wow, that turned out quite lovely; i'm impressed, and optimistic of my own results.
let me ask,
after wet sanding, before applying a coat, what do you wipe the surface with?

here's my mirror today after wet sanding:

tonight it gets coat 5.
i've cleaned my brush, and my surface is sanded, dry, and clean. hopefully, i won't get those little speck thingies in the paint this time.

I've been using tack cloth to wipe before recoat.

Boy, that is shining up nicely. I can't wait to see how it holds up to the weather, maybe a pressure wash.

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'87 2.8v6 5spd
Fiero

I am wondering what grit should be used when finishing the final coat.
I used 1500 grit and wet sanded until water was milky and guess what.. My deep beautiful shine is gone. I have buffed it with polishing compound about 6 times and although it looks ok, It does not have near the shine that it did.
What did I do wrong? Maybe should have waited a month? Maybe sanded a little too much?

Hey, whats up with this thread? Inquiring minds want to know?

quote Originally posted by jeffndebrus: I am wondering what grit should be used when finishing the final coat. I used 1500 grit and wet sanded until water was milky and guess what.. My deep beautiful shine is gone. I have buffed it with polishing compound about 6 times and although it looks ok, It does not have near the shine that it did. What did I do wrong? Maybe should have waited a month? Maybe sanded a little too much?

I was hoping for an answer to the above, however, We have decided to go ahead and paint the 85se 4.9 car using this method. We have to install the side scoops/ change the luggage rack out for a Fiero wing/ replace the bumper pads with aero facsias/ do the front hood venting all before we can sand and get ready for paint---and all before March 23rd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Proud Member of the North Florida Fiero club

4T60E Parks harness/ Rockcrawl chip-- more to come--

Keep up with TorqueWench. She keeps painting things little by little. Looks like a good job on her mirrors so far anyway.

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Whade' "The Duck Formerly Known As Wade" Duck
'87 GT Auto
'88 Ferrario
'84 Indy (8/26/06)

Relax! You've managed to suck all of the fun out of the room.

I wonder whats going on with the guy who started this thread? He was painting his GT black.

quote Originally posted by David DeVoe: I wonder whats going on with the guy who started this thread? He was painting his GT black.

https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/035077.html

[This message has been edited by Jake_Dragon (edited 01-23-2007).]

O.K. You guys have my attention, I have talked my wife into letting me practice on the hood of her Fiero, right now its primer grey, and I'm painting it black to match the rest of the car, this should be unique, but if its easier to apply black with a roller than spraying I'll be a believer. I will do before, during and after pics, and since its a daily driver I can keep posted on durability.

Now, to find a place to put the hood while I paint it so it wont be in the way

How much paint do you guys figure it'll take to do the hood, and the light covers?

Brad

you shouldn't need much at all, especially at thinned ratios approaching 50/50. a pint should do nicely.
i found that as i kept going in and outof the pint, the buildup inside started breaking off into my mixture, and causing artifacts in my painted surface. to solve that, i bought a new quart of Regal Red, and cleaned the small pint can completely, to use as my working can, wherein i poured 1/3 of the quart into the smaller container, and use the smaller container to go in and out of day to day,
rather than continually opening and closing the larger can. this way i use it up before going to the larger quart for a new supply.
i keep the contents of the small can pre-thinned, around 70/30 paint/spirit and ladle a couple of tablespoons out into my pyrex measuring cup at paint time, and add a little more mineral spirits, as the need presents itself.
this is coat 5, before color-sanding

i'm letting it dry thoroughly for another day, before i sand it. i'm gonna airbrush on thinned clear spar urethane mixed with red metal flake.
i have the right-side mirror laying beneath it, being completely stripped, prepared for the same treatment. it's been difficult doing a small complex geometry object, but rewarding, as it looks great, even with slight brush streaking. i can't wait to see how it sands, takes clear, and polishes up.
good luck, i look forward to seeing someone else try this project.
jeff, how is your quarter panel looking?

"jeff, how is your quarter panel looking?"

Thanks for asking----I have decided to do the whole car---that quarter panel was only a test bed as my quarter panels are being replaced with Driven Visions side scoops on the 4.9 car as well as the 1/2 fiero trailer we will pull behind it.
\
I was dissapointed with the final result but I believe I got too vigorous with the wetsanding on the clear coat and prolly removed most of it. Will probably use 2000 grit and be very gentle next time, as well as waiting longer ---maybe a few weeks.

