New paint ... Finally!!!

[280zjoel]

More photos from this afternoon at the paint & body shop ... won't be long now!

Wow that looks killer, I was wondering if you had the paint code for that color? Its not the original 611 burgundy color is it?

[=Enigma=]

That really is a nice color. I can't wait to see the finished project. Congrats on the progress so far. All these nice repaints lately is making me second guess my decision to keep the original patina of my own.

[mlaw7]

Wow that looks killer, I was wondering if you had the paint code for that color? Its not the original 611 burgundy color is it?

Thanks! Yes, it is the original Nissan 611 paint code. Four coats of base then three coats of clear.

[mlaw7]

MLaw7 - You make me soooo jealous!! My Z is a couple of weeks away from where your car is now! I still want to take some pics of the two when I get mine back together. That Plum color is fantastic! You know these cars look better than original showroom with proper paint and modern materials! Great Job!! I noticed that your Bumpers look new. Did you re-chrome or polish? Very nice! I need to have mine done too.

Andrew

Rear bumper is re-chromed and the front is after about an hour or so of polishing. One area that often seems to be neglected is the back side of chrome bumpers, which can rust pretty badly. Mine had a pretty good bit of rust on the back sides. So I decided to POR-15 them, which took a couple of hours using the full 3-stage treatment and brushing on the POR-15.

The rear bumper was done by Superior Chrome here in Houston - very nice work.

And here are a few more photos from this afternoon at the paint/body shop. I just got my door and hatch locks back from the locksmith. He cleaned and lubricated them as well as tightened the little arms in the back of the door locks. They had way too much free play, even for their "lazy" design.

This, I learned, is what causes the door locks in our S30's to stop working correctly when you try to lock or unlock them with the key. I imagine that many of us have experienced the frustration of not being able to lock or unlock our cars with the key.

If you can find a locksmith who's familiar with these old locks, it is probably a much less costly alternative to buying new door lock cylinders.

Mine were so bad that for a while I had to climb in through the hatch to open the door! You can imagine the looks I got doing that downtown!

I'd love to see some photos of your car!

[jmark]

Car looks very good. We painted my son's 280Z 611 as well. It was the cars original color.

<img src="http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/data/500/DSC_5704.JPG" />

Edited December 4, 2009 by jmark

[mlaw7]

That is beautiful! Very nice wheels.

I hope mine comes out that nice!

[wbsupernatural]

hey mlaw7, where did you get your car repainted? I have a similar color and want to fix just the front passenger fender. is the shop pricing reasonable?

here is my car good side.

Edited December 8, 2009 by wbsupernatural

[mlaw7]

That is a very nice 240Z you've got !!

The shop is Master Auto Paint & Upholstery on Harwin near Fondren in Houston. They do excellent work, are super to work with and I think their prices are very fair for the quality.

Call David or Victor at (713) 785-6533 and tell them I referred you. Or feel free to shoot me a PM!

Michael

[wbsupernatural]

Thank you Mike, I will try them out

Q

[mlaw7]

I think you'll be very pleased with their work.

Just picked her up from the paint/body shop this afternoon and drove her home. No dash or interior. Just a driver's seat and seat belt. Enjoyed watching the speedo cable spin and hearing how happy she sounded to be running again as I drove!!

Here are a few more photos.

Now it's time for me to get to work on the POR-15 treatment for the floorboards, transmission tunnel and spare tire well.

Then QuietCar soundproofing on as many interior sheet metal surfaces as I can reach with a brush. Doors, floors, roof, rear quarter panels, hatch floor, inside the hatch lid, behind and around the speakers, etc.

Then reinstall the dash. I lubricated the speedo cable with white lithium grease and replaced all the bulbs with the brighter kit from MSA. Looking forward to seeing how much of a difference they'll make.

Then new carpet and headliner, followed by the rest of the interior. Whenever my budget permits, I also plan to have the seats recovered as a final touch.

May our Z cars rule the road for another 30+ years!!

[dbcjmc]

Wow! That really came out nice. It's really cool following your progress with all the photo's. The paint job looked like a huge amount of work! I just gotta know... how much was it? Did you have to mortgage your house? Sell some children? Our Z has been ready for paint ever since we bought it this summer. We've been slowly improving it here and there and making our way ultimately to finish it off with paint. I'm afraid though, that to do it right might cost me the equivalent of 5 more Z's. Nice work!

[mlaw7]

Thanks!

That's exactly what I did - took care of all the mechanical/electrical/hydraulic issues first. Then waited ... and waited ... and waited ... until I could afford to get the body work and paint done. Oh yes, and waited some more ...

The entire job was right around $5k, which included

1. replacing the sunroof with a solid piece

2. windshield/hatch glass removal and installation

3. removing/reinstalling the driver's side door, hatch and hood

4. replacing the lower driver's side door hinge

5. installing the weatherstripping and seals

6. repairing numerous rust areas (some of which were not evident until the fenders and headlight buckets were removed)

7. repainting the louvres and Black Pearl side mirrors

8. removing/reinstalling the bumpers, quarter windows, locks and side trim

9. bodywork and two-stage paint

Rust areas were

1. the hatch sill (pretty bad)

2. passenger side floorboard

3. upper front portion of the passenger side rocker panel

4. lower front edge of the passenger side door jamb

5. front of the passenger side inner fender (mating to the headlight bucket)

6. driver's side rocker panel

7. around the sunroof

8. under the battery tray (not too bad but would have been a disaster if left untouched)

9. and a few other minor spots here and there.

Hopefully in a week or so I'll have the floors coated with POR-15, the interior soundproofed, carpet installed, and the dash/interior back in place.

Final step will be to give the wheel wells and undercarriage the POR-15 treatment.