what order to paint a complete car?

Getting close to priming then painting (after a week or so and some more sanding) my '68 Satellite.

I've seen various opinions on where to start painting and in what order to go in. Some people start in the middle of the roof.

If the car is all together, what order do you go in? I figure I will practice going in order, with the primer, then practice some of the single stage on a spare fender before doing the actual car.

Not an expert by any means... that said I think it best to start on hidden areas like door jambs for a complete paint job. After that the roof sounds good. Hopefully your single stage is not mettalic... very hard to get right even for experienced painters. Base/clear is more forgiving.

Like he said.

Hidden places first.

I start roof, then hood & Fender Tops, Trunk lid & Quarter Tops, then shoot the whole side (as best as possible) as one long shot. My theory is paint falls down and shooting the bottom last will cover any falling over spray with wet paint.

I like placing the car stands to better to better shoot the lower rockers and I keep small easy to move step stools/ladders to help shoot the roof.

Keep the hose over your shoulder, good lighting, have a board/ paper target to adjust the gun before you get near the car. Don't adjust the gun on the car. Tack right before you shoot and clean the floor religiously.

The trick for metallic for me is stir the paint before each refill and if the gun sits for too long. I shoot the first coat light and diagonally then the second coat horizontally. Overlap.

There are better painters on here than me but those tricks have always done me well.

Thanks guys. I will be painting an off white solid single stage.

I'm no expert either but I have painted about a dozen cars in my 55 years.

As others have said, I do the jambs and other areas first and then mask them off to do the outside.

I start at one side of the roof and paint toward the middle, then go to the other side of the car and paint from the middle of the roof to the side.

Then I start at one side of the hood and do the same thing.

Then down the side of the car that I just finished the hood on, over the trunk, and up the other side of the car.

Seems to give the fewest breaks in paint.

Others will likely have other ways but this seems to have worked for me pretty well.

Thanks,
Ken

it depends on what type of booth and the placement of the exhaust fan. roof first, then I start farthest away from the exhaust fan and work my way towards the fan. you want to try to keep the overspray away from the wet paint as much as possible.

Watch (no - this is not me):

……………starting with the traditional paint booth in your garage of course. Yeah – the neighbors are going to love you for this one. This guy is hilarious – enjoy:

• Building the booth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Obv6gQqVEjo
• Painting the Cuda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MWIPLHIK7YU
• Wet sanding after paint: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jRmqTOLjgus
• Problem with doors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=PWx-UBY0Bmc
• More buffing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=--q0e2ikuyU

And on & on. I’m getting addicted to his videos – this guy is a comedian!