KEVIN G.

My jobber turned me on to this stuff and said it's just as good as POR 15, at less than half the price.
When my Aero goes back in for it's re-do, Ill get a gallon...
The wife says I get my new shop next year.

JeffW

so body is ready for one last touch of primer in two spost the on to paint. i feathered all my jambs and skuffed the clear where i need to get coverage. i installed apature tape in the jambs to keep the overspray out of them pics included. and lastly wiped the car down in tucked it in the booth for morning.

here is the tape. it is white foam that is sticky on one side.

JeffW

here is what it looks like with the hood closed. it is designed to give a soft edge so no ridge when complete.

JeffW

doh here the pic

VILeninDM

That last shot is definitely not one of the best pictures you've taken of your project. Any chance you have a similar shot with better focus? This is the stuff about jambs and panels I've been asking about (here and autobodyshop board), and I think you are about to answer it.

deadbird

PPG base coat can get outrageously priced for certain colors at times. A pint of Saturn bright red, $76. The teal on my camaro, $89/pt. Black, $20/qt.
The 89 t/a white I use on my 'bird is $54/qt. All bc/cc.
The more I see pictures of deep blue paint like yours makes me wish I had went with that route (as it was my 1st color choice).

JeffW

painted today and am i tired. all thouse coats are time consuming and my back is way tired. Anyway it is worth it here is the pics

here is the base coats, 3 coats covered it all nicely.

JeffW

another base coat pic. the base shot real nice anyone not useing base clear i gotta wonder why. This base makes it so easy...

JeffW

now for the hard part, candy coats. mixed my clear so it is ready to go no time to wait between coats to mix. then i mixed my candy. said a prayer and went at it. i started to get some streaking on the hood so i changed up gun direction on the nozle and did a side to side coats and that took care of that. there is alot of time and patinets into shooting the candy i would not do it again.

this pic is after 4 coats of candy and 4 coats of clear. the base was super clean but the candy and clear got some junk in it. wet sanding will fix that.

JeffW

here is another candy pic last for now tomorrow i wet sand and start buffing with sure finish.

all in all i am pleased with the results so far. the candy went on nice even though it was a pain in the a##. the only messed up spots are the spoiler ends got into the plastic walls and messed them up so a resand will be needed on them. and my last spot of body work showed through the candy. it didn;t show through the primer or base. kinda odd that it showed up so late in the process but nothing i can do about it now. the clear went on nice but i could not get it to flow as good as i would of liked. so it will require wet sanding to get it right.

i was planning on sanding and then flo coating but i am out of reducer so that plan my be out of the window for recoat time. it should be nice with a wet sand and buff.

JeffW

you can see it that pic where the clear didn;t flo well. the wet sand will take that out. it could alos be overspray from the last hood coats.

the paint booth worked very well only down side is it was like a green house in there. today was 70 here and it must of been like 90+ inside the booth. My reducer is good for 80's so that is probally why my clear would not flo so well. my flash time was almost none since by the time i got around the car it was just about ready no waiting around for the paint to dry.

so wet sanding and bufing tomorrow i will show you the results when complete.

Jeffw

Irhal

the reducer per say won't hurt how the clear flows out of the gun... but it was way too hot for you to use a 80 reducer, which is why your clear looks "frosted" everywhere, the thing was drying way too fast... looks like you did a very good job though now all you need is about 2 days of wet sanding and buffing with a compound and then a glaze.. I have no doubt that the car will look killer in the end... for a first job I am impressed jeff.. pretty hard to shoot a whole car isn't it? can't wait to see it buffed and shinny

JeffW

haha yea i was surpirsed on how hard it was to do the entire car. been doing all that primering and such with no problem easy. this 3 stage stuff sucks. leave it to the pros with air conditioning

i am still glad i did it and it should wet sand out very nice. I like the gfx color i can;t wait to start putting it all back together. the rear bumper looks sweet with the platnum pearl.

Thanks

Irhal

just take your time wet sanding Jeff and do it with a small block... go to autozone or something if you don't have one.. they are made especially for wet sanding, will do a clean and straight job

JeffW

i have a small rubber block like 4" maybe. i am figuring 1200 grit wet. or should i start lower?

