EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

The continuing saga of my other thread https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/body...new-paint.html

Started working on the car again last month after taking almost a year off from being able to work on it. Well yesterday I spent the day in the paint booth

Went from this...


to this!






It's weird to see the car with a reflection again after about a year of being a dull gray. Still have to paint the spoiler and ground fx then start doing more sanding. After sanding for one last time, buffing! Few other steps like blacking out the wheel wells, cleaning up overspray and new weather stripping. I'm hoping to get it all done within a couple weeks time. Then it's time to coat the rear quarter panels with tire rubber since the 22nd is a race day at the track

zdc590

I've always wanted to paint my own car, i just don't have any of the supplies. After reading your old thread it looks like you put a lot of hard work into it, glad to see it finally coming along. Good job with it.

CrashOverKill

Looking AWSOME
Going to be heading that route by spring myself. My iroc gets delivered this week......all 3 colors of it LMAO. Going to completly strip and gut the car. Paint it a burgandy allmost dark cherry inside and out. Then re-assemble. Will be starting to gather engine parts today. Found a 70's - early 80's 4 bolt main today for 25 bucks. Digging into my Crank/Rods combo for the stroker as we speak. And go from there Dont plan on leaving a nut or bolt un-touched everything either painted or polished. CANT wait havent done a build up like this sense the late 70's / early 80's. Enough about me your ride is looking SO SWEET just got me excited about my own LOL

Tmic87TPI

iTrader: (3)

looks great, cant wait to see my car with a reflection, its been primer for almost a year now.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys After helping a friend of mine a bit with a car he built for his dad, I couldn't wait to get going on mine again. Having a new windshield put in Friday since A, there's been a chip in the glass ever since I bought the car and B, I cracked the windshield trying to pry out the old reveal moulding. That stuff was so brittle most of it is still there with the top half broken off. Can't wait to see how it's going to look after all the wet sanding and buffing. Probably start doing that thursday at least around the windshield so I don't scratch up the new stuff going in.

Tobias05

man, its been a year? wow, i remember scrolling through your previous thread on a daily basis.

looks real sharp! definately worth the effort, hard work!

my camaro is lacking in visual appeal as well...needs new quarters though.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

The year has gone by quick it seems like, guess I was just that busy at work. Slowed down last month so I was able to go on a weeks vacation then spend a couple weeks working on the car. Have to work the next couple nights for a rush job so my plans of painting up the ground fx in the pewter color wont be happening this week Maybe get them done on the weekend.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

nice work, i just actually got done painting my car on my own too, i like your color, its nice, i went from the blue/gray t/a colors...i got tired of it and it looked like she needed a bit of an update...heres a picture of it as soon as i got it outside from painting, i still dont think its as nice as yours though

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Lookin good man My car has gone from the factory silver and charcoal color to white to dark charcoal and pewter. Who knows what color it might be the next go around

Tobias05

ehh, just change it up again in five years, lol.

racer, looks sharp. what color is that?

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

its listed as 'tangerine' by chrysler, its basically that color off those new dodge daytona trucks, but if you want the limited edition paint off the truck that costs 225 dollar a quart, its called go-man-go, but mine was 50 per quart lol

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Went down to the paint place today and picked up some 1,000 (little quicker to take out the runs in the clear ) and 1,500 grit paper. Also picked up a couple new buffing pads and compound. The stuff I have is so old, one bottle is all seperated and nasty looking. Tomorrow I'll start wet sanding around the windshield and maybe a sail panel just to see what it's going to look like all buffed out.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

nice, yeah i have some problems like that, my dad told me the same exact thing...but now i feel better about doing it cuz i thought you couldnt use compound on clear coats....but i guess you really can! lol

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Sure can, actually lets the paint vent and cure a little better so I've been told. Forget which one I picked up but it was a 3M compound designed to take out the finish of 1200 or 1500 grit paper. Then I got some hand glaze to take care of the finish the first compound leaves. I'll see what kind of finish that leaves, might have to use one more to take out swirl marks.

