Well just the body. I have not done the doors or conv deck lid yet. They will actually be done in about a month or so. I want to put the dash back together before hanging the doors back on so I will have room to work. Thanks to everyone that has helped me through this project so far. My solution to the FE problem and scratch's was to wet sand the base and then reapply another coat. This worked very well and I do not see any scratch's through the clear. I painted the car black and am very pleased with how straight I got the body prior to painting. I did have a couple of issues when applying the clear but hopefully they will come out when I do my cut and buff. First issue was that sweat dropped off of my arm in a couple of places and caused a run. I dryed the area with the wife's hair dryer (Not advisable for obvious reasons :lol: ). Then scuffed the area with some 400 and re applied several coats of clear. I also managed to get a couple of bugs dance a jig in the clear :smash: :mad . And lastly I do have some orange peel. But all in all I am happy with the outcome. Right now I say I will never do this again but I bet as time goes by it wasnt as bad as I think now.

Now on to my next question. What type of machine are you using to buff the paint out after sanding? What about the areas that you can't use a machine like the door jams and close to the edges of doors , jams, wheel wells etc. ?

 

Wade, first off, Congrats!!!! I know you're really glad to be finished with the paint and I know you'll be pleased in the long run. The pain of the many hours of work will fade with time.

Since you've got some orange peel and bug/dust nibs, you should first color sand the clear with 1500 to 2000 grit wet. Use a soft rubber block, LOTS of clean water, and only sand in one direction. I've seen lots of folks using the Makita 9227 buffer/polisher for final cutting and buffing. Granted, I didn't do the sanding on my job myself, but I have since wet sanded out a few small runs that were on the underside and I've done lots of buffing to smooth out the finish. I've been using the 3M compounds and am pleased with the results.

Shannon

 

Hey Wade!

Cool - I'm glad it came out good.
I use a Makita variable speed buffer. I never sand anything I can't buff. The door jambs should be fine without color sanding and buffing.

 

Thanks guys. I will finally have pictures Thursday that I can post. :cheers:

 

Congrats on completing the paint job. You will forget the misery in a little while and even entertain doing it again, at least i know I do. As far as buffing goes it's hard to beat the Makita. Make sure you get the variable speed one that is electronically controlled and has a max speed setting dial. This is model 9227C which goes for about $180 - $200. You should also think about getting a good dual action like the Porter Cable. Once your done buffing and polishing with the Makita you can go over the car with 3M Swirl and Haze Reducer using the Porter Cable and get an absolutely swirl free finish.

 

Congrats!!!!!

The Makita is the buffer of choice. With the variable speed option, you can even buff the jambs with it set on "1" without a risk of burning the paint. I've used mine on low to buff out oxydized paint on my sister-in-laws car and it made it look new.

But Wade, we still need to see some pics . . . :D

 

I Know, I know. As much as I have talked about this project the last few weeks I need to get some pics posted to proove this car actually exists. I finished up a roll last night and am going to take it to 1hr photo this evening. Then I will get a guy to scan a couple for me to post in the morning. I was going to have them put on disk and then post them all but that would take a week to get them back. You should see something tomorrow. :cheers: