Back in beige

[Mitch]

Nice work Jamie
And exactly the flat look you're after?

[jamie]

Nice military look, but not quite what I'm aiming for... I think I've now found the paint I need, but I will keep quiet till I've seen a sample in real life.

Seam sealer is on. It looks like a child has done it, but hopefully it won't be noticeable after the second coat of epoxy. I had no idea where it was supposed to go, and not go, so I just did everything. It there was a seam, it got sealed. Absolutely everywhere except that bit where the rear wing attaches to the B-pillar in the door shut - hate to see that filled.

Here's the nicer bits. I used Upol Tiger Seal out of a tube, then an old toothbrush to make it look brushed:

[jamie]

Last welding job on the shell - the double-skinned seatbelt mounts had rotted through.



Barry offered to repair these when he had the shell, but we worked out it would be cheaper for me to buy the new part from Restoration Design. I got them whilst working in the US last year, but didn't get them over to Barry before he had finished the rest of the shell.



This evening I cut out the old mounts and welded these new ones in. They went in nicely, but I didn't feel great about the idea of grinding the welds flush with the panels. I know the welds should be as strong as the metal itself, but this is a seatbelt mount, so I decided to grind the welds flat, but leave them a bit chunky as extra insurance.

This looked much neater on the other side!



Painted



I expect that once I've applied the sound-deadening paint to the inside, and stonechip to the inner arch, you shouldn't be able to see anything.

The seam-sealer was dry, so I put on another coat of epoxy. This made the seam-sealer look much neater.







Again, I plan to paint the boot in sound-deadener paint, which has a texture like stonechip, so it will cover the seams anyway.

In other news, I spoke to my paint guy today - he just found out his landlord is terminating the lease on his workshop (to build houses, of course), so he won't be able to take the car for a few months until they've found somewhere new to move to

So I suppose I either wait, or invest in some Durablocks and a better spray gun.

I'm getting quite into this now, and love the idea of block-sanding it myself. Not sure I have the balls, though.

[Darren65]

I'm getting quite into this now, and love the idea of block-sanding it myself. Not sure I have the balls, though.

Do it!........you'll be legend!

[Darren65]

......you'll be legend!

....well, a bit more legend!

[jamie]

Bit worried that it's one of those things that takes years to master. Till yesterday I'd never put paint on a car. Today I put paint on the car, and it still looks like I'd never put paint on a car.

Luckily, I own a whole box of sandpaper.

Perhaps if I knew what I was doing, I'd feel more confident. I had planned to put some primer, stonechip and sound-deadener on the car, and hand it over to the paint place.

If I were to do this myself, what would be the next step? So far I've primed, seam-sealed, primed again. Now I can either do a third coat or, or start applying the stonechip. It doesn't look like I'm going to need a third coat - I put lots of that shite everywhere (I even turned the car upside down and poured quarter of a mixing cup down the wheel arches to it pooled in seam at the top of the rear wheel arch, and trickled out on to the C-pillars).

The stonechip I have is Dinitrol 445 and 447. One is soft, for the arches, one is hard, for the rest. I can't remember which goes where, but it's on their website.

After the stonechip, I presume that's when i go with the high-build primer?

How the f*** did I end up in a situation where I was even considering painting this myself?

[sladey]

Jon Miller gave me some perspective on this. You're either going to put too little on or too much or just enough.

Too little - rub it back and do it again (if you get runs there's a trick to sorting these you - YouTube it)

Too much - rub it back and polish it up

Just right - smile

You could practice on the front wings - worst case you end up sanding off what you've done. If you get so you're happy with them try the bumpers. Then bonnet and boot. If you sort them then it'd be rude not to finish it off

Make sure you've got a couple of water filters on your air line, and an inline gauge so you know the pressure you're spraying at

I don't know if there's an issue in flatting the paint back given the unusual finish you want to go for. Similarly with silver I think there's an issue about getting the sparkliness consistent.

Maybe try the engine lid and see how you get on (not too big and few awkward curves)

All you've got to lose is the cost of the paint. I know it's not cheap but similarly it won't break you. Oh and your time. But it would be pretty cool to have sprayed the car yourself - think what else you could buy with the money you save

[Darren65]

If you're staying with silver the big issue will be that you're applying a base coat of colour followed by lacquer and you wouldn't be able to sand the colour.

It may be preferential to stick with a solid colour in solvent (beige is nice!) and that way you can wet-flat (colour sand) to your hearts content....or until you go through the paint!

Applying the paint is the easy part, it's the preparation that will determine the final look.....


.......but then you know that!

[sladey]

Ah yes I remember now that's one of the reasons I went to a solid colour

[jamie]

Thanks guys. I think I'll just go on, doing one stage at a time, and give it to someone else if I get unhappy with the results.

I'll do a third coat of epoxy just to be happy. I ordered a second batch with some dark grey tint, so I can ensure full coverage.

Then what? Underseal time? Or filler and high-build primer?

[Darren65]

I'll do a third coat of epoxy just to be happy......

...I wouldn't put too much on, you could lose your gaps etc.

The process we follow from bare metal is.....

Epoxy.....filler work....expoxy.....high build primer....seam seal....underseal.....sound pads.....colour......lacquer (if metallic or using water based)......black as necessary......

Some people paint with the wings on (as did the factory) although we prefer to get as much paint in between seams/joins as possible so paint these off....we need the extra protection over here...

....things to watch.....too much paint behind your hinges will mess up your door gaps......do your filler work early with wings and doors on; prep, prep and prep some more if you want the car flat, arrow straight and slab sided.....a lack of preparation tends to show most when in final colour......and at every stage make sure your panels continue to fit well; these tend to go on and off countless times, a pain but crucial to ensure everything continues to fit well.

...oh....and if your painting solvent, wear an air fed mask or you could poison yourself!

If at any stage you have a problem then give me a call and I'll ask Rich to talk you through things.

Best of luck

[sladey]

One tip on the font wings I got from Jon Miller. Pour epoxy mastic into the double-skinned bit at the rear - fills the gap and hopefully prevents them going again

[jjeffries]

Jamie, statement of the obvious, but be sure to choose one brand of paint/materials, then stick with that product line from the undercoats/primers up through sealers and top coats. Best not to mix different brands. More importantly, take your health and self-preservation very seriously; be aware of what you're about to spray. Sometimes this alone will encourage the would-be DIY-er to hand off the job to a pro. John in CT/USA

[jamie]

Thanks John.

I just sprayed the inside and underside of the car with five cans of Dinitrol in an enclosed garage. I didn't realise how rammed-full of VOCs that stuff is and I got high as shite.

It was fantastic - had the multi-tiered state of consciousness thing going on, with big insights into life events past and present, including some good decisions on how to proceed with the car. I was in the garage for six hours and got loads of stuff done - I've just come back into the house and it's 3.30am.

I don't condone substance abuse, but that was utterly fantastic. Probably wouldn't do it again, though.

[sladey]

Yeah that dinitrol man, that's some good sh1t.

You crazy kids!