Took all plastic off, mainly to start the car to keep the battery charged. Found some tape lines and other noob imperfections. There will be some additional sanding, more clean up and a more precise tape job before the final coat or 2 but so far, it's really looking better than I expected. Glad I have my clean stock wheels in the shed, once they're on it'll look even better.

Changed pic in above post, didn't want to flood with unnecessary pics.

 

Nevermind the elitists. It's your car, and your budget. Not everyone can invest in a professional paint job, and doing it yourself can be rewarding and a great learning experience. As long as you get the results you want, who else has any say?
And don't believe all the smoke that gets blown up a$$es around here. Pics hide a lot of imperfections, so someone claiming their paint turned out perfect and shows pics, their paint is likely far from perfect.
Getting flawless paint requires endless hours of work. From the body work and prep, all the way through to the cut and polish. Even the professionals have flaws that get repaired.
For what you are doing, the car does look better...in pics. Getting a uniform finish always improves the appearance, even if it's just primer.

 

spend the time to mask your car then not have to clean up later,you are close to the point now you could get a maaco paint job and you would get shiny white,
even paint all over your car.it wont be show quality but they will give you a decent paint job for a very cheap price.its entirely up to you but its looking good so far,
ive blown in a few ugly spots on my white trans am as well as spray bombed my hood and it looks decent (from afar lol)you can get a blow up spray booth for
not a lot of money and spray the car without fear of bugs,dust,etc) made in china,there's a youtube video of them out there.here is my car.

\

 

Mission accomplished. Total cost including most tools & misc supplies was about $150 - $200 on the generous side. I was going to use my stock wheels off my other 92 but I found some on a S10 roller listed on the FB marketplace, I picked em up for $125. I love it when a plan comes together!

 

I hate that you didnt fix the fender... but I'm impressed, it looks good, good job. I'm also impressed that you had the guts to go for it and do it with no experience and with all of the nay sayers. I'm sure you will still get flak for it not being perfect, not having it done by a professional, it's the wrong shade of white, whatever. If your proud of the job you did, and you made an improvement then who care what they say.

 

You followed through and finished it and it sure does look better than it did in the start. Props.

 

looks bad ***,if we waited around to be able to afford to drive pristine garage queens
that never see rain,wind or the odd crappy day we wouldn't get to drive our dreams
very often.i know i couldn't afford a 5,000 mile,100 point original mint collector car and
realistically i wouldn't want the headache of being afraid it would be damaged every time
its out of eyesight.

my friend has a 99 point carousel red 1969 gto judge(yes its real)
and the guy is a total mess every single time the car is out of his garage and he isn't near
by protecting it.another friend has a 25,000 mile 1969 z28,it is never more than 5 feet away from him.
(these 2 cars together are appraised at over $400,000)

here is my work in progress,paint isn't perfect and has had touch-ups but its mine,its paid for and i can go into a corner store without fear.
the hood on this car is painted with spray-bombs(for now) and the little blemishes were filled in (for now)but like any 33 yr old,it has scars.

 

My beater isn't even in the same class as your car, your work in progress is sweet as it sits. I appreciate the positive support!

 

You have pretty much done a 180 with that paint and body work alone, not to mention the blood sweat and tears of hard labor you put in with it. I will be following the same path with my 92 RS as far as paint and body. But... I have the advantage of having uncles that own body shops and have done body work for a living. Not to mention im going for the original 3rd gen. im custom building a lot of it and integrating a good amount of mods to my car.

 

stick to original 3rd gen parts as much as possible ,it will keep the car valuable and tolerable in others eyes
in case of a sale.do not eliminate anything like air conditioning,charcoal canisters, sensors,wiring etc .
do not cut the wiring harness,do not cut the dash,do not screw in a massive monster tach into the dash.
keep body mods pretty much to zero if possible and you will end up with a tasteful,good looking third gen.

the junkyards are or were littered with peoples old discarded third gen "projects" with guys getting a little
too creative or ambitious.do things a little at a time on a small scale and it will be manageable.mods are
great as long as they are super easy to undo.i was young once,these things i said are advice i wish i was given.
look at cars that win third gen of the month or of the year on this site and they have a common thing,they are clean
and many are original.if something is custom,it is very well thought out,well planned and done right.


coming along slowly,do it right or don't bother.

 

92.....You sprayed the white finish coat paint or did a shop do it?
I didnt catch that in your posts.

 

He used rustoleum. There’s not a shop that’s gonna spray rustoleum on a customers car.

I’m not saying that to be an ***. It looks better than it did. Idk how long that will be the case though. Lol

 

Yea, The shine will prob. dull off in a year or so BUT as a experienced painter in special industrial coatings
I know only a few companies that actually make the paint anymore. Most is just relabeled by other companies.
I guess I will see how my repainted plastic parts on my Caddy hold up in time!

Just like 92 I am happy with the results for my budget fix on my new winter rat Caddy!
Let the perfectionists pick and bust chops!

BTW: Read about the Mary Carter paint company history and see the companies it owned
and finally morphed into!