Been popping my paint cherry all weekend. The oxi on my RS was killing me. So Friday night she went into the garage, got stripped, removed what I could, masked the rest, and started shooting epoxy on the metal, then sealer over all. Had a few big booboos at first. I opted for Sherwin products because the store is convenient, and as a DD this car needs a flexible clear that is chip resistant more than a "OMFG" shine.

Today I finished my base and am clearing now. It's going on nice, not much orange peel. Should be very pretty. My base is close to the factory polo green, but a wee darker and with gold and bronze pearl instead of flake. I't beautiful with the clear on.

My gun has suprised me. I couldn't afford an Iwata or Devilbiss, so I grabbed a $40 HF Sata knockoff. It's touchy to set, but using masking paper to test on, I've managed to dial her in right nice. I highly recommend this gun for anyone on a budget, it's the purple gun, 66460 or something.

Anyway, after I color sand, clear again, and buff, I'll try to get some pics up.

My biggest regret is not having a clean booth. I have to shoot with a tack rag in one hand to wipe as I go, and will have a small amount of stuff in my paint, LOL. But, shouldn't be too noticeable unless you are looking for it. I hope.

POP goes the paint cherry.

 

Pics?

 

Sorry took so long! I didn't want to post pics till I had at least ONE panel to be proud of, LOL. I screwed up the initial clear, I'm going around panel by panel now, sanding and reshooting. Hood is done, minus the stripes. I have a mask being made locally and will paint them on (gold, as original).

Overall, if I wasn't anally picky about my car, the initial round of clear would have worked, but the orange peel was pretty bad and I want 5-6 coats anyway for a nice deep shine.

Here's where I'm at today. I don't have any good pics of the oxi that was covering it before, or I'd show before shots.

Here's the hood and front clip (front clip needs sand and 3 more coats clear)







This I almost burned through wetsanding... getting more clear as well.





This entire side needed a little peel knocked down, it's ready for compound and polish.


The most inportant lesson I learned is PATIENCE. Equipment and skill mean very little if you are willing to take your time, follow the data sheets as close as possible, and put in the elbow grease to fix your flubs. Any paint boo boos can be fixed... I've made them all, pretty much. LOL. I've called more mulligans on this job than in my entire Golf career, it's just a matter of putting in the time to fix it.

 

Tonight I said screw it, sanded the whole car with 800 and am re clearing the whole dang thing. Still getting orange peel but when all is said and done it'll have 2 gallons of clear on it, 6-8 coats. That should let me wetsand and buff to my hearts content...

I need a better gun. And a better compressor. And some talent. :-)

Eventually it will look great, with enough elbow grease. Too bad it'll be so weighed down with clear it'll only do 35MPH. Haha.

 

Went and painted the hood stripes today. Overall I think it looks OK. A wee off center. But, for a first time attempt...

 

Looks great for being a home paint job!
what kind clear you using?

 

Thanks!

I went with the Sherwin FC720 (Finish One). I thought about PPG, but everything I read said the PPG was more brittle and prone to chipping. Since this is a daily driver, I figured I'd foregoe some shine and ease of application in favor of a more flexible and chip resistant clear. The Finish One came highly rated for that, and for a budget clear it's very nice!