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Proud Member of the North Florida Fiero club

4T60E Parks harness/ Rockcrawl chip-- more to come--

Some thoughts on the use of spar varnish from a boat restorer. It is true that spar varnish contains uv blockers to help prevent fading, but it is also true that real spar varnish never dries completely hard. This helps prevent cracking as the wood underneath expands and contracts in response to humidity changes. I say wood because that is what varnish was formulated to cover. The best one part varnish I can find lasts only 2 or 3 seasons before it starts to get dull and look like crap. 2 part finishes will probably last longer, but cost more and are more finicky to apply. I am not a chemist, this is just my experience. The worst luck I've EVER had with varnish on a boat was Min Wax spar which didn't even last one season. The sun just ate it up. My 2 cents.

Just a note about clear coats, I read somewhere that you can tint clear coat to give the finish a deeper color- thoughts about this idea?

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Please Visit My Fiero Store Thanks!

i just started on my rocker panel. it doesn't have a primer on it, so there's not much for the paint to snag to, and i'll be paying close attention to how it behaves this week.
i also got some chinchilla fur in it. damn furballs. that's what you get for turning the apartment heat on, before your part has dried.
i read your comment above on issues with spar urethane. i'm not sure what to think at the moment. on one hand, these finished parts would have several coats of a protective wax on them, and be washed pretty regularly, to remove all the crud,
and also i would think it would be a good thing that a clear coat not be too hard, to flex with vibration, not to mention where it's covering urethane parts like the front and rear bumper cover.
but if as you say, you've seen spar urethane deteriorate after just one season, then i'm gonna be pretty bummed out this time next year.
i'm fearful of using a 2-part clear, because of the isocyanate hazard, since i have these little chinchillas in the house.

my FieroGT does live in a closed garage when its home, so it will have a lot more protection from the elements, and i will be watching how the parts age very carefully.

and at the least,
it's a fun and crafty project ^_^

ps.
has anyone ever compared a Firebird and Fiero mirror housing together? the Fiero mirror is HEAVIER!
weirdweird.

Torquewrench,
Fun and crafty indeed ! I have been wowed to say the least at the interest in painting cars with rustoleum and rollers.
So you have cinchillas right in your apartment? Thats not a joke? I had an agouti once but it got out and gnawed all the wires at the back of my stereo. I donated him to a kindergarten class. BTW I tried to view the pic you posted of your fifth coat but it would not open. Bummer as I wanted to see what the red was looking like

yup, 2 of the little furballs. i luv 'em.
when i view the page, i see the picture fine,
but then it's coming from my browser cache.
click this
http://alisonrain.terminalg...rFinalColorCoat5.jpg

i have coat 6 drying now, because i wet-sanded through an edge to the metal. i HATE when i do that. grr...
and it's TorqueWench

quote Originally posted by David DeVoe: Some thoughts on the use of spar varnish from a boat restorer. It is true that spar varnish contains uv blockers to help prevent fading, but it is also true that real spar varnish never dries completely hard. This helps prevent cracking as the wood underneath expands and contracts in response to humidity changes. I say wood because that is what varnish was formulated to cover. The best one part varnish I can find lasts only 2 or 3 seasons before it starts to get dull and look like crap. 2 part finishes will probably last longer, but cost more and are more finicky to apply. I am not a chemist, this is just my experience. The worst luck I've EVER had with varnish on a boat was Min Wax spar which didn't even last one season. The sun just ate it up. My 2 cents.

Is spar varnish the same as spar urethane? I used spar urethane

Enough with the chit chat, post some more pictures. I'm planning to do this but painting my stripped and weathered front bumper with Rustoleum primer from the can is the most I've done so far and that was just to make the car look more uniform since the car is silver and the bumper was stripped down to its natural black color. The primer went on well and didn't seem to be proaned to running. I put it on thick since I have stress cracks in the bumper along with several good size pits from over zealous stripping that I'll need to figure out how to fill.

TorqueWENCH ! I stand corrected and cravenly beg your pardon ( imagine now that I'm groveling at your wenchly feet). Saw the pic and it is good. If the rest of the car comes out like your mirror it'll look great.
Dave

thanks Dave!
here's the group i'm working on

look, i made a face!

(bear in mind, everyone, that i'm using a foam brush, not a roller, due to the small size of the parts, and the contours. because of this, i don't ever have to 'tip',
and doing it with a roller would be a little less precise on some of these areas. i shall use a roller on the wing and quarter panels, when i get to them)

on both mirrors, i stripped them completely to bare metal, then used spray-on black rust-oleum primer, inside and out, in lots of light coats, until a nice dark solid coverage was acheived. i wet-sanded the primer afterwards.
before each coat, i wipe the part with mineral spirits to remove any residues, and let it air dry. then i wipe lightly with tack cloth to remove any lint or chinchilla fur(thanks a lot, Kazooie and Totoro)

i work in a clean, warm, temperature-stable, low-humidity environment, where dust and debris is vacuum'd daily from my work area, i have a window fan blowing fumes out the window,
and i use kitchen implements like rubber spatulas and pyrex measuring cups so i can be precise in my stirring, measuring, and clean-up. a new piece of 2-ply paper-poly drop cloth used each time and disposed of. making sure to keep the parts undisturbed while they dry. and giving each coat enough time to dry. the can says 16 hours between recoats, but i double that time before color-sanding, to account for thicker gummy spots.


jeff,
i don't think any runs in a vertical panel will detract from the result. just coat and sand as you have been. runs in my mirrors just meant a little extra careful pressure on that spot until level and the seam line removed. the next coat is forgiving.

