DIY Guide to Painting Metal

Painting bare metal can be tricky compared to painting other surfaces. It requires lots of preparation to guarantee a flawless finish. Whether you’re painting a car, a bike or a piece of metal furniture, there are a number of steps you should take to ensure a smooth, hardwearing finish.

 Here we provide a step-by-step guide to painting metal surfaces.

Step 1: Clean and Prepare

The first step to painting metal is to clean the item thoroughly. A regular automotive car shampoo will do the job, just ensure that the surface is completely dry before you start. Use an alcohol or solvent wipe just before you start painting as this will make sure that any grease or dirt that has settled on the surface is totally removed.

Step 2: Rust Treatment & Removal

car rust removal

If rust isn’t dealt with quickly and effectively, it can spread and cause all kinds of problems (and not all these are cosmetic). By far the best way to deal with rust is to remove it completely. Use an angle grinder, orbital sander or sand by hand.

Alternatively, when there is a deep chip or scratch that’s rusted and you don’t want to disturb the surrounding undamaged paintwork, removal is not an option, but you can treat it using a specially designed rust treatment product. Ask your local specialist automotive store for advice and recommendations. Take care to remove any loose or flaking paint before you treat the rust.

Don’t hang about, once the rust has been either removed or treated, clean and prepare the surface and prime it as soon as you can. This will seal the surface and prevent the bare metal from oxidising (rusting).

 Step 3: Cutting, Sanding and Priming

 For advice on these three vital stages, read our guide here.

Step 4: Choosing the Right Paint


For painting metal, you need the right kind of paint. If you’re painting your car, you’ll want to make sure that the colour is matched perfectly. There are thousands of different colour names and codes, so it can be confusing, but if you use Paint Match Pro you’ll quickly be able to find the right paint. Just search by manufacturer, colour or year.

If you’re painting a different metal surface, such as a bike, it’s easier to choose the colour you want, but you need to make sure that it’s a paint suitable for metal. Holts Paints give you a professional quality finish and are easy to use.

If you’ve prepped the metal carefully, you should be able to spray a nice even layer of paint over it for a smooth and flawless surface.

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