http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=2331682&page=0&fpa
rt=1&vc=1

here's how i painted my car for about $50, it's actually very easy and
the results are amazing. First off, get a can of tremclad real orange
(or what ever color u want) in the can, not spray, yes tremclad, it is
a acrylic/enamel paint which is very durable. next prep your car as if
was any other paint job, fix all the rust, ect....no need to prime the
car since the tremclad allready contains elements which allow it to be
painted over bare metal. next, after prepping the car get a small 4"
professional FOAM rollers, it's tiny and has one end rounded off, and
the other cut straight, and is a very high density foam. u also need a
jug of mineral spirits to thin the paint. The thing i really like
about this is that there's no mess, no tapeing the whole car, just key
areas, and u can do it in your garage, since your not spraying there
is virtually no dust in the air, just clean your garage first, also it
does'nt really smell at all, dries overnight and it super tough paint.
also it you decide to paint the car professionally later, just prep
and paint, there's no need to strip the tremclad. i have done this to
a few cars, and i can say it works amazing, u just have to be
paitient. next u thin the paint with mineral spirits so it just about
as thin as water, a little thicker. get out the roller and paint away,
don't get the paint shaked when u buy it, enamel is stirred, otherwise
you'll have bubbles in the paint for a week!!! after u do 2 coats, wet
sand the whole car, then repeat, 2 coats, wetsand, 2 coats wetsand. i
painted the charger using a can since your not spraying the car u use
all the paint and not spray 50% in the air, use progressivly finer
sand paper each time. it's not really that much work, cause u can stop
and start any time, u can do just a door, or the hood, ect. do one
panel at a time, and don't stop once you start. once your done the
final coat, wetsand with about 1000 grit to a totally smooth finish,
and then using a high speed polisher i use a buffing bonnet and turtle
wax polishing compound. do the whole car with this, and i'm telling u,
depending on the amount of time and paitence you have, the results are
amazing. laugh if you want, but for $50 ($30 for paint, about $20 for
rollers, sand paper, ect...) it really looks good. also you can do
these steps overnight, paint one evening and by morning u can wet
sand. i have personally done alot of painting, mostly single stage
acrylic enamel, and i've sprayed several cars in my garage with really
good professional results, just it stinks, it's a real pain to do,
easy to make a mistake, messy, and expensive. The tremclad is awesome
paint, the "real orange" is an amazing hemi orange, and almost looks
like it has some perl in the sun, awesome color right out of the can.
I used this technique on my 1974 beetle also, here are the results:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture10.jpg

the car before:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/IM000475.jpg

another after pic:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00164.jpg

here is a car i sprayed (71 beetle, midnight blue metalic):

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC00194.jpg

here is the car before (71 beetle):

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/Picture1.jpg

here's a few pics of the charger done:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02764.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/69martin/DSC02769.jpg

well that's my 2 cents worth, sorry for the long post. i was borred
lol
i painted the orange beetle in 1999, and it still looks like the day i
painted it, the 71 blue beetle i painted in 2000, and built the car
for my dad, i used the same paint on my charger, maybe one day i'll
spring for a good paint job, prepping is 90% of the work, stripping
the car, sanding, ect.....painting is overrated!!!
So if you have TIME, then i'd say go for it, the worst that could
happen is that it does'nt turn out and your out $50, but if your
paitient, and expriement with lets say just the trunk pannel and if
you like it do the whole car, if not just get it done by someone else
for $4000. i don't know about you guys, but i would rather spend the
$4000 on other parts like getting the mechanics sorted out and new
chrome, cause when u have really nice paint and crappy bumpers, door
handles it just sticks out more.