Rockn-Roll

When I bought my vette the front bumper was cracked, and the rear was starting to crack. My rear bumper is now in pieces and I've taken the front one off. I also bought new bumpers...the front fits perfect, but the rear is a bit too narrow...about 1/8" on each side. I had previously talked to a auto paint shop and they refused to paint my vette cause it's "classic" and said they have had problems with classic car owners before...they recommended an antique car paint shop...so I went there. The antique car paint shop guy said he wanted to strip down the entire nose and rear of my vette to "blend" the color in...I refused to even consider it, but I asked him how much to just paint the bumpers...he said $700 and he will provide the paint.

Now, here's where I call Pacific Corvette, where Merlin is getting his car painted. They were the ones that actually suggusted that I remove the bumper and test the new pieces for fitting. They told me that they would use bondo plastic filler to build up the bumper, then they said they would use DuPont paint and not my $250/gallon custom paint. I've done bondo before and I'm not going to use some cheap $100/gallon paint to touch up a $5,000 adjusted dollar paint job.

For one thing bondo plastic is NOT the same as fiberglass...which my rear bumper is fiberglass. So, when I suggested that they use fiberglass to build up the rear bumper they said it would be a mess...huh? And when we went into paint materials I told them I would supply everything, well, he suggested that I take it to the guy that wants $700 to paint it. Heck, for the $350 left over after paint materials I could buy an air compressor and spray gun then paint it myself!

OK, my driver door has some bubbles that I could fix, AND I could top off the entire car with a fresh clear coat to take those nasty swirl marks off. So, I'm wondering if anyone else has gone this far, what specifications should I look for in a paint gun? I'm shooting an EBU uerethane based paint with a high concentration of fine metalic aluminum...will ANY gun work right, or do I need some special adapters for metalic paint?

I've done body work before including bondo, and worked a bit with fiberglass resin, so I've got that covered...it's just the painting thing that I've never really done. Any web sites that offer tips and techniques? I'll probably practice with my old bumpers just to get it right before taking a step toward the car.

yellow 72

Check out > http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index

69RPOL68

Well, I stripped my 69, did all the body work in fiberglass and ended up using a skim coat of filler in a few places, shot two coats of red oxide primer and two coats of gray, sanded like the factory. I was feeling pretty good about how well things were going so I began thinking I would shoot the color coats too. I started with the jams and decided that I was not the artist I thought I was. I found a local custom car builder that I took it to. Everthing was off and I taped it up with the exception of the ZL-1 stripe. He shot it for $400 plus $400 materials. I did the color sanding and buffing.

I can see somebody being reluctant to take a cheap job for a nitpicky customer. If you just want them to shoot the car and you'll do everything else ask him and be reasonable your expectations.

dman535

If the time, effort and pain that I am going through on a Sunfish sailboat repair is anything like doing the bodywork on the Corvette it will be left to a pro !

Racer16k

I did mine. I used PPG, DBU I think it was. I had about $1000 in paint by the time I was done with all the epoxy primers, sealers, red base & clear. If you paint a part and don't like it, sand it and paint it again. It's still cheaper that paying for the labor. I think I gave about $50 for my gun & I built the compressor from left overs, but you could get a compressor for a couple hundred $$ to do what your talking about. Good luck, see if you can get one of those guys to give you some tips on doing it right yourself.

GDaina

There's a product called DuraGlass, bondo w/imbedded glass. Strong as granite. I used that as filler on my 68.

Frank75

Check out Lars' article at http://www.bokonon.net/corvettefaq/. If you do a search on air compressors, there's been a couple of interesting threads lately.





[Modified by Frank75, 8:26 PM 4/8/2002]

daves80

hey r&r - even though i think that you have a hard head when it comes to thermostats - har- har - i have a shop a my house here in port orchard and all the tools except a couple of sanding blocks - you are welcome to bring it over here and we can practice on the bumpers of my 82 cutlass untill we get it right - i shot my right fender sunday and was happy with the results - thick paint and 2000 grit can perform miracles - for that matter any of the western wash. forum clan is welcome to come over - dave

Dalannex

You can do the painting by yourself. I didn't know anything about it before I painted my entire vette. It's not that bad. There's plenty of help here.

Rockn-Roll

Thanks Dave...I'll be in contact with you.

74-Roadster

R&R,

In the past I've painted with touch-up guns, detail guns and a Craftsmen siphon feed. I've painted in garages and in driveways, one of the driveways was gravel. :jester Good prep work, color sanding and buffing can do wonders for your results. :D

I just bought decent equipment to do everything myself. I got a Devilbiss Finishline II gun from the Autobody store, $140 on sale and a 7HP CH single stage 6 ga compressor. And of course sanders, sanding blocks, filters, piping, hoses, etc. All-in-all, I've dropped over $1300 in tools etc. and then another $400 for supplies, filler, fiberglass, epoxy, k36, etc. etc. etc. So obviously there is a huge initial cost if you don't have this stuff. All of my old stuff was ancient and I figured it was time to do everything 1st class and enjoy the process, not just the result. :yesnod: But I love bodywork and painting, and customizing a stock body really gets my heart pumping. :cool:

vettedan

Hey Steve! You can handle this. The two biggest areas are matching the paint and shooting metallic and not getting tiger strips. Hey Steve! You can handle this. The two biggest areas are matching the paint and shooting metallic and not getting tiger strips. Wesco auto paints in Auburn can match your paint. I think I would paint them while they’re off your vette or you could wrap the vette in a body bag and shoot them on the vette. You should clear coat the as well so If you paint them in a dirty environment, you can color sand them with 1800 grit and buff it out to a awesome shine. Keep in touch!
Dan

Rockn-Roll

Dan: Thanks for the support. The original paint actually came from Bellevue Auto Supply here in Bellevue...they apparently were bought out by Wesco, cause now the sign says WESCO Auto Body Supply in big letters across the top of the building, then just over the doorways it says "Bellevue Paint Supply". I already talked to them and they can mix it up for me exactly like it was 12 years ago when the previous owner painted it. The type of paint used is known for holding it's color, and the car has been garaged all of the last 12 years and driven only 1,000 miles per year, so I'm very optimistic. But, heck, if it looks like it doesn't match quite right then I can just coat the whole car with the new stuff...that way I'll be sure to get the swirl marks out!

Dave: When do you suppose the thermostat ribbing will end? :rolleyes: