Painting a car is a large project that can amount up to a lot of work if you decide to do it completely on your own. The painting itself might not take very long, but there are a lot of procedures surrounding it in regards of preparation and finish that needs to be done correctly in order for you to achieve the best possible result. An important thing to take into consideration is what material your car is made out of, as this is the thing that will determine how you can treat your car when painting it.

Fibre reinforced polymer

Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) products are commonly used in the bodies of cars. Different brands use different polymers such as carbon fibre and glass fibre polymers. What all FRP products have in common, however, is that they are flexible with a load bearing qualities that make them appropriate to use in cars. You should be careful with the preparation for painting if your car is made out of FRP products. Usually, preparation consists of sanding the car, which is not very good for cars like these, as you can ruin the polymers by tearing them. Instead, use chemicals to remove the old paint from the car, and prepare the surface for the paint by using a rough cloth.

Steel

Steel is probably the most common material used for making cars. What you need to think about when you want to paint a car made of steel is that the material is prone to rusting. You need to examine the car very closely after you've removed the old paint to search for rust, as all signs of it need to be sanded and removed before you lay a new layer of paint on top of it. This is important while rust can continue to spread underneath the new layer of paint and ruin your paint job and the body of your car.

Aluminium

Aluminium is another common material used for cars. Aluminium doesn't rust, so you don't have to worry about that issue. You should, however, remember that aluminium is very light and rather soft. Be careful when you're sanding it and don't use the roughest sandpaper you can find. You should also consider getting an air suction fan for the place where you're performing the paint job, as the dust created from sanding the aluminium can be dangerous to your health. Always wear a respirator and sturdy gloves when sanding aluminium to avoid problems.  

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