duowing

Alright, I'll have to do up some pictures or something, but I have the regular factory red ZXT, the paint is pretty much entirely burnt out at this point, so I'm thinking I'd do a quick re-paint, I'm not looking for anything over the top or super nice as this is my daily driver, but I figured newer paint would look nicer. I'm thinking I'll go with red again, but I'm thinking like a red and black combo. Where hood, bumpers, side molding, side bumpers, and everything below would be black and the rest of the car would be that factory shade of red. Any suggestions?

Here's how it currently looks, next to my 76' 280Z



I just resprayed that front bumper the other day, and it doesn't look too bad here, but once you get a bit closer the thing is so burnt out.

tonsoffun300zx

they both look beautiful don't change them

plainwhiteZ

Here in cali east bay there is a shop called mako that does decent work for 1 color paint jobs for dirt cheap. Not too much variety when it comes to colors though. The job wont win you any shows but it will get the job done. Like I said I don't know how big this chain really is so there is a good chance you wont find one in ohio but it is worth a try right?

tonsoffun300zx

mako is a big company i think isn't it? they should be in the lower states

NismoPick

Mako or MAACO???



MAACO sucks. You buy a cheap paint job... you get a cheap paint job.

duowing

Oh we have Maaco, I'm trying to do the paintjob for as little as possible. Plus since this is a daily/project car, I figured doing it myself would be a good learning experience. I'm thinking at least I'll just go straight red, and then if I decide to, add black or stripes, or whatever crazy thought comes to mind. It doesn't have to look great or win a show, but something that doesn't look so pink anymore and have little to no reflection.

NismoPick

Have you done paint / body work before? It's not something you just do... it does take time to learn & perfect. I suggest getting a beater car to "learn" on.

duowing

I've done painting with spray guns/rattle cans. The front bumper and rear bumper on the red car I just sprayed about a week ago. They turned out fairly decent for a quick driveway job. Like I said, I'm not so worried about anything special since this is a daily driver whether it's 5*F or 90*F this car keeps going.

icice9

your car doesnt look too bad .. the paint looks like its just oxidized. a day of work with a buffer some rubbing compound and some clear cut polish should bring back the original luster.. trust me ive seen worse..

duowing

I've done that before and although it did really help to bring back some shine, it wasn't anywhere near as nice as that picture there. Plus there's a lot of spots that are chipping away, the hood has 2 nice dings in it where it's chipped and now oxidized. Although I did some good heavy polishing on the headlight buckets, and man that really brought out the color and shine.

Illadellph420

Dont go to Macco!!!! It really dosent look that bad. Ive got a black 280zx, and i like the red on yours alot more. All tho red paint is expensive, i think u should keep it red. Maby alittle darker red but the red looks great!

domsgarage

uh oh... better get Macco...

Anyone?

sailorjason

maaco did my mom's 93 grand am (with the HO quad 4!!) back in the day and totally F-ed it away. They used a completely different shade of red on the hood than the rest of the car. I wouldn't go with maaco. Just my $.02

Illadellph420

If u do paint it, use a good gun and a good clear, you should be fine.

apollo

I remember seeing this one in person. Hell yea it was brought back rom the oxidized nastyness that it was covered with. Nothing like an afternoon of elbow greese to bring that **** back.

And dont go to Maaco. You would get a better paint job and less overspray on your Z if you paid Ray Charles to do it drunk

280gty

If you want an express cheap paint job, paint it one color... same as color as old... why get complicated.

Wrxified

Maaco - "Will that be roller or brush today sir?"

duowing

Well if done properly a roller or brush can come out really good, but yeah that sounds about right.

lww

Actually, in order to reduce costs, Maaco uses a custom blend of paint that's not terribly compatible with PPG or other "reputable" paints. They do this to avoid a lot of the prep work that goes into a "legitimate" paint job. It has very strong etching properties and the chemical additives may have some adverse affect on the new paint if you try to get it painted again later down the line.

I have seen people get decent paint jobs from Maaco or Earl Scheib, but it's usually because they did all the "prep" work themselves before taking it to the shop. They pulled all the emblems, trim, rubber, plastic and did some preliminary body work and sanding on their own. One guy I know even pulled all the glass out of his car before taking it in.

They came out pretty good, but then, they did most of the "real" work themselves before it ever saw the minimum wage guy in the paint booth.

I would follow Isaac's (Icice9) advice and clean it up as best you can before you resort to paint. Then, if you do have issues with the hood that can't be fixed with a little touch up, you can always go the Bleach route and do a home made rising sun on the hood.

280zx2by2

hell least your not like me... my mom thought shed help out one day while i was at school and went over about half a front quarter panel and part of the hood with 100 grit sand paper, shes not dumb, just BLONDE AS HELLL...

now no matter how hard i scrub i cant get the dirt out of the gashes, i have to degrese it and sand it down real real good before i get it painted wich should be in the next year

SHADY280

I WORKED AT MACCO!! dont do it, lww is totally right, youll have to sand it of later if you ever want to paint it. unless you pay macco the exact same as another body shop (which you can do, for really nice paint there) i would almost attempt it yourself. just drive up to me and use my booth! ahhahahah the key to all this is prep work, without it your paint will look like crap. and take all your door handles and mirrors etc off when you do it, its less taping and looks better.

duowing

Well anyway, I know you can see the two spots on the front of the hood, but that's because all the paint was taken down to sand off the rust that had started.

Anyway here's how the car is already coming out with 1 layer of rustoleum Sunburst Red. I got into that whole super cheap paint job since this is a daily driver. About 5 more coats, wet sanding, and polishing, but so far I'm fairly happy with just the first coat. Mind you this was done with a foam brush and roller.

WildmaN

Wow man...very nice. Great job on that bro'. I may just try that with my cars. I remember reading about it on Hybridz. Somebody did his Z with a 4" roller..and the Rustoleum paint. Also with certain grades of sandpaper. Anyway looks great man. Good job!!

280zx2by2

my Question is why paint the bumpers to look like a 79-81 model... i want my z to look like a 82-83 model... i guess its just personal preference

duowing

At the time I didn't feel like doing the extra work to tape off the bumpers to make them red and black, and just opted to do a quick black paint job. My bumpers looked like crap. My front bumper was missing a bunch of paint and chipped up, sanded it smooth and painted it. Rear bumper had suffered melting, cracking, paint chipping, etc. Used the rear from my old 2+2 and painted it real fast.

As for the method, yeah I'm using the Rustoleum Stops Rust Sunburst Red. It's like $8.40 or so a quart at Home Depot. I'm also using a couple of small foam brushes and the 4" foam rollers. Oh and I use mineral spirits to thin it as people said you should. I'm not too concerned with body work as theres not too many dents and things on my car. The car has become a true daily driver, and I want something that will look a little nicer. Plus this is good practice. Rustoleum is some hard stuff and it stands up well. So it should be good through the winter.