prepping for paint
 

as many 2nd gen dodge owners know,chrysler factory paint is not the best.Mine is not an exception.I went down to a local paint shop and he wanted 900 to do the entire truck,because the cab paint is peeling and needs to be stripped.he said if I strip the paint myself it is only 600.so i would like to know how you guys suggest i strip off the paint.I have no experience at doing this at all so any help is greatly appreciated.thanks.

haha for $300 i would let him do it! the only way i have ever stripped cars was with very agressive sandpaper, but it will leave grooves in the metal if you arent careful. i tried the paint strippers but they don't seem to work well, and hard to clean it all off to bond new paint to. it takes lots of time and lots of mess to do. im sure someone else will chime in with a little better way though. to do it correctly all door handles, glass, and weatherstripping will have to come out for the most profesional job.

x2 $300 is worth not having to mess with it.

I know the economy's down and money's tight everywhere, but consider what you're getting. I"m not saying for sure cuz I don't know the circumstances or the body guy, but I've never seen or heard of much quality comin out of a $600 paint job. I hope it works out for you though.:c:

sounds cheap. most skilled trade people dont like somone else doing part of work, because when it turns out bad the other pearson is to blame. when we had realy bad peeling paint we just went to a high preashure washer and removed paint! saves many hours. but for 300 you should just let him do job. the last paint job i got cost 4000 for factory look.

900 bucks sounds like macco job, well no they even charge 1000 for two stage. I would want to see some other of his jobs to see what you getting.

all very good points! i would definetly want to see some jobs, not only new because anyone can make even a cheap job look great new! but whats it going to look like after a couple of years? probably look like a zebra from thin paint spray lol. if you are wanting a cheap job you could always try it yourself, not as hard as it seems, just get some spare body panels and practice what works best for you

thanks all you guys for the replys.ya i was thinking if i strip it down why cant i do the paint myself too.the shop i took it to is called miracle paint and body, i dont know if they are a franchise or how big they are but ive always heard they do a decent job.Though It would take me a while to get the money maybe i should just save up and get them to do it,but i just took my bed off and replaced it with a straight one, so i can practice on my old one.what is the stuff called to strip paint?

You have to be careful with these chemical paint strippers because if you don't do a GREAT job cleaning it off, your new paint will not lay well.

ha ha ok im just gonna have the guys at the shopdo it.thanks guys for all your input.