Apr. '05 - Primer and Paint

4/10/05

Busy week this week...took time to clean out the garage and mask off anything I didn't want changing colors and rig up my ventilation fans. After filling a couple more problem areas and pinholes I gave everything a final scuff with 220grit and cleaned it all off....ready to shoot the Featherfill G2 filler primer.

Got some 3/8"-16 threaded rods, 4 2-inch long nuts, and angle aluminum to rig up something to hold the doors without covering up a surface I needed to paint. Hung it from the rafters, but I think I'll make a stand for it out of 2x4 so it sits on the floor at a better height, and so the doors sit straight up and down.

Nothing special for the hood and trunk...

Mixing up a batch of primer here..

And the results left something to be desired. More skill with a paint gun would be good. I'll be practicing before I shoot more. If you need a way to use up all the individually packaged plastic silverware you get with your take-out food that your wife saves to use later, look no further. They make great paint and filler stirrers. Anyway, I had several drips and runs on my first attempt. I kept going anyway, since most of this first layer will get sanded off with the guide coat after it cures for several days. On the plus side, at least to my untrained eye, there were no obvious waves or ripples in the bodywork. We'll see once I start blocking this out, though.

The camera is pretty flattering in all these shots...trust me. Doors:

Rear quarter (dunno why the lighting made this shot look blueish):

Rear:

Trunk:

And the front:

I wish I was a little taller, or I had cut more height off the body buck. I had a hard time reaching the highest points on the body...didn't get complete coverage on the hood jam area in a couple of spots. Any lower with the body buck, though, and I'd be crawling on the floor to hit the low spots.

Got a few chassis items to work on and/or clean up while the body cures a bit.

4/17/05

Didn't take many photos this week...just lots of blocksanding with 220 grit on the first coat of featherfill, and shot another couple of coats. I practiced with the gun using distilled water to get the hang of 'tuning' it, and had much better luck this time. Still not perfect, though. If the Featherfill was any thicker it'd be easier to put it on with a paint roller, even with a 2.2 tip.

I opted not to finish the underside of the hood, but I need to put something on there. I'll probably use some textured bedliner material to cover up the ugly 'glass and fillers on the underside, and put some under the wheel well areas while I'm at it.

I made a stand for my door-holding contraption since hanging it from the rafters allowed it to sit at an angle. This way they stand straight up and down as they will on the car.

And a shot from the front, with everything left out to cure in the sun the next day. Only had runs in a couple of places, but they'll block out easily enough before I shoot a sealer primer and color next weekend, hopefully. I just may have this thing done by May after all...

4/23/05

Got the paint on! I ended up going with Pacific Blue, a color on the '05 Toyota 4Runner. Rena and I scouted around dealer lots looking for just the right shade of blue. No stripes for me. It looks much darker here than it seemed when we were checking out shades of blue in a dealer lot, but I still like how it turned out. The sky was cloudy when I took these shots, so it might look a bit lighter with the sun out.

I spent a grueling day yesterday doing the final sanding on the 3rd coat of Featherfill. 220, then 400, then 600. You could start to see some shiney appearance coming back in the primer after the 600. I'll be plenty happy after this project never to sand anything again!

And a shot of the front after final sanding...

Then it was time to clean the garage out again, and give everything a final wipe down with wax & grease remover.

Then it was time to get the redneck paintbooth set up....box fan intake with furnace filter duct-taped (of course) to the incoming air side. Rena kept the ground wet anywhere we might have dust creeping in, and we got the floor in the garage good and wet, too.

And the exhaust side...there's a window about one foot behind that blanket with another box fan blowing out. To stay on good terms with the neighbors, I draped a damp blanket to catch the bulk of any overspray that would get blown out. Mikey supervises, of course.

And the results:

I was after a smokey light blue color, and got something a bit darker, but I still like it!. A speck of dust here or there, minor orange peel and a few drips/runs, but you can't see them unless you're closer than 10 feet. Once I do a little color sanding and buffing, it might even be a 5-foot paintjob. All in all, not bad for a cheap-ass Harbor Freight paint gun in a redneck paint booth! As it turns out, this shade of blue is just about a match for one of my first cars, a well-worn '83 Celica Supra. The blue should be bit lighter in the sunlight...it was cloudy today.

1 coat of DuPont ChomaPremier sealer, 3 coats of ChromaBase, and 3 coats of ChromaClear. Color me happy.

And the front...looks very dark here in this backlit shot.

And passenger side...

Rear quarter area. I was after a lighter color to mask any flaws in my beginner's body work, but I didn't see any flaws that jumped out at me.

And the trunk...I'm glad I didn't do stripes, especially with this color. Some cars need the extra pizazz of stripes. The Cobra ain't one of them, IMHO.

And the doors:

And the hood:

My nice pretty white paint suit was a wreck by the time I was finished. Supplied air mask to keep the nasty stuff out, gloves, paint sock for the melon, etc. Had to crawl around on my knees to make sure I hit the underside and other low parts.