How to Paint a Golf Cart : Step by Step Guide

It feels really good when you have your golf club shining. Nothing seems to be more eye-soothing when you are well-dressed and carrying a polished club for hitting a few Pars on a nice summer day. But what about the cart? Aha! That’s something most of us tend to forget to ensure a good look on!

As it works as a carrying vehicle, it turns pale faster than any of your golf equipment. Apart from washing the cart on a regular basis, painting it with new paint can give it a new life. All it takes is enough acrylic paint with a paint sprayer and a little bit of effort!

If you belong to those rare people who want to get their new paint job done by themselves, let’s find out how to paint a golf cart!

Can You Paint a Golf Cart Yourself?

Of course, painting the golf cart by a professional painter is a convenient choice. But where’s the fun? Hmm…nowhere. You can’t enjoy painting your own golf cart if you hire somebody else to do the paint job. If you have a bit of an idea on how to use spray paint, you can easily do it yourself.

How to Paint a Golf Cart – Step by Step Guide

So, you are ready to learn how to paint a golf cart, right? So, here we go. There are certain phases to paint a golf cart successfully. In this section, we are going to show the steps in three different phases. Let’s begin.

Phase 1: Getting the cart ready for painting

In this phase, you need to prepare the cart for getting painted. It includes cleaning and getting it into a primary position for applying the paint.

Step1: Cleaning

If there’s any dirt or sanding dust on the cart, it will make the paint flake. That means you will notice different spots on the cart’s body that shouldn’t be there. So, you need to clean it up first. Use fresh water with a hose and clean it up first. Then use a dishwasher and oil-based soap in water and mix it up.

Now, again apply the soapy water to the body and let the water cover the entire cart. Then, apply fresh water to get rid of the soapy water. When finished, use a fresh cotton towel to dry the body up.

Step 2: Remove Unnecessary Parts

Now, you need to remove the parts of the golf cart that you don’t want to paint. Usually, we suggest taking off the roof, the bumper, and the windshield, etc. Keep all these parts in a commonplace so that nothing gets lost.

Step 3: Apply Masking Tapes

Okay, not every part of a golf cart can be removed. License plate, logo, etc., are some of the parts that you cannot take off from the cart. So, in this case, if you don’t want to paint over these parts, you need to mask these areas. You can easily use masking tape for this.

Step 4: Sand Down the Main Body with Sandpaper

To make sure that the paint sticks to the body of the cart, you need to sand it down. This way, the paint will easily get attached to the nonporous area of the golf cart. Use 120 to 400 grit sandpaper to sand the body. You can follow a rounding pattern when applying the sanding.

Step 5: Apply Primer

Primer helps the paint get completely blended with the body. You can use any thin primer before you apply the actual paint. Once you have used a primer, wait for 20 minutes before you apply the spray paint.

In the case of using a dark color, make sure you apply a couple of layers of primer and wait about 30 minutes. While buying the primer, check if it is applicable for plastic.

Phase 2: Apply The Paint

At this point, you need to apply the actual paint to the body.

Step 1: Choose The Correct Paint

For painting a golf cart body, you need to use acrylic spray paint as it adheres to plastic better than any other type of paint. A standard paint bottle is enough to get going, but you can go for more if needed.

You can also use a paint sprayer and connect it to a paint bucket, as well. This will give you a faster painting experience, as well. Try to get the best paint sprayer for furniture as it will work equally well in painting a golf cart’s body.

Step 2: Apply The Paint

First, hold the paint can at a perpendicular position against the body of the cart. Keep a distance of about 10 to 12 inches between the can and the body. Now gently press the tip and apply the paint in a horizontal manner. Don’t release the tip until you are done with one horizontal spray.

Step 3: Apply Again

Once you are done with the first layer of spray, wait for 20 to 30 minutes. Then apply the paint for the second time.

Step 4: Repeat If Needed

Usually, you need to apply the paint three times for the best result. If you want a darker look, you can go for even more layers.

Phase 3: Finishing Up

Now that you are done with applying primer and the paint itself, it’s time to finish things up.

Step 1: Remove The Mask Tapes

After you have applied the paint on the cart body, wait for about 20 minutes. After that, carefully take off the masking tapes from different parts. Don’t put much pressure while peeling them off, be gentle.

Step 2: Apply Acrylic Sealant

As you have applied acrylic paint over the golf cart body, you can now apply a thin coat of acrylic sealant over the body. This will secure the paint on the surface and make sure the paint is permanent. Just go for a single coating; however, you can apply multiple coatings if needed.

Step 3: Rest For 24 Hours

Even though the sealant will dry up after about an hour, don’t use the cart right away. Keep the windows and doors open, clean up the area, and leave the cart there for 24 hours. After 24 hours, rejoin the parts that you have removed in the beginning.

And that’s how you paint a golf cart. Don’t skip any steps we have mentioned here to avoid any kind of mishap. Follow all the phases step by step, and you will have a shining new-looking golf cart!

Safety Measures To Take While Painting A Golf Cart

Now that you know how to paint a golf cart, it’s also crucial to take some safety measurements before you start painting your cart. Here’re some of the precautions you need to take.

Choose A Well-Ventilated Area

Try to start painting the cart in a well-ventilated area that is also windless. What happens if there’s too much wind, the paint will travel through the air and reach your respiratory area. Paints can cause serious harm to our respiratory system.

So, you have to ensure you are keeping your nostrils safe from the paint droplets. Even if you are using a windless area, keeping your masks on should be a great idea.

Put A Drop Cloth Underneath

Of course, even if you are spray painting, some paint drops will be collected on the ground. If you don’t want to paint the ground as well, you can put a drop cloth under the cart. This will collect the drops of paint and keep the area clean.

Put On Proper Dress

As you are dealing with spray paints, you need to make sure you are wearing proper attire. Put on your old dresses that you will hardly wear again. Plus, put on a pair of safety goggles and hand gloves, as well. These will keep your body safe from getting paints and harming your skin.

What To Do After Painting A Golf Cart?

If you are finished painting your golf cart, you have to make sure that you are not using the cart for the next 24 hours. It’s crucial that you don’t drive the cart before a day has passed. As for immediate action, you need to clean up the area as soon as possible.

The paint, the sealant, sandpaper, cleaning soap, water, etc., can cause problems for people to walk around, especially for the kids. So, clean up everything around and take off the drop cloth, as well.

Final Words

So, that’s how to paint a golf cart. If you thought it was a tough nut to crack, now you know it’s nothing but a few simple careful steps along with your efforts. However, before you make up your mind to paint your own golf cart, you must make sure you are following the proper safety guidelines that we have mentioned here. Ensure you are not missing any of the safety measurements. It will keep you and the people around you secure.

Happy painting!