DIY Repainting of 2001 Beetle

If you plan on doing the whole car there is no need to worry about the color match, matching a color on a 10+ year old car is hard, anyway before you go for a full respray keep in mind all the materials you need aswell as eequipment and then you need to worry about dirt in your chosen location to spray

I am going to be renting out a paint booth do you have any paint brand you could recommend or any advice on the application? Also, with me choosing a paint close to the original color do I have to sand down and repaint all the door jams?

Well if you are renting a booth at a shop ask them if they would mix the paint for you throw some $$$ to the paint mixing guy usually they get the paint cheap depending on their paint system
anyway for application make sure you seal the paint then your first coat of color do it light next coats shoot them medium then for your last coat being silver spray it light to even out the metal, for your clear you want to spray it wet but be careful not to spray too wet or it will run usually 2 coats of clear is plenty

I hope to see before and after pics!

Sand any areas that have deep scratches and stone chips with 220-320 and then go over everthing with 400. If you go through the paint make sure you primer that area and sand it smooth with 400 again. If your painting it the same color I wouldn't worry about the jams unless the clear coat is chipping from slammed doors. Make sure you do a good wipe down and tape job as well to prevent as much clean up as you can. Also use a good spray gun, and have your air pressure set up properly, if its too low it will just run and be sloppy, if its to high you will get major orange peeling in the paint. Before you do the whole body if you've never painted before I suggest stripping some smaller pieces off the car and practicing on them.

Hey guys, I haven't had the chance to paint the beetle yet as I've been a little too busy lately. I currently have a cheap spray gun I've used on a junk trailer but I'll be buying a nice one for the beetle. Do you think asking the paint shop to mix it up is a better idea than ordering an all inclusive kit off eBay? Also, thanks for the suggestion of doing a couple practice runs I'll make sure to do so before I touch the car. At this point I think I've got it all figured out except for which paint to use. Thanks again for the advice!

Guess I'm ordering from TheCoatingStore on eBay.

TexasPancakes said:

Guess I'm ordering from TheCoatingStore on eBay.

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I just checked them out. Prices are not too bad.
What color are you going?


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Nevermind, I see you are going silver. Just remember, that is a tough color to spray.

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Yup, Silver, Yellow, and Tri-Coats are some of the hardest colors to spray. Yellow is just cause you have to lay down a white sealer and then it takes between 3-8 layers to cover it. Tri-Coats are 16 different layers of paint sprayed thin and takes for ever.

I checked out the link you provided here and it seems it'll do a good job of painting your Beetle. It would be nice to see some before-and-after pics too. I think the color silver would suit well.