Painting Question

[Thenotorioussig]

Hey,ive been lurkin for a few days now... just got my new vibe end of April and am looking at doing some work on it... i already bought my stickers from grafxwerks which is a huge improvement... now i am looking at doing some paintingI saw that some of you painted the roof rack, did you get it professionally done? I dont really want to pay to get it professionally done but i think it would look much better painted... can i get some paint from like NAPA or something?

[Stang2Vibe]

Welcome to the site! I suppose the answer will depend on what you are looking to do with it. I believe that one member here had theirs powdercoated. That is going to be very tough to do without the help of a pro. If you want to match them to the body color, that could be tough too if you want the match to be very close. Some body supply stores are willing to mix automotive paint and put it in a regular aerosol can for you. If you want to make them an accent color, that would probably be the easiest route. Brands like DupliColor make factory colors, but they are rarely an exact match. No matter which way you decide to go with the painting, the most important thing to do is to get the proper sealer to start with. I am assuming that you are interested in painting the polished aluminum rails and not the black crossbars on the roof rack. If you want to paint the crossbars, they will just have to be scuffed, primed, and painted. The aluminum may be a little more difficult. Aluminum is a very porous metal and will have to be sealed with the right sealer before you can start to paint. I would strongly suggest that you remove the parts to be painted from the car before you start painting them to avoid getting overspray all over the car.