any good websites/books on car painting basics?

[Rev]

I read everything I could get my hands on. A few basic books that I bought were HOW TO PAINT YOUR CAR, HOW TO PAINT YOUR HOT ROD, and HOW TO RESTORE BODY WORK. There were many "how to" articles in various car mags like CAR CRAFT etc.

The tech sheets from the manufacturor of the paint must be followed to the letter for that paint system. Use everything from the same manufacturor as to metal primer, primer/filler, color coats and clear coats. Don't mix and match product lines.

Be careful with polyurethanes. You won't want to plastic coat the inside of your lungs. I used an acrylic urethane from PPG just because it was less toxic. I felt that I could get by with an activated charcoal filter with that one. Dupont polyurethanes require a fresh air hood type of ventillated hood from what I've heard.

My advice is to buy the best material possible and take as much time as you need to get the prep work as good and as straight as possible. Every flaw will show up in spades after the final paint.

Read lots of books and ask lots of questions and take lots of time. You will still end up with less than a perfect job, especially if you are doing it in your garage as apposed to a paint booth. It can turn out looking pretty good though with a great deal of time and effort.

BTW, it still won't be cheap. I spent $1500 on materials for paint and body after all was said and done. That included stripping to bare metal, doing a lot of things twice or three times, six months of weekends, and a tremendous amount of effort.

Rev