F.I.E.R.O,
i've heard of that too, but i don't want to introduce too many variables into my project, as i'm already going to do something along those lines in mixing Kustom metal flake in red and gold into my clear coats of spar urethane, airbrused on in several layers. i'm going to test this on a spare panel i have cleaned up, before trying it out on my colorcoated parts.

here's my rocker panel:


i don't post as often as i otherwise could, because i'm also working on my other project, my WS6-esque taillight mod:

but that helps moderate my tendency to wanna rush drying times, or to cut corners.

[This message has been edited by TorqueWench (edited 01-29-2007).]

Work has begun again--

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Proud Member of the North Florida Fiero club

4T60E Parks harness/ Rockcrawl chip-- more to come--

Someone must be really upset about Ann Nicole Smith passing away....

Well, I was unhappy with the coverage I was getting with the 50/50 mix of mineral spirits and primer so I did a coat of primer without mineral spirits. It covered well but did not self level. The texture was about like a latex wall paint sooooo---
I spent about an hour wet sanding it today.

Thats looking great, I have read that entire thread on MoParts. Rustoleum----v

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You never know what will happen next.

the coverage is very thin, but it has to be for the process to work. Many thin layers will eventually cover it.

If you are in a hurry then this isn't the process to use. One thick layer may cover it, but it will not look like auto paint.

[This message has been edited by DandRauto (edited 02-14-2007).]

When I did my car, it took about 9 coats for complete coverage. First 4 - 5 could still see orginal color and it looked like crap, and I started getting worried. Rofl... But in my sig you see it turned out alright. All I have left is buff and wax. But that will come later, working on making it actually drive straite now.

quote Originally posted by TorqueWench: i don't post as often as i otherwise could, because i'm also working on my other project, my WS6-esque taillight mod:

Wow! those are awesome!, when you gonna start selling notchback lights like that for my Formula?

so, can someone post an updated exactly-what-u-need list?

Yeah this is what you will need.

1.Your color of Rustoleum Paint. For the Fiero I used 3 Quarts.

2.Orderless Mineral Spirits

3.High Density Foam Rollers (Come in a contractor pack of 5)

4.Cheapo paint roller trays. (the paint hardens on top but remains a goo on the bottom and I did not want to go through the hassle of cleaning them)

5.A warmer environment. dose not have to be extremely warm, I painted mine this winter in my garage and only had it heated to 65. I hear of people painting in extreme cold, but the drying times were longer.

6.A container of Cool Whip or other like container to mix the paint in. I found it alot easyer then trying to work out of the can.

7.Paint mixing sticks.

8.1000 - 2000 grit sanding paper for the orange peel.

9.Water bottle for the wet sanding.

This is pretty much all that I needed. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

do you have some pictures we can see, Para? i wanna see!!!!!
black and orange? is the wing black or orange?

Yeah let me put some pictures on my web server, and I will post them.

quote Originally posted by ParaStatic: Yeah this is what you will need. 1.Your color of Rustoleum Paint. For the Fiero I used 3 Quarts. 2.Orderless Mineral Spirits 3.High Density Foam Rollers (Come in a contractor pack of 5) 4.Cheapo paint roller trays. (the paint hardens on top but remains a goo on the bottom and I did not want to go through the hassle of cleaning them) 5.A warmer environment. dose not have to be extremely warm, I painted mine this winter in my garage and only had it heated to 65. I hear of people painting in extreme cold, but the drying times were longer. 6.A container of Cool Whip or other like container to mix the paint in. I found it alot easyer then trying to work out of the can. 7.Paint mixing sticks. 8.1000 - 2000 grit sanding paper for the orange peel. 9.Water bottle for the wet sanding. This is pretty much all that I needed. If you have any other questions feel free to ask.

cost?

theoretically, $50.00
i spent quite a bit more than that, though, for a quart of Interlux Brightside in Black Gloss, their Brushing Liquid,
lots and lots of sand paper,
a few Pyrex measuring cups, small and medium, to use instead of a roller pan.
and kitchen spatulas and a couple of small plastic ladles, to get paint out of the can without pouring directly out of the can.
but the basics should run you 50clams or less, and you can get started.
and in my case,
other than the paint and sand paper,
the other implements are reusable, so i thought it a good deal, even above the 50bux spent.