Californian YouTuber attempts DIY Miata paint job with zero experience and gets surprising results
Published on Jul 17, 2025 at 2:11 PM (UTC+4)
by Callum Tokody
Last updated on Jul 17, 2025 at 4:27 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
This YouTuber’s car project took a surprising turn when he attempted to respray his Miata himself in his garage.
The owner turned down a $4,400 professional quote, despite having no painting experience.
His 1995 Miata was in visibly poor shape, with faded paint, a dented fender, and a warped bumper.
What followed was a self-taught process that put at-home respraying methods to the test.
DIY painting a Miata
YouTuber Mellow Conner began with bodywork repair, using a heat gun to reshape the front bumper and filler to correct a major dent in the fender.
He sanded the car by hand and built a garage respray area using plastic sheeting and a fan for ventilation.
This allowed him to control the environment without investing in expensive commercial equipment.
Unfortunately, problems emerged early.
A mixing mistake caused the first spray gun to clog, and the second gun malfunctioned.
After resetting the process, he completed a passable primer layer and moved on to the base coat.
The metal panels took the color well, but coverage on the plastic sections remained uneven.
The imperfect result of a DIY paint job
The clear coat stage revealed most of the flaws.
Orange peel developed on several panels, especially curved areas and plastic components.
Conner wet-sanded and buffed the car to reduce the worst of it, though some areas remained dull or textured.
Despite the imperfections, the Miata looked noticeably improved.
From a distance, the garage respray added consistent color and gloss that the car hadn’t seen in years.
Close inspection still showed surface issues, but they were less distracting than the faded original finish.
The full DIY car project took around 40 hours to complete.
Conner used low-cost tools and materials, relying on trial and error to learn along the way.
The bodywork repair and respray process wasn’t flawless, but it gave the car a second life and proved what could be achieved at home.
Despite how this Miata turned out, this might still be one DIY project we’d gently suggest you don’t do yourself.
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Callum Tokody is a content writer at Supercar Blondie, where he covers the latest in the automotive world with a focus on design and performance. Callum has a background in automotive journalism and has contributed to a range of publications in Australia and the UK. Outside of work, he’s a design enthusiast with a soft spot for anything with a V8 and a good story.
