Interesting about the clear. Is that related to the paint brand or type (silver) or is that a common practice? I would have thought more curing time would be OK since you might have a final sanding in between the color and the clear. Anywho..... keep it up and keep posting pics as I am following this with a lot of interest. I have rollered some cars and someday I will have a real paint setup.
Whenever you paint a car, the manufacturer puts a time span on how long you can wait before clearcoating. In this case, if you let the paint sit and dry for more than an hour, you will have to wetsand it to open the paint back up to accept the clearcoat. If you didn't wetsand after the manufacturers recommended time had passed, the clearcoat would not lay down smooth and you could have a ruined paint job. Each paint manufacturer has different dry times and maximum dry times that determine how long after the paint dries you can apply the clear. You could have gotten away with painting the entire car first, but you would have to wetsand the entire car before clearcoat. Silver, depending on the size of the flake, can be ruined by too much sanding. The only thing I will recommend is that when you are finally done with the paint, wetsand the edges where the colors meet and respray the clear over the edges to level them out. By the way, I really like the color combo
Sorry but there will be no pics tonight. I had to get up early and go do a normal job that pays actual money. I didn't get home till a little after 2pm. I started to put the front end back together when I realized that the belt line molding on the front fenders is installed with push on nuts and not clips. I had not yet painted those molding pieces so I did not install any of the front end. I didn't want to have to take everything back off again just to install the molding on the fenders. So I prepped and painted the fender moldings today. Tomorrow I will install the front end and then take some pics.
No. She does not want any body mods. She wants the girly girl look. She is not interested in making the car look agressive. All I can do is "try" to push her in the right directions but it is "her" car and she is going to have it "her" way.
I went outside today to install all the front end back on. I realized I was down to 4 of the aluminum rivets to attach panels so off to Autozone I go. No dice, autozone does not carry rivets that big (1/4"). Off to Advace Auto I go. No dice, they dont carry them that big either. Off to NAPA I go, no luck there either. Off to Town & Country Hardware, nope. Off to Ace Hardware, nope, Off to Home Depot, nope. Off to Harbor freight (where the rivet gun was purchased), nope. Off to Fastenal... Get there and they have moved so off to their new location, Nope but their store in naples has 1 box of 100 left. Off to Fastenal in Naples, FINALLY! 115 miles and 4 hours later I get the proper size rivets.
After all of this, I still managed to get the whole front end back on and adjusted, just in time to take some pics in the sun.
Front view (lower air dam is not installed yet). I still need to paint the belt line molding on the bumper.
Side view (door panel is not attached). It's just hanging there for the pic. New front marker light installed and belt line trim painted.
Couple of side view pics with my car in the background just for color reference.
I like mine without it on.. If you do reinstall it, paint it with a nice black and put the semi gloss clear on. I also suggest you do the same with the "ground effects" under the doors.
I have been dealing with an absessed tooth since Saturday afternoon. I went to the dentist on Monday and got a perscription for antibiotics. Tooth (whats left of it) gets pulled on the 20th. Because of the tooth I lost a couple days work on the car but I have been hard at it for the last 2 days now. Pics will follow tomorrow night.
I'm getting closer to being completed. I just sprayed the black on the lower portion of the rear bumper and on the backside of the headlight doors. I am going to clear those areas in about 20 mins. I still have to put the drivers side door back together IE Interior parts and mirror. All that is really left now is the lower rockers and the belt line moldings.
Notchback acrylic sail window inserts... Not the best pic due to the location of the sun but they are extremely nice looking. I will get a better pic tomorrow.
We will be selling these in solid black only for right now. They will be $45.00 a pair plus $8.00 shipping & handling.
For my first time ever painting a car, I am pleased. My girlfriend loves it and is finally not embarrassed to drive it.. There is a few flaws, namely runs and dust in the clear, but most of that will be rectified when I cut and buff. Due to time constraints and the amount of things I need to accomplish before the Daytona show, it will not be cut and buffed till after the show.
I have finally got to start on "my" hood (installing my hood sccop) and I am working on the final parts of her car in between working on my hood.
[This message has been edited by JimmyS (edited 03-15-2009).]
Nice job mate! Going to be a great ride once you get that spoiler on her! (Your car not your girlfriend!!!!!) Not to be ingnorant but that is a few times now I have heard teh term "cut and buff". I know what the buff part means but what does the cut mean?
Nice job mate! Going to be a great ride once you get that spoiler on her! (Your car not your girlfriend!!!!!) Not to be ingnorant but that is a few times now I have heard teh term "cut and buff". I know what the buff part means but what does the cut mean?
Cut is when you use 2,000-3,000 grit sand paper and wet sand the clear coat to remove ann orange peel, dust particles or runs. Then you use a rubbing compound with a buffer and then a polishing compound with the buffer. When your all done, the clear should be smooth as glass.
WOW This thread made it to the construction zone. I feel honored.
I was outside working on my hood today. My girfriends car was sitting in the driveway. An older black gentleman pulled into my driveway with a 1985 Caddy. I fully expected him to ask if I painted cars. I expected this cause it has happened at leat 50 times since I started working on her car. He began to tell me that lives just down the road about a mile and had been watching me working on Danielle's car. He just wanted to stop and say great job. He asked how long I have been doing body work and painting cars. He was shockingly surprised when I told him that her car was my first time ever painting a car. He then said "you missed your calling". We talked cars for about 15 mins and he shook my hand and headed down the road.
With times the way they are in the USA these days. It was a pleasant treat to have someone (stranger) stop just to say hey and good job.
[This message has been edited by JimmyS (edited 03-16-2009).]
Come to think of it...Nope. I got so wraped up in doing my car that I completely forgot to take pics of hers complete. I will get some pics of it sometime this week and post them.
I just read this whole tread. Nice job! I have started body work on my Fiero, after three failed trials with body shops. I have a guy that is a bike builder and he is showing me, how to do the body work on my car.
Now all you need is this headliner: This is my re-do of a headliner. I left the impression of the fiero emblem in the center of the headliner. This took several trys to get right but I was finally satisfied with the results. This is what it now looks like: http://i28.photobucket.com/...CrazyDragon123/7.jpg
[This message has been edited by CrazyDragn (edited 09-04-2009).]
Looks good. Just to revisit what was said recently. Diff paint manufacturers recommend diff drying times before clear. Some (like brands i use) clear is applied right over base like another coat of paint waiting only to tack. Others allow up to 24 hours. Ive never seen any brand (except laquer) that would let you wait longer than 24 hours to clear without having to rescuff and mist coat the base color back on. You really NEVER sand basecoats before clearing...especially silvers and golds due to the streaks sanding makes in it. Once you clear over the streaks, theryre there forever. Proper way to do what your doing would be to paint all the colors and clear in the same day (what I ususally do, and a longggg day). Otherwise you put one coat of clear over each color as you finish it. If you use PPG products, they even make a special clear for doing just that for custom paint work. Then when you are done with all the base colors, you can scuff all of it lightly and put on all the clear you want in a couple of days without any streaking on the whole thing. I have a feeling you will see what I mean by the streaking in the silvers after you finish clearing and buffing it out. It will look like light and dark lines in the directions you sanded the metallic particles.
[This message has been edited by rogergarrison (edited 09-13-2009).]
I love evrything about it 
A+
