[RedWrangler90]

I just bought a pair of full doors and would like to paint them. The doors were originally red, then painted green, and now I want to paint them black.

My first question is.. Should I use my angle grinder and wire brush to get all the paint off before I paint them?

And... I plan on using a gun to shoot the paint, and was wondering what you guys thought would be the best primer/paint/clear combo to use.

Thanks in advance!

[ZeroGravity]

Angle grinder sounds pretty harsh unless there's a lot of surface rust. I used an electric orbital sander with 100 grit to sand down my paint. You really don't need to remove all the old paint. As long as it's on there good, no rust bubbles or chips, it will hold up fine.

Do you already have the spray equipment? If I had to spray it on (instead of rolling) I would get a couple cans of self etching primer (go to an auto body shop for this stuff) and 3-4 cans of rustoleum gloss.

I don't know a whole lot about automotive paint, but I think you can only get primer and clear in relatively large volumes by the half, or full, gallon. I have heard good news about using rustoleum through a HVLP gun though so you might want to check that out.

[RedWrangler90]

bump :/.......

[jharsany]

I painted some hard doors last winter. I used a generic brand of single stage enamel from Sherwin Williams automotive finishes (~$150). It took just under a quart of paint to do it and it is much shinier than the original black paint on my '95. You don't need self etching primer unless you are going over bare metal, but primer/sealer is probably a good idea. I took the doors completely apart and had to re-weld several of the spot welds as well as repair the crack under the vent window which was a big job. Make sure you take the time to reinforce the upper window frame while you have everything apart. Good luck!

[Matt The Hammer]

I actually got a body shop guy to paint mine "off the clock" for $150 cash.

I had to prep them and remove all the hardware, but for the money, I couldn't have done any better.

As for doing it yourself, watch an episode of a British show (on an HD Theater channel on cable) called 'Wheeler Dealers'. The mechanic, Edd China, paints often and gives really decent and authentic instructions for prepping and all.

My wife hates this show. But I love it. Very low budget garage (like mine) with 'crackin' results.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7136259037768507423#