How long did you wait b/t the sealer and the base coat?

What kind of gun are you using? HVLP? What pressure are you running? What kind of paint as well?

I wish I was closer I would love to come spray this car. I have already made all the mistakes and now lay down a mighty fine paint job IMO My dad bought me a nice Devilbiss plus HVLP gun last year and it makes all the difference in the world. Now my clears don't need wetsanding!!!

Brandon, head west on Route 50 and travel about 7 hours, turn right at Coney Island in Cincinnati, go 2.1 miles and turn right in my driveway.

Call ahead so I make sure my car is ready for you to lay down a nice paint job

madkaw:

I wanted to save money on my paint job by doing the sanding and polishing, however I had never done anything like it before. Painter Ray said it was easy and it was. Nerve wracking at first for fear of sand or burn through.

He orderd a kit from his paint supplyer, it is from "Buff and Shine", www.buffandshine.com 800-659-2833. It is a 3 part system, #1 very thick wool pad for first grit polish, #2 foam for second grit polish, and #3 foam is the final polish made exclusive for new paint till the clear cures completly, then wax. You will need a varible speed angle grinder/buffer set low.

I don't remember if that company sent the compound or he got it elsewhere. He gave me sheets of 1500 wet paper. The compound was 3000 for the first and 4500 for the second. IIRC. You will see the difference at each step. I did peices of the car for 1 and 2 till done, then the whole car in #3. Step back and look, then reassembly with out scratching or chipping .

Painter Ray showed me how to do it in about 15 minutes. Your painter should be able to also. It will take some getting use to but you will get the hang of it. Lighting is very important and using very clean shop towels for wiping down, I used two rolls on mine. If you drop one on the floor, throw it away. If you drop your sandpaper, wash it off completly.

It took about 80 hours for me to get the results I wanted, mostly at night where I could get the light just right consistantly. Painter Ray did a 2 foot section of the hood for instruction and told me to match it up. There is some real estate on that hood so that should look its best.

You can do it, go for it.

Bonzi Lon

I am thinking about "super silver" from the 2010 GTR. Although I am not as close to paint as I would like to think!

Jeff

I always wetsand by hand. I use a foam block from the paint store and then go from 800 on the run areas then start at 1000 on the whole car. Work my way up to 2000-3000 using nice light circular sanding motion. Always keeping the surface wet. Then I use my high speed buffer with 3 different 3M compounds. Extra cut, swirl mark remover and then finish-it final polish. Makes a paintjob look amazing after all these steps.

A good trick for runs is to get them within the first 24-48 hours using a straight razor and very carefully shaving the run down before wetsanding.

Another trick to sanding is using a small rubber squeegee. You can pick one up made by 3M at any paint supply store. When wet sanding, keep your sandpaper very wet. You must sand until there is no shine left. Then drag the squeegee across the area and look for any little spots of gloss. If you see them, you are not finished sanding.

Steve....Great color...and with wet sanding and buffing, it'll only get better!! Are those Willwoods hiding under that masking paper? Great..aren't they? Looking good. Guy

Yes, the wildwoods are under there somewhere;)

After years of trying to get to the point of no rust and straight body work....... 1972 240Z

The paint guys are pricey but they have a booth so the environment can be

controlled..... I gotta love it so.....

I hear it's painted... The parts needed to get painted over the weekend....

I guess the upside to delay is the fact that I had time to replace the electric brakes in the car hauler trailer.... I just ordered carpet and winshiedl post and door jam covering from Les Cannaday of http://classicdatsun.com/

Jay - zdisease - Not just a Z

Hey madkaw, who is your painter. I am on the Southside of Indy. My project is FAR from being ready for paint but it doesn't hurt to have contacts. Especially if they do a great job.

Well, after all that drama, it turned out OK - and I bet it looks much better after the color sand and polish! One thing I know after after being around body shops who work on show cars and doing a few show cars myself, clear ALWAYS looks better sanded&polished.

Wondering one thing though - why did you not wet the floor down?

Well the car sat in my garage for 3 weeks before I even looked at it because I was trying to get my daughters ZXT going. The last couple of days was all about my Z since the daughter has hers back. It was actually a great 2 days since things smoothly and no damage on the new paint---------yet!

I hated to deal with those brake lines , but the underside has to be done first so the firewall can be completed to a point to get my engine in. The brakes lines are all new(ordered off of ebay-kit) and the the fuel lines I just painted.

I also had to hand rub out the engine compartment first to take care of some overspray-that sucked, but worth it. I can't wait to get the engine in !!!!

Remember that stage goes quick from here.