Irhal

depends on how at ease you are with sanding Jeff... 1200 is very light BUT, you have much less chances of going thru the clear and depending on what kind of compound and technic you use, you either go with 1200 or 1500 for finishing the job... I know I used to wet sand with a 800 but like I said... this is pretty agressive so if you don't want to mess up.. stick with your 1200

AutoX86Z28

wow jeff, great to see its painted, cant wait to see it all together. :hail: :hail: ill be ordering my paint soon.

KEVIN G.

Somehow I knew you were blastin' that bad boy this weekend...
Glad to see it in color. Yeah, It's a tedious process... prob'ly a little sore this mornin'?
Irhal's right, use a block, won't leave any finger marks. 1200 is fine to start, but once it's all flat, break out some 1500 and go over the whole thing again to eliminate any deep scratches, (It also picks up some of the things you may have missed.) It will save some rub time...watch the edges. Four coats of clear will be plenty to work with, but those edges and high spots don't retain as much clear and are the first to burn. (Is this your first time wheeling something? sometimes to train rookies we tape all edges first and come back with a foam pad to rub them.)
Polishing takes some finesse and experience, and kinda hard to explain in a forum. But make sure the rotation of the wheel is always goin' OFF the panel your workin'.
Try to look "THROUGH" the paint as your wheeling. watch your reflection as you're buffing, not the paint surface. Work small approx one foot square areas til the panel's done.
It should be a three step rub process... some guys start out with the foam buffing pad, It's your call. We sitll use the old woolie with 3m compound, nothin' beats it for tearin' down that wetsanded clear. Watch it closely though, It can heat up quick and warp a panel if you wait too long. buff for a bit, stop and feel the area, if it's hot, move on to another spot.
Then move on to a foam pad, with a finer polish takes all the swirls, here's where you want to watch all the edges real close, make sure they get brought all the way up to full gloss. A lot of guys tend to miss edges when they're starting out, and you can see the hazy corners and s##t.
Then finish with the foam pad and a light sealant, polish.
You can wash between steps if you like, to see everything. It's a messy job.

JeffW

had taken a day off so why not wet sand.

so i started with 1500 and it was taking forever so i went and picked up some 1000g. That cut much better. it was a bit hot out today for this stuff but i got it done and more. here are some wet sand pics so you can see what it looks like. and then the buffed pics. i buffed with sure finish and a wool pad. i have a foam pad coming then i can complete the polishing but over all it came out pretty good. Paint is not 100% but it will work for my needs. If i ever paint again which i am sure i will no candy for me base clear for sure. some of the junk in my paint was in the candy so i could not get that out so there are some black spots in the paint still but oh well nothing can be done about it so it will stay that way. I did get rid of the peal and got a nice shine started.

after finishing all tha tsanding and polishing i tokk a nice long shower and cleaned up the mess in the yard. we pushed the car back in the garage and then i got energy again so the last pics will show you what i did tonight.

Jeff

JeffW

these are pics of after buffed no pics of the buffing but you know what happens there. started putting some pieces on for the finished look.

as for the buffer i used it was a mikita from the autobodystore.com it was and is still on special 189. i think it is normal going for 389ish. does a real nice job came with a storage bag wool buff and softer buff but not wool. it ramps up to speed and is fully adjustable so i buffed with it set just under 2 and found it rather easy to use. It only snagged on me a couple times but no burns in the paint and it did bring a decent shine to the car with just the wool pad. next pass will be with the sure finish again with their orange pad to bring out the depth of the paint.

JeffW

tail lights in .....mirrors on door fuzzies in... some of the gfx on drivers side complete(almost)

JeffW

last pic ......... any questions now that this project is almost done?


thanks for all the help guys, you know who you are.. looks like my next project other than getting this thing on the road and together will be the tech article.

Jeff

jay92,85,79

iTrader: (1)

Don't u just love wetsanding the hole car all at once.lol Looks like u have to buff it a little more in that pic of the Quter.But looks good.I'm sure now u know y bodyshops and painters want so much money to paint a car.U goingto keep the same rims?How did that foam tape work?Any lines?

JeffW

the foam tape was ok. kept the junk out of the newly painted jambs but the junk is just further out. it will be an easy sand. i think the tape maybe should of been closer to the gap than i had it. when i put it on i had it set about a 1/4 inch inset. If it was set right at the edge maybe that would work better. The engine bay is full of overspray but it will clean up just takes more time.


wet sanding and buffing all in the same day was alot i would break it up if i had the choice again. It is hard to stop once ya get going though want to see that finished product i'm sure you know what i mean.

