painting a car..

[moonjava]

does anyone know what type of paint adheres best to cars besides telling me car paint becuase i don't know where to get that?
my friend and i are painting her van! yay
Peace

[toman]

I think I'm qualified to answer this! :-D I've done a fair little bit of body and paint work on my own cars. If you just want a new paint job, forget doing it yourself. It will cost a lot of money, take a lot of work and against all odds come out very dissapointing. That said, if you're just painting up some crappy old car for fun, your best bet is this: First clean the surface. (I'm assuming it's allready painted?) If you go to most any good auto store you should be able to find a product called something like 'grease and wax remover'. PPG makes one, and I'm sure others do to. Use that to clean everything up so there's nothing to prevent the new paint from sticking. Then, rough up the old paint with a scotchbrite pad, and clean it again to remove any dust. Then anything you spray on should stick fairly well; whether you decide to use some sort of primer is up to you; I probably would just go for a high quality spray paint like Rust-Oleum. When you're all done if you put a couple coats of clear over the color it will look better and last longer, although I still wouldn't give it more than two years, max... Good luck!

[moonjava]

yeah the car is painted glossy, we were going to do psychedelic stuff. Thanks for your replies! :D

[moonjava]

her van burnt down! how crazy is that?
For those of you who have traveled cross country, would you mind telling me how long it takes if you do max.6 hours a day?
How much money did you bring? Do you think 2000 is enough?
AND what car (realistically) is best? She won't have much of a choice (her parents are buying it), so she obviously can't get an old schoolbus...but I'm just curious. Any on-the-road stories?
Peace!!

[StellaBlue]

If your friend's parents are going to buy a used car, I would suggest buying something domestic. My VW just broke down last week. It was a simple problem, and my husband was able to fix it for me, but parts were more expensive, and they were harder to find. We had to have the part ordered. If you are going to be traveling cross country and your car breaks down, I am sure you will want to have it fixed for a reasonable amount of money and in a reasonable time. I agree with Cowboy's statement about gas mileage too. That is very important.

As for on-the -road stories....read On the Road by Jack Keroac. Best story out there. Good luck to you!

[Herbmama]

id say go for a gas mileage car
I always figure a mile a minute (60 mph)

so lets say 3000 miles=3000 minutes
3000/60 so 50 hours drive time
8.33 days

I know goingto florida ill push 1000 miles so i can get there in one day

as for stuff to do, go to www.roadsideamerica.com

I'd second the gas mileage suggestion, and add to that getting a station wagon or minivan so you can comfortly sleep in the car if ya gotta.

A lil subaru wagon works well. I had a ford aerostar minivan that I traveled in got a about 30 mpg, had plenty of space and it isn't the sort of thing cops are thinking of pulling over and searching. I loved it.

[gumbygurl]

:tiere025: I'm glad you guys are already talking about roadtrips. I'm going on one this summer but I've never been and I could really use some pointers. Any suggestions? Would my baja bug make it to Canada? I'm going with five people do we need passports? Help me out if you can.- Peace

[nappydread]

Welcome:)
:hippie:

....Would my baja bug make it to Canada? I'm going with five people do we need passports? Help me out if you can.- Peace

this depends on the condition of the bug...and how far you're planning on driving it...If you are american, you don't need a passport...just proof of citizenship, picture ID. If you are from elsewhere you need a passport...have fun!

peace

[moonjava]

heyhey thanks for all the helpful replies ha
thanks cowboyhippie for doing the math becuase i was too lazy to heehee
StellaBlue, oh yes I have read that book, i meant like..nonbook stories-okay, experiences. i wonder if she'll end up getting a domestic car...
mmm a car people wouldn't think of searching.
i'll let you guys know what happens
Peace!

[freakyfairy]

i'm going on a road trip this summer....trying to find inspiration..... :hippie:

[Unkle_John]

While never being an owner of an art car (yet) I have driven a few and helped build a few in my time. We have always used regular old house paint and craft paint (acrylic). It's cheap and inexpensive (especialy if you can find some half used cans), but it does have it's draw backs. You have to constanly keep the paint looking good by painting it every so often and keep it shaded from the sun.

If you plan on gluing stuff to the car, two words: Liquid Nails.
I plan on getting a used mini school bus in the future. Whenever I get it and start painting I'll post pics. For inspiration, go check out some buddies of mine: art cars in cyberspace www.artcars.com

[moonjava]

Unkle_John, wow..thanks for all of your insight!! I checked out some of the cars at the www.artcars.com website, they're cool
thinking a celestial thing would be awesome. Can't wait for the pics of your future minibus!
Peace :hippie: