how much paint should I buy

To paint our challenge car? I want to start tearing it down for paint tomorrow, and I'm doing some window shopping for paint. How much does it usually cover, I understand thickness is a concern. But for the engine bay door jambs etc... mk2 Gti

Any suggestions?

I used less than a gallon on my Miata, I think I had a quart left over? Don't quote me on that but it was definitely not the whole gallon.

You NEED a 5 gallon bucket of Kilz from home depot, that'll be enough for the outside of the car.

Depends on you painting skills but I'd expect 3-4l, so make that a US gallon if you're not thinking metric...

2 quarts if using bc/cc and not changing the color too much. One gallon if ss and/or a color change.

That would depend on whether you're using a brush or a roller.

Ah, my old job!

Depends on a lot of factors. If you're doing a good job, you'll go primer/base coat and clear coat. How much you need depends on what you're painting. A Ford E350 XLT and a Miata will naturally need different amounts of paint. If you're not entering a car show, you can get away with less. Of course, you might not want to use BC/CC on a race car. A Polyurethane Enamel doesn't require Clear Coating and is used in Boats, Airplanes, Big Rigs, and whatnot. It's also easier to spray, if I recall.

It'd be worth it to look up and Body Shop Supply store and investigate. I had fun in the business.

Single stage acrylics are mixed with reducer and hardener before spraying; PPG Delstar mixed at 5:8:1 - so a quart of color goes a long way. I think I used about 1-1/2 quarts of color doing a full new paint job on my '62 Sprite. That was every square inch that's body color on the entire car - inside the cockpit and trunk, the underhood, jambs, lips, inside doors, hood, trunk, inside wheel wells - everywhere.

Basecoat/clearcoat goes even further. Base need only be built up to cover, then 3 coats of clear, maybe 4 on the places where buffing will go through in time. Basecoat is reduced typically 25-50%, clear gets hardener typically at 4:1.

And remember - anything that's urethane anything is toxic, deadly nasty E36 M3 - It's full of isocyanates with which you absolutely do not want to berkeley.

Supplied air - not any type of cartridge respirator - is the only recommended PPE for use while shooting urethanes.

In reply to motomoron:

Wow, I figured a cartridge respirator would be ok, as long as I went with a good one. I knew urethanes were nasty buisness. The car is going from orange to a white base coat, with other colors being added on, after the base dries and cures. I actually want a decent paint job, and while the roller would work, there is room in the budget to shoot it instead.

It won't be the fastest thing out there, but I'm hoping for one of the best looking. A good showing the autoX combined with a great concourse, followed by a slow as all get out drag run. Still hoping to crack the top 10.

If you haven't shot paint before, I've found the Martin Senour (sp?) line from NAPA really easy to deal with. It's what I used for the stripes on my Martini car. Very forgiving stuff.

Kirker paint...cheap and works fine for Challenge cars. A gallon will do an entire BMW 2002 inside and out (engine bay, full interior, trunk, exterior) with something like 3 passes if memory serves. Single stage; why add complication and expense when it's all about budget?

Now if you roller paint it, that's probably going to be 1.5 - 2 qts. Depends on how much you thin it. You may get by with 1 qt of reduced rustoleum if you're lucky.

ddavidv wrote: Kirker paint...cheap and works fine for Challenge cars. A gallon will do an entire BMW 2002 inside and out (engine bay, full interior, trunk, exterior) with something like 3 passes if memory serves. Single stage; why add complication and expense when it's all about budget? Now if you roller paint it, that's probably going to be 1.5 - 2 qts. Depends on how much you thin it. You may get by with 1 qt of reduced rustoleum if you're lucky.

When I rollered my BA/BE car, I had no idea how much to get, so I got a gallon of Rustoleum and a quart of mineral spirits (IIRC) and mixed them in a 5 gallon bucket. I think I put three coats on it. When I poured what was left back into the gallon can, it pretty much filled it. So it takes about a quart of thinned rustoleum to roller paint an '87 VW Fox wagon.

I used House of Kolor for my 87 944T and am using Glasurit for my 72 Firebird. The House of Kolor took a little over a gallon with 3 medium coats and some repair work. The Glasurit is much more expensive, but is also supposed to cover better and be an easier to spray, higher quality paint overall.. I have been told 2 coats will cover fine and my usage should be under 3 quarts. I plan to spray late this month or early next month so we will see. Both of these are BC/CC jobs and I use a cartridge respirator with fresh filters and plenty of airflow.