as i have stated in another thread ..https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum1/HTML/021633.html i am starting the process of changing the color of my car from black/silver to solid mazda yellow(like on the protoge5 and miata). this is what they call a 2 part valu shade process where you have to paint the car white after the primer and then paint it yellow, then clear. you have to paint it white for the yellow to come up nice and bright.
in taking on this task i will try my best to keep this post rolling along with a step by step update of the ongoing project. since i have now found my digital camera and figured out how to post pics, i will try to give you a visual comentary of the process that i will be doing.
now keep in mind that i have never painted a complete car but i have painted a bunch of motorcycles(race bikes) and snowmobile hoods with good results, i am hoping to have the same luck with this project.
since i just found my camera i missed out on the begining of the job and have already removed the front nose, front fenders, all inner fenders, rear quarters, rear bumper cover, hood and wing.
i am doing this because i really apreciate all the help that everyone has given me from this forum and i think that it is time to give a little back. this is mainly directed to anyone that would like to do this themselves but are a little apprehensive to start this size of a job and the curious post lurker who wants to follow my progress and maybe to give me some pointers along the way.
i will also share the costs of my project as we go along. so far i have spent $520.00 on paint,primer sealer and assorted sanding paper, sanding blocks and new filters for my mask. ..oh ya...$170.00 on a new HVLP gravity feed paint gun from the home depot.(all these prices are in canadian funds)
here is a pic of my car prior to disassembly.
let the fun begin. cheers, ernie.
------------------ "it's too bad he had to run out of talent half way through the corner..."
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11:51 PM
PFF
System Bot
killerb15 Member
Posts: 371 From: Barrie,Ontario,CANADA Registered: Nov 2000
For posting pics, I load them into my Yahoo briefcase, view the pic, Right click on the pic, select properties, copy the pics URL and post it using the [ img ] URL [ /img ]. Works for me.
Hey Big E, Can't wait to see the progress of this project. I have no doubt that the outcome will be exceptional. But like I said before if it comes out good you are doing mine next
rynelson85 i know what you mean about the po-po ..but at my age you soon learn to settle down abit so i think i will be alright for the time being...untill i do a motor swap!
as for the pic of the black paint..well the flash hides the flaws...you will see in some future posts that i will put up.
*sigh* One less black and silver Fiero GT on the road. I don't know if I could change the color because when its clean, black is the best color around. Yellow cars do look nice though.
thanks fierojames...but the real work is still yet to start!
here are a couple of pics of some of the problems this i am faced with.
when i took of the wheel well covers i have a little rust in there to be taken care of. i was going to either sand blast and/or grind the rust off and weld up the small hole that i have on the passengers side. passengers side: drivers side: rust spot by door..very weak, i may have to weld a plate in here: as you can see my nose piece is a little rough..i think someone painted this with a spray bomb! and finally here is a little patch job that someone did on a crack in the panel...any ideas on how to fix this?? what type of epoxy or filler do i use on this type of material??
Looks like it's coming along fine Ernie. I wish that I had that little rust to contend with. Thinking of repainting mine again in the winter and this time I'm gonna take my time and do it right, just as you are. Let me know if you need anything and I'll rustle through my things and see what I have. I have the little doo dads already on my list but, unfortunatly they are on the very bottom of my parts pile and I still haven't had time to start cleaning it up. James. P.S. Thank you so much for the pics, they look fantastic. Hopefully by the weekend I'll have already alter'd the look of my car and now I'll have some before and after pic's to compare.
todays progress: i bought some new cutting discs for my dremel tool so i can slot my torx screws that hold my door skins on..they are all stripped. i just got home now...so i guess this is all for today.
the aura...are you talking about the little pieces that are on the fender, and rear quarter panels?? if so ..i took them off when i got the fenders off, which was after i took off the lower ground effect pieces(the long ones that are under the doors.).
you need to take these off to access the washers that hold them to the fenders/quarter panels. i hope this helps ...if you need some pics i will take them for you.
james...i thought that you would like the pics. as for the parts ..who knows i might just be calling you in the future if i get in a jam.
i have been working so much lately that this was the first day since the last post that i could work on my car.
actually, work started last night by welding up a couple of stands to support my front and rear bumpers while i worked on them and later for painting. these so far have worked really well for sanding for i have a bad back and leaning over even the slightest bit builds a giant knot in my back which makes doing most jobs quite painful. keep in mind that i made these with some scrap steel i had laying around the house.
they are approx. 42" high and wide enough to fit in between the trun signal cut outs on the front facia.
here they are:
here is my nose piece sanded on the stand:
this is all i really was able to do today. the reason that i had to strip it this far is that the previous owner had used some sort of crappy paint and there were spider cracks right through to the base primer...man that sucked.
oh well...things are looking better for the project, i just picked up this sand blasting cabinet ...so yellow calipers and repainted suspension parts, here we come!!!
this thing works great! the cabinet is 30"x27"x20" ...i can get quite a bit of stuff in there! and it was only $169.00cdn.
as i get more of this project done i will keep you posted.
ernie
------------------ "it's too bad he had to run out of talent half way through the corner..."