Just going to block the runs out with 1,000 grit (kind of my trademark to run the clear ) then go over the whole car with 1500 till everything is dull. Squirt some buffing compound on and go to town.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

nice, i'm going to do mine next tuesday, but theres only a couple runs that are there...my dad says i did good for my first time painting, but i can see some imperfections but oh well llol...i may just windup doing the same thing you are lol i want it perfect, too bad i dont have a garage, its such a shame leaving it outside

Tobias05

i've done a good bit of wetsanding on my car, i think i may have left out some steps. i got rid of all the orange peel in my single stage, and i've used 3m rubbing compound w/ 2k wet/dry. shes a bit too rusty now, and the paint is 3 years old, but when its wet after a rain or dew, whats left looks amazing lol.

but hey, it was all free.

can't wait to see the finished results!

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Get a foam sanding block if you can so you don't put finger grooves in the paint. Just wrap the paper around it. For the runs, use something a bit stiffer to take down the high spots. Also, use plenty of water, either with a hose or a bucket with a little dish soap. If you hear a zipping noise, stop and rinse everything cause it's either some build up on the paper or a bit of dirt. Sand up to edges, not on them, even with 1500 it'll go through the paint in one or two swipes on a ridge. Same goes for when you're buffing it out.

Imperfections, I have plenty too You can see a couple really dry spots in the front of the hood. Doesn't really bug me much since I knew it would be all sanded down anyway. My "garage" isn't that great to store a car in without a cover on it. My dad and I share the shop, his side has a CNC mill that spews out a mist of coolant which gets over everything.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

well it beats leavin it outside though lol, but alriht, thanks for the tips, my dad just got this tool which is supposed to take out runs, its like a weird razorblade which automatically adjusts itself to trim off the run, i'm gonna try that onmy spoiler first though haha (it needs to be repainted cuz the paint fish-eyed)

slow_90firebird

My buddy has painted quite a few cars / sections of cars. He actually worked for Boyd Coddington on the show American Hot Rod for a while. He was only on a few episodes, but he did alot in the back.

One of the tricks he showed me for runs in the clear is - this thing we call the "cheese grater". He got it at wherever he bought the paint from. Its a little metal block that is reusable, and resembles a micro sized cheese grater. All you have to do is lightly rub it back and fourth on the run and it will bring it down to level with the rest of the area. When you are done grating all the runs down, you will see white spots where all the runs were. It will look horrible untill you wetsand the whole car with 1200 grit.

The advantage of this, is that using wetsandpaper to take runs down also tends to take down the nice clear that is around the run. All it usually takes to remove average orange peel is moderate wetsanding, not aggressive sanding like on runs.

After that, buff it with the 3M compound - that **** is awesome. It really brings the color out. And after that - use a new buffing pad to apply some 3M "Final Glaze." The final glaze looks great, but if you use the buffer with it and a pad thats not harsh, it will shine better than any wax at the store. And it beads the water real nice.

The car looks great - good luck to you!

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Thought I'd do a little update...

Been doing a lot of wet sanding and buffing with a little work thrown in, looks like I'll be working next week too on a rush job. Wanted to get everything done for the trip back to the track but it'll have to wait. Anyway, I had picked up some grid style tail lights for free from a 92 that was going to the crusher. Polished them up with the same stuff I've been using on the paint and they came out pretty nice.

As far as sanding the body, the hood is just about done along with the decklid, rear quarters and roof. All that is needed is an application of some swirl remover. Haven't done the front fenders or doors yet since I had a new windshield put in and figured they'd be scratching stuff up leaning against them. Also need to do the lower half of the rear quarters and rear bumper. Might be painting the rear spoiler, gas door, mirrors and ground fx tomorrow depending on how things go.

jay_d

1k grit? aint that a lil bit rough? i hope u have a thick coat of clear on man....or you will probably break thru..........i always start with 1500 do my ruff work then move to 2k

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Got plenty of clear on, some areas have a bit much

ssean92

iTrader: (10)

looks realy nice......

