HOW TO: DIY Painted Fenders

First off I'm not sure if this is the correct section so mod's feel free to move it if you'd like.

Second this is by no means a quick DIY project. If you want good results it will take some time. I know I could have easily had someone paint them for me, but I'm cheap. Also thanks to @Dmonkey for some of the tips along the way and actually pushing me to do this lol


STEP 1:

Remove all the paint from the fenders. I used aircraft remover. Dont use the spray on stuff it's crap. Make sure you use the stuff that you put on with a brush and use a heavy layer of the stuff.



STEP 2:

Once i removed all the paint from the fenders I sanded them down with 600 grit sand paper then wiped them down with acetone to clean them before primer.



STEP 3:

I primed the fenders with Dupli-Color Self Etching primer. I used two whole cans of it, all light even coats with 10 minutes between each coat. Then I let it cure for 1 hour and sanded it down smooth with 1k sand paper and wiped them down with rubbing alcohol before painting.



STEP 4:

I used 4 cans of Dupli-Color Perfect Match paint. Again light even coats with 10 minutes between each coat. Its very important you do light coats so you dont get any runs in the actual paint. Then i let them cure for 1 hour before clearing them.



STEP 5:

I used 4 cans of RUST-OLEUM Painter's Touch 2x Ultra Cover Gloss Clear (make sure its the non-yellowing and uv resistant one). Again making sure i did light even coats with 10 minutes between coats. I gave the clear a full 24 hours to cure before color sanding.



STEP 6:

Since my hands were dead by the time I clear coated the fenders, my control was a bit off and i got a few large runs in the clear. In order to knock those down I wet sanded the fenders with 1k. Then I moved on to 2k, then 3k, then a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser lol. Thanks to @Dmonkey for that tip haha.



STEP 7:

I polished the fenders using Meguiar's Ultimate Compound Automotive Finish Restorer and a Mothers Power Ball polishing ball on my cordless hand drill. And here you can see the results.

Im not going to lie, I didn't think they would come out any good. But at the end of the day I'm extremely happy with the results and wont hesitate to put these on my truck. I was always a bit hesitant to do this because of the results I've seen on youtube tutorials but really if you just take your time and use a whole lot of elbow grease you can get a pretty good result.





Hope this helps someone out there!

 

Shyt not gonna lie I won't be able tell the deference from rattle can paint vs professionally done with your work. Your work is exceptional, it turn out great!

 

wow thank you very much! it was quite the process but worth the end result.

 

Now paint my whole truck
Looks awesome man.

 

lol! dont think id want to tackle a whole car with cans haha. but thanks man!

 

When done right, as you can see here, rattle can paint can be a very cheap and nice alternative to paying a shop big bucks.

OP,

Great work man!!!!!!!

 

thank you very much! i didnt think it was possible to be honest lol. and the reason i did it is cuz most shops were quoting me $300-$600 and im just not ready to pay that much lol.

 

How much do you think you spent in materials between the 600 sandpaper, acetone, 4 cans duplicator self-etching primer, 1000 grit sand paper, rubbing alcohol, 4 cans of perfect match, 4 cans of rustoleum 2x ultra touch, Meguiars polish and mothers polish ball?

EDIT: Did you sand by hand or with a circular sander?

 

I already gave you props on the RCRC thread!But once again and starting this thread as well!

 

Very nice, well done!

 

I already had some of the materials so I spent about $90 total. And I sanded by hand.

 

Thank you!

 

Haha thanks Ron!

 

Do you think it's a bad idea to use a power sander?

 

You could probably get carried away really easily when sanding if you use a power sander. It's also easier to get into all the contours of the body lines and what not by hand.

 

Better make sure there's plenty of paint on those glass fenders and know how to use a power sander on glass!

 

How much should I sand off?

@ODNAREM feel free to chime in!

I just got back from getting all the supplies. I just taped off my garage and am ready for action

 

Keep an eye on the orange peel and drips. Once you knock that down flat with 1k move on to 2k then 3k then the magic eraser to remove the 1k scratches

 

You only used 1000 Grit I thought?

Why did you sand after you did the gloss?

 

In step 6 I mentioned that I used 1k, 2k, 3k, and a magic eraser.

In order to get clear coat to look good you need to color sand it (make it flat and smooth) before polishing it. Clear coat doesn't just automatically spray on like the finished product it has to be color sanded and polished.