Build thread - new paint and body for 220K mile SC400
09-05-11, 10:16 AM
#33
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Hood before:
Hood after:
I used the blue Norton Rapid-Strip pads from Home Depot on my angle grinder. Takes the paint off right quick but doesn't harm the metal. I do have swirl marks all over as you can see, but I'm really hoping they're more visual than deep. Epoxy should tell me what the situation is and if I'll need to put some 2k primer over it.
Or I could just clear it and leave it like it is?
That was Saturday. Yesterday I built the paint booth in my garage with plastic sheeting, strips of cardboard from the box for my brand new water heater ($600 bucks I didn't want to spend last week), and a lot of duct tape and staples.
Outside:
Inside:
Results of shaved antenna:
The first layer that will go on the car:
What I saw from my front yard when I finished up in the garage last night:
Yes, I live in the country.
Today the plan is to figure out what kind of ventilation I'm going to need. I have a box fan and a centrifugal style blower, and I'm hoping that the blower will outflow the box fan. If it does, it will be my intake and the box fan will be my exhaust, and I'll have a positive-pressure booth. This is what I'm going for because the positive pressure inside blows outward through any gaps or crevices, instead of a negative pressure setup which sucks dust and stuff in through those same gaps. We'll see what I have to work with and go from there. Once I've got that sorted out, all I'll really need is a respirator and a couple of zipper doors (and to finish masking) and I should actually be ready to spray for my first time ever.
Hood after:
I used the blue Norton Rapid-Strip pads from Home Depot on my angle grinder. Takes the paint off right quick but doesn't harm the metal. I do have swirl marks all over as you can see, but I'm really hoping they're more visual than deep. Epoxy should tell me what the situation is and if I'll need to put some 2k primer over it.
Or I could just clear it and leave it like it is?
That was Saturday. Yesterday I built the paint booth in my garage with plastic sheeting, strips of cardboard from the box for my brand new water heater ($600 bucks I didn't want to spend last week), and a lot of duct tape and staples.
Outside:
Inside:
Results of shaved antenna:
The first layer that will go on the car:
What I saw from my front yard when I finished up in the garage last night:
Yes, I live in the country.
Today the plan is to figure out what kind of ventilation I'm going to need. I have a box fan and a centrifugal style blower, and I'm hoping that the blower will outflow the box fan. If it does, it will be my intake and the box fan will be my exhaust, and I'll have a positive-pressure booth. This is what I'm going for because the positive pressure inside blows outward through any gaps or crevices, instead of a negative pressure setup which sucks dust and stuff in through those same gaps. We'll see what I have to work with and go from there. Once I've got that sorted out, all I'll really need is a respirator and a couple of zipper doors (and to finish masking) and I should actually be ready to spray for my first time ever.
09-12-11, 08:53 PM
#37
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Finally got to bust out the spray gun over the weekend! 
Ventilation for the booth:
I only had two fans running on low and had negative pressure in the booth, as shown by the bellied-in walls here:
Masked windshield and engine bay:
And we have primer!
Didn't quite get even coverage on the roof, may put that on the "spot reprime" list:
The hood had runs and orange peel like it was going out of style, as it was the first piece sprayed and I didn't have my gun dialed in yet. I had to take it outside the next day and block wetsand the living hell out of it to get it smooth again. It's getting recoated, hopefully a lot smoother this time.
Passenger fender turned out the best of all, with only one tiny run near the bottom and no orange peel.
And the ever popular aerial shot, from the stepstool I was using to reach the roof and the top of the hanging hood:
SPI's epoxy primer is pretty awesome stuff, in my "vast" experience. I've been wetsanding it and getting it glass-smooth with no problems. With a little spot respraying, I should be good to go on laying down base and clear and can skip the 2k primer step. My bodywork looks real good, just need to get the primer surface to match and I'll be in good shape. I'm hoping to order 1.5 gallons sprayable of 3L2 from Pro-Spray and a gallon or two of SPI Universal Clear tomorrow so I can lay them down this weekend. If all goes well, I should have the body and hood colored and cleared so I can drop the car and roll it out of the garage. That should give me room to hang the doors, decklid and maybe a couple of small parts. Once those are all done I'll hopefully have sideskirts and door moldings (still haven't acquired them) and I can spray all the plastics from primer to clear. Then, reassembly!
Ventilation for the booth:
I only had two fans running on low and had negative pressure in the booth, as shown by the bellied-in walls here:
Masked windshield and engine bay:
And we have primer!
Didn't quite get even coverage on the roof, may put that on the "spot reprime" list:
The hood had runs and orange peel like it was going out of style, as it was the first piece sprayed and I didn't have my gun dialed in yet. I had to take it outside the next day and block wetsand the living hell out of it to get it smooth again. It's getting recoated, hopefully a lot smoother this time.
Passenger fender turned out the best of all, with only one tiny run near the bottom and no orange peel.
And the ever popular aerial shot, from the stepstool I was using to reach the roof and the top of the hanging hood:
SPI's epoxy primer is pretty awesome stuff, in my "vast" experience. I've been wetsanding it and getting it glass-smooth with no problems. With a little spot respraying, I should be good to go on laying down base and clear and can skip the 2k primer step. My bodywork looks real good, just need to get the primer surface to match and I'll be in good shape. I'm hoping to order 1.5 gallons sprayable of 3L2 from Pro-Spray and a gallon or two of SPI Universal Clear tomorrow so I can lay them down this weekend. If all goes well, I should have the body and hood colored and cleared so I can drop the car and roll it out of the garage. That should give me room to hang the doors, decklid and maybe a couple of small parts. Once those are all done I'll hopefully have sideskirts and door moldings (still haven't acquired them) and I can spray all the plastics from primer to clear. Then, reassembly!
09-13-11, 10:44 AM
#42
What part of CO are you from? Id love to see your car some time and maybe pick your brain a bit too. I'm getting ready to do a vortech blower and some body work too and could really use some pointers.
09-13-11, 07:20 PM
#43
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Thanks for all the positive comments, guys. You're not the only ones anxious to see a finished product here lol - I haven't driven this car in over a year and I'm pretty over it. Can't wait to mob around in this ride.
This afternoon I ordered up color and clear, and tonight I did some more wet-sanding. Got the hood, both quarters, the fenders and the roof about 95%; need to do one more fender and wheel arch and I can redo the spots that need it. Get them solid and I should be ready for color on Saturday and clear on Sunday.
Matt - I'll PM you.
This afternoon I ordered up color and clear, and tonight I did some more wet-sanding. Got the hood, both quarters, the fenders and the roof about 95%; need to do one more fender and wheel arch and I can redo the spots that need it. Get them solid and I should be ready for color on Saturday and clear on Sunday.
Matt - I'll PM you.
09-17-11, 11:56 PM
#44
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Damn color didn't come until later yesterday afternoon, and it didn't include reducer like I thought it would. Made a wasted trip to the Springs in search of some, but was skunked and will have to try again today (Sunday). Hoping to find the right stuff, mix up some color, and at least lay a basecoat on. Friday night I resprayed primer on the hood and some of the spots that needed it on the car, and it turned out pretty well, although I need to wetsand some little nibs and bits of crap out before I spray color. Hopefully I can have some red pics to post up tomorrow.