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Painted the rest of the parts last night and they turned out pretty nice. Going to start putting the car back together after I get off work tonight. Also secured a front wheel that I needed to complete the set Now for center caps and tires.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Almost there! Plenty of wet sanding still to do. Was planning to take it to the strip today but the weather is turning bad so it's a no go. Took the opportunity while the car was mostly together to take it out for a quick spin.

Sir Speed A Lot

Ive always loved those kinds of paint jobs. They look black, but in the right light under the right conditions they turn to a different shade of dark something. My favorite example of this is dark forest metallic, a pontiac color I see on some grand ams.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

I almost went with a straight black but decided to go this route instead. Saw a Corvette with the same color when trying to decide on what color I wanted and looked pretty good. Original plan was to do the main body in pewter and have a dark color for stripes, well that plan changed

onebad82z

iTrader: (7)

A lil behind as I just found out you painted it..but...

DAMN NICE JOB!!

..Absolutely killer colors, and of course I am partial to 82's!

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Here's the newest pic from this weekend. Still haven't had the time to wetsand and buff out the doors and front fenders.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

looks a hell of a lot nicer than mine is right now lol, i got that dent fixed finally but i got some small scratches from wetsanding that didnt buff out so i guess i'll have to sand again lol but yeah dude, looks real nice!

quadgoat

iTrader: (1)

Very nice work man, she's looking great! It's really nice to see all the posts recently of people who have painted their own cars. It's not as mysterious of an art as everyone makes it out to be. Patience is the key!! You had it easy though...you got to do yours INSIDE LOL

-Paul

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

All the sanding I had to do outside but was able to pull inside when finished for the day. As for painting, I think it would have come out better doing it outside than doing it in the booth. So much freakin dust made it onto the clear it was crazy. The parts I did in the cool night air outside turned out better and had zero dust or bugs. Oh well, next paint project is my Toyota 4x4 which will be painted white again. I keep losing paint off it every time I wash it

Tmic87TPI

iTrader: (3)

looks great, I just sprayed a Buick in a booth, it was a single stage paint which I had never sprayed before and the amount of dust in the paint was crazy considering I spent half an hour cleaning the booth before I sprayed. and when u said that about your toyota it reminded me when I got my car I washed it, looked at the rag and it was the color of my car

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

see i painted mine at my dad's shop....they had a room for a dyno that doesnt work anymore and we just painted it in there, closed the garage door and began painting...and when it came to the clear coat, we just opened the small door (not the bay door) and put a fan to pull any floating clear coat outside, because if you dont ventilate like that then you essentially get overspray on the entire car....i really liked painting it in there better than outside, i did my spoiler and my front bumper cover with just base coat outside and man, it was like the bugs loved that! and the the only way to kill them it seems is to spray more paint on them so they stop squirming all over lol

Tobias05

paint looks awesome! definately more civilized versus the "primered quarter mile demon" look. very nice.

...one of these days i'm gonna talk someone on here into painting my car, haha.

MilehighBird

iTrader: (1)

Great job. The car came out really nice. When you are done wetsanding and polishing if you still have a few swirlmarks showing when you are out in the sun, 3M has a newer product out that I've been using at work call UltraFina. It's a swirl eliminator that comes with a different pad than their other polishes.

I use the whole 3M line up but with dark colors like yours even after using swirl remover and final glazing panels there would still be some tiny swirl polishing marks if the sun would hit at the right angle. I can't use any soupy silicone loaded glazes at work since they create fisheyes in our paintjobs so I thought I was outta luck till I found the 3M UltaFina stuff. Used it on a black and a navy car so far and it worked well both times.

Keep the updates coming.

EvilCartman

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the complements guys

I've been using some Meguiars #9 swirl remover on it and seems to work great. Really need to wetsand the whole thing again to get it looking the way I want it. Looks like I might have some time to work on the car again soon. Need to bend up a couple of tube parts for a friend's 4x4 then it's back on the car.