JeffW

oh wheels...um not sure i think i will be changing them since i need rubber anyway (flat bald tire).

i like the slp hyper black and no need for spacers but skinny, and the boyds hotrods are real sweet. Once i get it more together and get a good side pic i will request some photo shops to see what works best. Although the stockers don;t look half bad on the car...

jay92,85,79

iTrader: (1)

Yeah i know what u mean.Everytime i paint a car i say well i will wet sand one side than the other the next day.Nope allways turns out well Done this much might as well to the rest.By the time i get to the last part feels like my arm is going to fall off. I like them boyds but i bet they cost a lot.I like the s10 extrem rims.And its hard not to get any overspray. Thats y i did everthing (jams hood doors,Etc etc) all at once.but thats a pain in the but to.Can't wait to see what it looks like all cleaned up and shiny.Turned out real nice for your first car.

JeffW

Thanks jay i am pleased even if it isn;t 100% after all it was one of the most difficult paints to spray. did i mention i will never do another 3 stage candy paint job? i think i did

Jeff

jay92,85,79

iTrader: (1)

yeah u did . I have painted i think about 8 or 9 cars (i do just bodywork) at work teaching myseld to paint.And i would still not try the candy.Biggest reasson is the cost.And for painting it were u did i don't think u can get 100% u should have seen all the dirt and fuzz that the wind blow in when i was painting.But It most of it all wetsanded out.And allmost everone that see my car can't see it. But I know u can spot it out a mile away. so don't sweet it.

87CIZ

iTrader: (8)

just a question but is there any literature that you used to learn what everything is and does. I mean i've never touched a paint gun. Have no clue on any of it.

jay92,85,79

iTrader: (1)

Theres a ton of book out there and a ton more info on the net.This is a *** site www.autobodystore.com they have alot of info there

87CIZ

iTrader: (8)

ill be reading for days! wow wordpad is getting alot of use now and so is the printer

sellmanb

Hey Jeff, your car looks fantastic! Great job! When I was looking at my car though, I was thinking "well, how many different colors of paint would I need to buy to repaint it" and figured that i'd need the primer, base, and clear, and then another, smaller primer, base and clear for where the headlights are.

Did you not paint the headlight area a different color for a specific reason? I kinda like the "black eye" look that our cars have heh.

I absolutely love the color that your car is! Superb job, and I hope you dont scratch it up too bad while tryin to put everything back together

cdh67

Jeff, I have worked in many body shops and no car is 100% perfect. But you have done a great job. So ready to do mine??

JeffW

jay is right autobody store is great info Len has a cd kinda old but gives you the basics and its only 35.00 so cheap learning and give some great real time demos on wet sanding and prep and taping off the car ect. len also has a store front with good prices and great shipping. things i have ordered from him include my makita buffer, sure finish polish, tape, mixing stuff, mask,video, and assorted supplies all at diffrent times and shipping was fast.

Sellmanb,

i had 2 colors the body and the gfx. i chose to leave the pockets body color of now as that is how it was stock (when i got it anyway). i used the same primers for everything. i used a 1/2 gallon of epoxy, a gallon of 2k primer, 3 quarts of base for body, 1 quart for gfx. 2 gallons of reducer. almost two gallons of gun cleaner. couple gallons of catylist and 1/2 gallon of reducer for the epoxy, and some catalits Most all suppliers will set you up with the right amounts of paints. I did have some extra body color and extra candy that can go back. I also used a gallon of clear. I have 1 gallon left. Since they shorted me reducer i could not do my flo coats. A good reason to get paint locally if you can i ordered mine from california AutobodyDepot.com. they were very helpfull with the project.

thanks for the compliments. the clear on this thing is quite durable..but i hope i don;t chip it either. so far so good. And on a side note my new trans showed today so the next project is almost ready. I also ordered brown bread sound deadener to line the body before i install the interior.

Jeff

JeffW

can you part with it for 2 years? i'm kinda slow.......base clear no problem no candy

i belive anyone can shoot the base clear with the right equipment and practice. i hooked 2 small compressors together and that cured my water problem both ran nice and cool since i had tank to spare. one was 30 gal the other was 25 both 5 hp.

jeff

JeffW

your in the same place as i was when i started. i did some body work but never shot with a real gun so you can also do it, and hopefully this thread has given you another resource to help with a simular project.

cdh67

LOL Ok I will spray it and you can just sand and buff

JeffW

i think your giving me the hard part