Quil

Not long ago, I took my first crack at painting my car myself. Spent a lot of hours sanding off the rattle can primer the previous owner had sprayed on, and then priming and blocking, priming and blocking. Put a lot of effort into the body prep, and sprayed the car in SEM Hot Rod Black, a satin black finish. I didn't do too well the first time. Got a lot of runs, bad coverage, sags in the paint....overall pretty poor job.

Blocked that layer back down and tried to get everything as even as I could. Did a much better job in masking, prepping, etc this time. Sprayed the paint again, and I did much better this time. Still far from perfect, but pretty good for my first time and a half. I feel like I could do better now if I did it again, and maybe I will someday. Don't even want to think about it right now...just want to enjoy the car.

So I got the car painted, ready to go, and finally drove the car to work for the first time. By the time I got to work, something was bad wrong in the driver's side rear. Looked at my rim, and the lugs had backed out and the studs chewed the holy crap out of the rim...I had the stock 15 inch ralleys on then. Saw the window of opportunity and ordered a set of 17x8 Coys C5s in gunmetal gray, and had BFG G-Force Sports put on, 255/45/17s.

Got the new rims and tires on today, and its a new car. Hope you guys enjoy. I know a lot of people dislike the satin black color, and that's fine...I really like it, and I think it looks great with the rims. On to the pics...



























Thanks for looking

demonx

Hey I don't like satin black - but it looks like a pretty good job you did.

I've just started stripping the paint from my ride a couple weeks ago so I'm sure I'll go through all the same problems you did!

Congrats on the new paint and wheels anyhow.

ed1655

omg man, i've actaully never seen a "satin" black. i've seen matte, and of course, glossy and metalic - that's absolutely SICK!!!!!! i'm beside myself in awe and the wheels are one of my favorites. think they go great with the pain to boot. congrats!

Jughead

meh, not for me.

Your missing an antenna.

dbeall1968

You did some nice work there, and I love the wheels. BTW, my uncle lived in Eagle River from the late 40's until around 1978.

Saint's Shark

I like the combination as a whole. I don't think the satin would have looked as good if you had gone with polished aluminum or chrome wheels. Thanks for posting the pics!

Budman68

Very nice. I would black out the bright work. Trim, etc.

They are now painting $100k super cars satin Black. Must be a popular thing to do right now.

Fast81

I like it

rrent

that rocks --

jotto

Loving the colour! I am in two minds as to go for matt or satin myself. Perhaps I ought to put up another pic request to get some ideas.

Any tips on what you did for prep and actually spraying her? Did you do it at home or in a booth?

northernSS

Wow, Alaska... You get to enjoy that car even less that I do mine here in Edmonton. I think that satin would look real good in person.

MN-Brent

very nice.

Whats the backspacing on those Coy 17x8 rims?

Quil

That's cool. You spelled "you're" wrong.

Eagle River is beautiful, especially this time of year. We've been having great weather. Thanks for the compliment.

I don't either. Polished or chrome never really crossed my mind...I knew I either wanted gunmetal or maybe black. I thought the gunmetal matched the interior pretty well, and the brushed lip matched the ceramic coated headers and pipes.

Prep was a matter or getting rid of the nasty primer that was on there for starters. If I had to do it again, I'd use a chemical stripper or even the razor blade trick, as sanding took forever and gave me some uneven spots. I used Nason 2k urethane primer, and blocked it with 400grit sandpaper. There's probably 5 total coats of primer on it. Masked everything off with the help of the wife, and created the booth. Then used a good degreaser to remove surface contaminants, and tack cloths to get all the dust off. Actually spraying the car is about 10% of the job.


Yeah, not too bad. Got it out in May this year, and hopefully will get some time through November before putting it away for the winter.

4" backspace

Thanks for all the comments. Like I said, I don't expect everyone to like it, and that's fine. It's not for everyone. I like it, and it was very cost-effective so I'm happy with it. It's just a driver anyways, so it'll do until I can do a body-off resto down the line sometime.

sixxgunn13

Wow,

I like it! my wife is reading next to me and she thinks that Matte/Satin black should only be on Rat rods..lol

I plan to repaint my 80... and black is one color that i like, Satin/Matte is a nice option... besides its you're car. Do as you please.

nice rim combo as well.

mg267

i purchased my car from a young man in az, who had not painted it, it was just the flat black primer. i intended to paint it til i saw it up close in person. i really like the flat look, but it is kind of uneven on my car.. i was looking out at my car one day when it was raining outside and i was like wow i wish i could give it that look all the time.. now i am looking at your pic and im thinking wow thats what i want.. to me it looks like a "wet flat black" with perfect amout of "sheen". anyway, i know like you said some people dont like the look, but i think it looks great. you have my vote and thanks for the idea!!

mg

pbcanney

I like the wheels and the pipes and the color

but, I'm not big on satin finishes on cars. even lead sled mercs with suede/satin.. just looks like it's 'almost finished'.

jbowles49

I am impressed!!! Very nice effect. BTW I lived in Palmer for 19 years. Are the Valley Cruzers still around. Your car would be great in their show.

Quil

The Valley Cruzers are indeed still around...we have a lot of combo meets with them and the Anchorage Corvette Association. You know how people love their summer toys up here.

blueray72

very sick.. Get some lowered springs and I bet a lot of people will change their opinion. My suggestion, clear the tail lights and use colored bulbs. I don't know how they make the tail lights clear, but I know it would look great on this car.

gatorbcn

Gloss black stripes might be cool.