Painting Update

[Joe Flanagan]

Well, here I am with the sun going down, trying to do some repairs to the hood and trunk lid. I painted them on Monday and wound up with some runs and other mistakes. Trying to fix them only made things worse. Trying to fix the bad fixes made things worse still. Every time I go to shoot paint on a repair, the paint crinkles and lifts. I understand what is happening because I've asked lots of questions and done research on another forum. But every time I turn around it's something else. I feel like I'm locked in an eternal battle with these four pieces (back fenders, hood, and trunk lid). So now I'm spraying base on the last round of repairs. If it goes well, I'll shoot clear after that and I'll be done. Tomorrow I go to Cape Cod for a week and I would love to have this behind me. I'll give you an update later. Pics too, I hope.

[Normspeed]

Joe, no matter what, Cape Cod should be a great week. Haven't been there for years but really loved it. Enjoy your visit.

[55 Fargo]

Joe, hope all goes well with final attempt on the base. Maybe takinga break and going to Cape Cod is a good idea, give the base a chance to fully cured, even though it's urethane, maybea little more time will help for re-shoots.

Looking forward to yuor pics.........Fred ps it's not that easy to paint a car, it takes time to learn as you and I both know.......Fred

[Normspeed]

I'm still on the fence about jumping in on the paint and body work, but the posts you guys and others like John Mulders have made really provide a lot of hands on experience from the beginner's point of view. Priceless stuff.

[Rodney Bullock]

Now Joe, you know the car comes first. Scrap the trip. Let everyone else go and you stay behind and paint those fenders.:cool:Put some primer on the repairs..ok add some base coat and clear JACKPOT:D Then you can have some fun....right.....O WELL enjoy your trip:rolleyes: That car will be there when you return.

I wish I could get over there and help but I got my own unbelivible crap to deal with ;)good luck!

[Joe Flanagan]

Thanks for the encouragement, guys. Most of my trouble comes from the fact that I'm just learning how to paint a car. Not having my gun adjusted correctly brought the first round of problems (and the second, come to think of it). Trying to fix runs in the clear just turned into larger and larger problems. The latest is a hair that settled in my clear when I was doing the hood. I tried to pick it out and screwed up the clear and the base beneath it. Another problem was when I accidentally bumped the edge of the trunk lid against something and took the paint off of it and didn't notice it until I'd already cleared the whole thing. Trying to repair that led to even bigger repairs.

The biggest lesson from all this is that I should have used the hardener that comes with this base coat. It won't lift if you have to spray more stuff on top of it.

I have been trying to do too much at once and have been rushing a little. At this point, I need to step back and say, "I will just do the trunk lid today." I won't do anything but the trunk lid. I had two fenders, the hood, and the trunk lid spread out and I was trying to do all of them at once. Huge potential for trouble. This was all very simple until the clear coat came into the equation. Knowing what I know now, I'd do it again without hesitation. It's the learning part of it that's been tough for me.

Rodney, I hope whatever you're dealing with is not TOO unbelievable. I'll catch you when I get back.

[Fireball]

Keep the faith Joe!

[dezeldoc]

Joe, hairs, flies and the such just leave them and color sand them out when it is dry, a lot easier than trying to pick them out when it is wet. most of the problems you are having trying to re-coat them is it has not fully cured and the solvent is eating into the fresh paint and acting just like stripper. also go a lot easier on the paint, wait longer between coats and do not build it up so much. you would be surprised what can be color sanded out!! Have fun on the cape!!

[Jim Yergin]

Joe,

I hope you have a good time on your vacation. Hang in there on the painting, I know you will get it. I always like to remind myself of Ben Franklin's observation:

"Things that hurt instruct." Our frustrations are just part of the learning process.

Jim Yergin

[Ward Duffield]

Take 2 growlers of Cape Cod Harvest and email us when you get back

C H I L L

[Plymouthy Adams]

[quote name=Our frustrations are just part of the learning process.

Jim Yergin[/quote]

I'm over educated...!..

[Joe Flanagan]

Thanks guys. I'm on the Cape right now but obviously thinking MOPAR. Dezeldoc, I've found you to be absolutely right on target about this. Not waiting for things to cure because I need to get this particular piece done by the end of the day--a false deadline that I create for myself. I'd also gotten the advice before about just leaving nibs and whatnot and sanding them out later. Why did I not listen to that advice? I have no answer for that. Sometimes I just go on auto-stupid. I'll get it when I come back. Patience.

That which does not kill me makes me crankier.

[dezeldoc]

Thanks guys. I'm on the Cape right now but obviously thinking MOPAR. Dezeldoc, I've found you to be absolutely right on target about this. Not waiting for things to cure because I need to get this particular piece done by the end of the day--a false deadline that I create for myself. I'd also gotten the advice before about just leaving nibs and whatnot and sanding them out later. Why did I not listen to that advice? I have no answer for that. Sometimes I just go on auto-stupid. I'll get it when I come back. Patience.

That which does not kill me makes me crankier.

Because no matter what we are told, for some dumb reason we just like do it our way anyway, i myself do the same things from time to time.

[Joe Flanagan]

I can get pretty dumb but at a certain point I understand to follow suggestions and take my time. This is that point. Part of the reason I'm rushing is because I want to get all the paint done while the weather is good and time is running out. I just have to accept that done right is better than done on time. If some of it doesn't get painted by the time cold weather sets in, so be it. It's not the end of the world. My goal was to have the body painted so I could install the engine over the winter and build the car. I guess I could put the engine in and paint the engine bay afterward but I'd rather not.

[Young Ed]

Joe why not put the fenders etc aside and do the firewall?

[Joe Flanagan]

Yes, Ed, that's crossed my mind. Right now the body is bare metal with a phosphoric acid solution on it. I could get epoxy and high build on the body and then go all the way to color and clear on the firewall. I do have some minor repairs to do on the body but I could always sand off the primer and do the repairs later. It's just important to me to get the bare metal protected. Don't want to leave it that way over the winter. I'm just not certain about where to stop with the firewall and how to deal with the transition from painted area to non-painted when I go to paint the whole thing in the spring or whenever. Something I will research and thanks for the suggestion.