+1 to
@FoxMustangLvr . It does add up.
The stud welding gun is more or less the way it's done in a body shop now. We have another machine that has a slide hammer attached to an electrode that is very fast for popping out small dents.
I think the drilled holes and welder routine is still fine, it depends on what you have.
If you have easy(read: cheap) access to either way, that's the way to go. If you need to buy a welder or a nail gun....it starts to get expensive enough to think about dropping it off with a body shop.
The hammers and dollies you would need really don't have to cost much. Eastwood and other companies sell sets for fairly low money outlay.
It's like the paint guns, you can buy a $700 paint gun, but the $200 will give you a quality paint job as well. I use Iwatas myself, they're the expensive kind, but it's what I do for a living. The big difference between the expensive and more cost effective guns is the long term durability. If you won't be painting 1000+ jobs of varying sizes per year, the $200 gun will surprise you with it's results. My current set of guns are ten years old this year and I think I'm finally going to need to replace the packing in my color gun. In short, get the $200 guns.
I agree with having at least two guns. I keep a gun strictly for spraying clear so I don't accidentally have a cross contamination with dried base coat. I use 1.3 tips in all three of my guns. I do have a fourth that I use strictly for primer. It has a 1.5 tip, it's a little small for primer, but it lays it out smoother with less orange peal so when I go to block it I don't waste time blocking out the peal first. You don't really even need a $200 gun for that. Harbor freight sells lots of paint guns I would spray primer through.
If you want to do this at home the air compressor is a big thing to think about. Getting a compressor that will provide the consistent volume needed for the guns won't be the cheap one at the store.
There are some places that rent out booth time to paint personal cars, look around where you live to see if you can find one of those places. A paint booth is a very good thing. If you have the luck to find one of these places, it'll save you money in the end.
Water is the enemy when you paint, but you can buy cheap pre filters for your gun that will take this out. You will need several if you do this at home. At work we have a dedicated air dryer to keep the humidity down in the air lines.
Don't know where you are starting with all of this, See if you have friends that have stuff first off. You can buy all of this new, but a friend with a welder, paint guns, place to paint, etc.... is a very nice thing. I usually offer beer as a trade for letting me borrow their stuff. See what help you have first, these resources will save you a very big dime. Plus you may get some local hands on help as well.
This is what I mean when I say if you have resources, do it yourself. If you don't, it gets real pricey and you might go back to the taking it to a body shop idea.
Anyhow, see what you have. Let me know specifically you might need help on and I'll try to do what I can. There's lots of seriously good help on this forum for anything you want to do to your car.
BTW, color change? All panels off and having the engine out is a big plus. Were you planning on doing anything to the motor that would require you to pull it? The motor can be masked up and painted around though. Do it in sections if you can't afford to have the car down long.
Loooong post, sorry man.:shutup:
as I don't have any experience doing body work and not enough experience painting for the amount of money I have put in this car already don't wanna ruin the paint myself haha
