood, I'll be doing that when I do some engine work as I'll probably look at smoothing the bay. I'm leaning towards plasti dip and seeing how it holds up as its relatively inexpensive, about £100 in materials for the whole car with a pearl finish, and then taking it from there. From everything I've seen it seems pretty tough!
 
will be following this closely, some of the dipyourcar videos look brilliant.


i've seen a couple local guys use plastidip, one done his leon flat white and looked great from a distance but when you got up close the finish wasn't great, not terrible but not smooth like paint would be. but people have also said that can be down to technique/mixing problems
 
@phil miller let a friend plasti dip his car in his garage, I personally wasn't inpressed with it body work needs to be super clean as it looks like it reacts badly if not. But that is justy opion
 
Yes I was there when it was being done overspray was really bad lol, yes looked ok from a distance up close not great. I still think that it needs to be done professionally
 
Make sure you have plenty of panel wipe and tack cloths, as the surface needs to be completely dust free.
 
I love the dip your car videos, been watching the tutorials etc. Game plan is as follows.

1. I'm going to use a spray booth so I can have a completely dust free environment.
2. I'm going to ensure that the surface of the car is as clean as it would be if I was going to paint.
3. Follow the dipyoucar videos to the tee.
4. Hopefully get a nice result!

I get that the finish may not be as good as paint but for the price and time difference, also the lack of consequence if I mess it up, it seems worth it.

http://shop.cardipuk.co.uk/steel-blue-pearl-5-litre-dip-630-p.asp

That is the colour I'm thinking about, any opinions?

I would like to mention that this isn't going to happen over night, I am waiting for the booth to be finished and sorting out the dents in my car first.

Thanks :)
 
One thing I'll say about plasti-dip which may not be too relevant for yourself but something to think about.

In a hot climate (Australia) the plastidip breaks down over a year or so. That means when you go to peel it off it comes off in tiny bits (like 1cm squared size). It Also gets stuck in the panel gaps and cannot be removed. Like I said, this happened to my mates car in Australia. I'm sure it will last longer in your climate.


Another thing, one of my mates had his car dipped and then his electronic hand brake failed and he did some slight damage to the front end of his car. This meant that they needed to respray some panels and meant they needed to take off the plasti dip of all surrounding panels to ensure they blended the paint correctly. It was easier to get the plasti dip removed from the entire car, so he ended back at square one about $2000 later
 
Cheers for the comments, I don't see the heat in the UK being a problem lol. I've decided that for what it's going to cost me, it's definately worth going down the plasti dip route. I'm looking forward to seeing how i comes out, anything will be an improvement over the current paint!
 
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