I have been doing lots of research on painting cars and even signed up for an online course "learnautobodyandpaint.com" which has given me the confidence to go ahead with this. The actual painting can be done in one day and I have a paint spray booth lined up. The difference in a bad, good, or great job is in the prep. I plan on taking the car apart (doors, hood, trunk, bumpers) all off because of the rust that is especially bad at the rocker panel. I do need to replace one fender with a new one its so bad. I do have a small hole already in the rocker panel that I will need a new piece welded on. I will be changing color so will need to get into all the door jams, inside the trunk and engine bay.

 

You have a very entertaining Summer ahead of you. Enjoy!

 

And fullfilling, with some luck!

 

@ hflavell - it's a very brave decision to paint one of these cars, even pro's get dry edges. I agree the prep is where the work is. I spent a lot of time prepping mine ready for paint, I'd not like to add the hours up. Maybe practice on a panel or two first and get used to the guns you'll be using and their flow rate/pattern.
Get the best paint system you can afford, something like Valspar/Max Myer/ICI/ the thing with auto paints now is water based - put lots of lacquer on too. You'll need at least 3 litres of base and the same in lacquer. I'd suggest a sealer primer once you've flatted back the original paint, get lots on and flat this to 800, de-nibbing it. Once you've got a flat primered bodyshell it's all about how you put the paint on. Painting the sides of the car, it's one long run right down the sides with plenty of overlap on the gun pattern. Masking is important too, take your time as overspray is a nightmare.

Finishing is another process that takes care, you don't want to get to the point and burn through the clearcoat - a small 5 inch block and 1500 grit wet and dry with lots of saopy water will get the orange peel out, then finish with a quality product from 3M like fastcut/finecut, a machine polisher is best for this, kept moving all the time.

A little video of my new bodyshell getting a custom paintjob with House of Kolor paint, needless to say I'm totally happy with the finish, it's taken some serious time but well worth it - it's going to be a a show car...good luck with yours and don't forget to post pictures...
YouTube - Tom Whalley PaintworX

 

Thanks Sean B and others, I've been accumulating the tools that I will be needing. I just picked up a second paint gun which is a used Sata for only $50 off craigslist. I need one more so I can have a dedicated one for primer, base and clear. Of all the books and on line information I've looked at on painting a car, the best I've seen for information is just a eight page article in the March 2011 issue of Hot Rod magazine on painting a Camaro Z28. It shows what it takes to get a great paint job which includes 5 full coats of clear over the base which you then sand in progressive steps 600, 800, 1,000, 1,500, and 3,000 grit before doing your 3 stage polishing. This flattens the paint taking out all the mountain tops giving you reflections that are sharp and lifelike. Its quite a process even after the paint is applied. My practice panels are on the Mercedes, hopefully I will be pleased with the results and be able to move on to the Jaguar. The Jaguar just has lots of scratches and gunk on the finish - no rust. A new paint job would really make this car stand out. The paint booth I have access too is actually used to paint Motor coach buses, so plenty of room for the car and all its body pieces off the car. The guy who paints the buses is more than excited to help me with the actual painting as well.

 

Since paint only fades, but transmissions explode, maybe you could switch the order of the jobs.

 

Good luck with that. Everything I ever tried to paint or touch-up or blend in never looked right. I used to have a neighbor who was a body man and I got him to paint my '85 Jag XJ6. I gave up on attempting paint or body work long ago fortunately. The prep work is incredibly important. My experience with a paint job went bad less than a year later when rust began appearing in all the same places it was before. This was after cutting out old metal and welding in new. We did use undercoat and sealer and plastic inner fenders, etc. I waited a couple of years and planned for the repaint and in less time than that after the job, the rust was coming back. Just a heads-up. I'm sure the newer cars are less vulnerable, but if I ever go through that again, I would rust-proof everything twice and make sure all the drains and seals were perfect.

 

Reagarding lifting the intake cam to replace the timing chain- I am going to attempt it on an XJR I am parting out, and if it works, an XJR I just purchased. There is no bolts preventing tilting the intake cam on the R.

Has anyone already had success with and R and this method?

Thanks!

Dave

 

Looks like it cannot be done in an XJR either- The tension on the primary chain along with how tight the front of the cam sits in the saddle makes tilting it impossible... I will have to use a chain with a master link until I do the whole timing chain process in a coupl of months.

 

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