I can't wait to see your car after its painted. I am also planning to paint my car yellow (possibly saturn, mazda or corvette still unsure) in the spring. Right now I am starting a frame up restoration of my car on a near-mint 85 Gt frame. Let me know how easily it is to put the painted panels back on, I've heard that they are easy to scratch when doing so. Keep up the good work!
-Brandon
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12:15 AM
PFF
System Bot
Oct 19th, 2002
Smoooooth GT Member
Posts: 8823 From: Lake Palestine, Texas Registered: Jun 2001
well smooth..thanks for the intrest in my project so here you go, a couple of pics for you veiwing pleasure.
as i have stated in a earlier part of this thread i have had a hard time finding time to work on this project, but i have found a little time since my last post and i was able to get a little( i stress little)bit done.
i recently had a little luck on my side when princess auto had a sale on air dryers. so for about $65.00 i was able to get my self a dryer and the pellets for it. from what i understand it is quite important to have some means of making sure the paint is not effected by moisture in the air lines.
here she be.
now with having that, my confidence is growing a little to try to do the best job that i can with my limited space and knowledge....not to mention....patience.
so here is what i got done this weekend with sleeping in on saturday....we won't talk about that....and having to run back and forth to princess auto a couple of times to get assorted fittings for the dryer ..THAT I COULD HAVE SWORN I HAD IN THE TOOL BOX!! ...i hate when that happens...
ok pics...some primed parts. ..more
now all was not moving along that smoothly when i got the panels primed...it brought out any imperfications in the panels. there were quite a few deep scratches from me having a tough time stripping some of the bad spots in the original paint. so this led to double checking with my PFF friends with a little post on sanding and priming. once again you guys pulled through for me again. so a little wet sanding and whammo! i was ready for a re-prime and the top coats.
since the mazda yellow in the dupont paint line, ChromaBase, required a value shade application, i blew a couple of thin coats of white on the fresh primer with my new HVLP gun. what a difference this gun was from my siphon gun that i used to apply the primer. i had next to no overspray and the gun had to be held much closer to the work than with the siphon feed gun due to the low pressure that it works at. it took a little time to get used to but it seems as though it will be worth it in the long run.
so, to get to the point quickly, i only wet sanded my hood to experiment with a few things; making sure the sanding fixed the scratches, learning how to use this new HVLP gun and to apply clear coat for the first time. on the hood pictured below there is 2 thin coats of primer sealer, 2 thin coats of white for the value shade system and 2 coats of the mazda yellow finally followed buy 3 thin coats of clear. (i thought that i would do 3 coats of clear so i will have one coat to work with when i finally get to buff the clear for that beautiful shine).
what do you guys think of the color that i have picked??
apart from a few dust specs..the finish came out quite nice, i am impressed so far...up until that fly landed right in the middle of my hood!! ...i was not impressed to say the least...oh well ..that is why there is 1000 grit sand paper is supose.
i am hoping to have the rest of the primered pieces in the previous pictures painted tomorrow....but don't count on it.
Did you tape off the underside of the panels, especially the hood, or are you going to paint those? I can't decide whether or not I like the underside of the hood the original black, or body color.
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01:33 AM
Smoooooth GT Member
Posts: 8823 From: Lake Palestine, Texas Registered: Jun 2001
well i got home today a little later than i wanted to but there was work to be done.
my goal was to paint what i already had primed a few days earlier. this would be nice to acomplish so i could start fresh on sunday to do the rest of the body that has started to build up in my garage(man..i did not know how much space such a little car can take up when it is all apart!).
well mission acomplished!....at 12:45am mind you.
here are a few pics for those that only read pictures. ..damn...is that my thumb??
the only problem with painting this car in this manner(all apart)is ...i am going through paint a little quicker than normal. i have just went through a quart of clear and a can of hardner for it and i will need another quart of white and yellow to finish the project.
oh well...it is only money right??
hopefully i will have some more pics for tomorrow.
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01:14 AM
x-thumpr-x Member
Posts: 1992 From: Toronto, Ontario Registered: Aug 2001
Hey GT Boy , this is the third time I've been back to this post . There's very few things I won't do on a Fiero . Painting is one of them . Very proud of you , gave you a positive rateing just for the testicular tissue .
Best Of Luck !
Galen Smith Red 85 Sport Coupe Founder of Suncoast Fiero Club Florida Fiero Council
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09:21 PM
killerb15 Member
Posts: 371 From: Barrie,Ontario,CANADA Registered: Nov 2000
I'll have too see the car once it is reassembled, right now my 86 fastback is being stripped apart in my garage, and my 85 is at Eastview SS in a shop getting torn down to the frame. Oh well, you don't really want your car on the road in the cold (and soon to be salt )keep up the great work, by the way where are you buying your paint/supplies from?
hmm...would it be wrong to have two mazda yellow fastbacks in one city...
)keep up the great work, by the way where are you buying your paint/supplies from?
