How to paint your car

Whether the effort you put into enhancing your car consists of years of painstaking preparation, or merely an hour or two of car detailing once every couple of weeks, you want your car to look its very best. For better or worse, your values, self-image, and priorities are reflected to the world in the car that you’re modding and (hopefully) improving. Often, this implicit connection between the car and its owner happens in obvious ways — like what car you chose to commit your money, time, and energy into and how you go about doing it — and sometimes it is in more subtle ways — like how your attention to detail, creativity, and ingenuity are reflected in your car.

When you’re considering whether to go mild and clean with your car’s appearance modifications, or to go wild and really make a statement and show your skills and vision, two guidelines usually ensure that your car and your efforts are respected rather than mocked behind your back: Stay true to yourself and stay true to your car.

Ideally, the finished project is unique, tasteful, and admired. The best rule is to exercise restraint. Remember quality over quantity. An overly modified car is a caricature of itself. Your car is much more likely to be a hit than the butt of jokes if you

1. Stay true to the lines and heritage of your car
2. Understand your car
3. Modify with an eye toward restraint

Here are some recommendations:

Sweat the details and keep it clean. Eliminating such distractions as protective trim pieces, casting marks, and panel seams can help bring out the natural lines of your car. Adorning your car with tacked-on accessory after accessory obscures the natural lines of your car. Be very careful about buying replica kits and knock-offs. These rarely fit right and often look off even after spending time and money aligning them.