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I got some more work to go yet. A week ago I thought I would climb in the engine compartment and spend a couple hours freshening it up with some cleaning and a couple rattle cans.. yeah right.. so much for that idea.. see pics below.. So anyways, My frame and suspension are painted gloss black, I think I want to paint the firewall and both fender wells with Satin black and then paint all the stuff that I have takin off, Gloss black, and maybe do the fake gold cad paint on all the vacumn stuff that came that way. and I have a couple new stickers for it.. Do you all think that sounds like that would look good? any other ideas or suggestions would be appreciated! And also, is the black ribbed plastic tubing stuff about the best/only way to clean up the wiring?
Last edited by 71coupe454; Mar 22, 2009 at 12:34 AM.
JMO......... I would buy a quart of automotive black and shoot it with a HVLP gun. Much easier this way. Lasts longer and more durable. I would use dupont chroma base with croma clear.
Your car is stripped now. Best time to do a good job under the hood.
Yep I have decent new HVLP gun, Thats what I am going to do since I got carried away and stripped the dang thing out, fingers are about bleeding from the sand paper.. I spent 3-4 more hours on it after I took those pics. Whats the Chroma part of that name mean? I guess I can get it gloss and satin? or add flattener? I read something about that?
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Been there, done that...... When I did my firewall I sanded & filled holes with bondo. I laid down 3 coats of primer & 3 more of Dupli-Color engine enamel in gloss black, dry sanding each coat but the last. I took out the washer hoses & bottle. Hid the headlight door vacuum lines under the brake booster. Fun Fun..............
Yep I have decent new HVLP gun, Thats what I am going to do since I got carried away and stripped the dang thing out, fingers are about bleeding from the sand paper.. I spent 3-4 more hours on it after I took those pics. Whats the Chroma part of that name mean? I guess I can get it gloss and satin? or add flattener? I read something about that?
I used chroma base and chroma clear on all my cars. I prefer high gloss under the hood also. My cars are drivers and I like the duribility of the high gloss better.
Chroma base and chroma clear are basecoat clear coat system. I only use dupont paint. Very expensive but very easy to use. You get what you pay for. JMO...............
It's all in what you want. If you want 'original' look, use semi-flat or satin on panels and semi-gloss on components/accessories. If you want it to be a custom show car, use gloss...but the surfaces better be smooth and clean or the surface flaws will stick out like a 'sore thumb'.
Been there, done that...... When I did my firewall I sanded & filled holes with bondo. I laid down 3 coats of primer & 3 more of Dupli-Color engine enamel in gloss black, dry sanding each coat but the last. I took out the washer hoses & bottle. Hid the headlight door vacuum lines under the brake booster. Fun Fun..............
Been there, done that as well!
Don't do it though unless you are VERY commited to getting it as smooth as possible. Otherwise, just flat black it for an original look. If you really get carried away you can get rid of the heater box and use a Hot Rod Air or Vintage kit.
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
VERY nice SuprJames.... And good words of wisdom. Without all of the sanding there's no way I could've used spray can gloss & had it come out smooth. Oh, nice motor too........
VERY nice SuprJames.... And good words of wisdom. Without all of the sanding there's no way I could've used spray can gloss & had it come out smooth
Fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, fill, sand, sand, sand, and when your finger tips start bleeding, wrap them up and fill and sand some more.
Your pics make me kick myself for not painting my wiper motor silver like my gut told me. No one will notice our hard work until we park our cars in a row of stock C3's with the hood open. The difference in appearance is staggering. Looks great!!
2025 c3 ('74-'82) of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2023 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2022 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2020 C3 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Originally Posted by SuprJames
No one will notice our hard work until we park our cars in a row of stock C3's with the hood open. The difference in appearance is staggering. Looks great!!
Thanks Man. But even some C3 owners at car shows don't notice everything. Like how I drilled a hole in the firewall and ran the wires for the blower motor relay & resistor in to it so they weren't spread out all over the top of the AC box.....
Dang that Gloss sure does look good. I thought satin and gloss mixed between the firewall and parts would look good but now I dunno after seeing that.
Completely depends on what you are going for. You need to have a vision of what the engine compartment will look like when you are done. If you want a full custom look, the gloss is an option. If you are still giving any consideration at all to stock/original, the gloss will end that.
Yep plenty of holes, wish I would have put some thought into how I could do away with some of them before I stripped it all out. I still got tons of scratches and blemishes to get out of it but its better than what I started with a few days ago.