LocostUSA.com

I wish I could work as fast as you. It would take me 6 weeks to go from painted to stripped to applying paint.

_________________
-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

Sorry I'm slow to respond, but I didn't realize that there was a reply to this thread. Yes, the sample colour is a metallic. I'm actually starting to really like it. I had a look at that "Grabber Green" colour, and its not the shade of green that I'm looking for. Thanks for the suggestion though.



Lol. When I get my mind set to something, I run with it. I didn't get much done within the last week though. I was at work for 67hours, so it was hard to get much done in the garage. I was only able to wetsand the existing primer, and re-coat with another layer of primer. The body is ready for some colour!

So, I've got good news! Warren Nethercote sent me a paint sample of "Brightside Sea Green" for me to compare to the paint sample that I already have. (Thanks Warren!). I have taken a couple of pictures with my camera to try and show how the Lotus B86 (left) compares:







Under certain lighting, the Brightside looks like a completely different shade of green, regardless of camera angle:



So, after staring at the 2 colours for a couple of hours, and considering all of my options, I think that I will be spending the money to buy the Lotus B86 colour. I have found that NAPA can get me everything I need for about $500, and I think I can live with that (B86=$102/Qt). The overtime I put in last week will more than cover that.

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"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Before spraying any colour/ clear coat, it was clear to me that I needed a new heater. My old 15,000BTU tank mounted heaters couldn't warm up the air enough to spray waterborne paint. So a bought a 30,000-55,000BTU forced air heater. It really pumps out the heat! I can have garage temp 20C warmer than outside in <30mins on low. The best part is that I got it used for 1/3 the cost of new:


So, I bought everything that I needed to paint the car, and I sprayed the first 2 coats of colour:




The colour will look a lot shinier with another coat of colour+clear.

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Before you clear, wet sand in steps starting with 1k-1200 grit and working down to @ 3k grit. Then tack it off and lay on a coat or 3 of clear. Let it cure for a day or two and wet sand again with same procedure, you can take it all the way down to 5k this time if you like. After a month or so to REALLY cure, you can buff it out and it'll shine NICE.

I like your motivation to build, you move almost as fast as I do on a build and most guys that know me swear I don't sleep.

One question/request... could you get me a good pic of your welds after the wire wheel has cleared all the slag/spatter/smoke off 'em? They're looking sketchy to me. I know it's too late now, and it's held up, but some constructive criticism/advice is (usually) nice, right?

I added a couple more coats of green, and let the paint dry for two days. Then, I started to mask out the car for my strips. I used 3M 1/8" stripping tape, and 1" 3M masking tape to do the masking:




Yellow paint time!





I will let the yellow dry for a couple days before taking off the tape.

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

How'd it turn out?

_________________
-Andrew
Build Log
Youtube

I've been very busy at work the past 2 weeks (70h/week), so I have been very slow to put on the clear. The next step is to do a ton of wet sanding, until the clear is as flat as possible. I've put on 4 coats of clear, with sanding between the 2&3 coat. I need to do more sanding to get rid of the remaining orange peel before I puff it it out. I don't think I will have the time to do this for another couple of weeks.

The finish is very shiny right now, but as you can see from the pictures, the surface is still rough due to the orange peel. I've become a huge perfectionist with this paint job, so there is still a lot more work that I want to do.....

These pictures don't do the color justice. I think the color is perfect! I can't wait to see it in the sun!

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

So what's THE trick so that you don't get so much orange peel in the first place?

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Its all about prep and paint application. If either are anything but perfect, there will be orange peel. Most cars built today will have orange peel when they roll off the assembly line. These are the things that I could have been fixed to make my paint better:

-Using a spray booth with proper down draft
-Bright lights evenly around the car, so I could see what I'm doing
-Using a $400 spray gun, rather than a re-used $12 spray gun
-Setting up the $12 spray gun properly would help
-Using a $250 air filter, rather than my $5 one
-Having a cleaner environment
-Painting when the humidity is perfect
-Painting when the temperature is consistent, and 30C

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

I did a lot of research into the best products and methods of smoothing out my orange peel, and polishing my car. I started with a test piece that I have painted green/clear as well, and I wet sanded it down to 2000 grit. I then tried a variety of different buffing products including Turtlewax, Napa brand polish and a couple of other polishes. The finish always seemed to turn out worse than when I started. At my local paint store, I saw some 3 step polishes from 3M, but they were $50 a bottle, and I needed to buy 3 (one for each step) $30 buffing pads to go with them.

Long story short, I got in touch with someone who restores high end classic (who will charge $25,000+ for bodywork/paint) and this is what he told me:

All cars will have some orange peel from painting
Put lots of coats of clear on, sanding every other coat with progressively finer grits.
After the final coat of clear, wetsand with 1000, then 1500, then 2000, then 3000
Then, buy this kit, and follow the instructions to make it shine!

http://www.prestaproducts.com/Ultra_Buffing_System_Shop_Pak__136089S-details.aspx

I bought the kit this week when I was in the USA at Plymouth Painters Supply for $115. My initial impressions were very good. For the price, I couldn't believe how much stuff I got with the kit. It even comes with DVD instructions!

So, I decided to try out one corner of my car to see how it does. I wetsanded from 1000 to 3000, then followed the instructions with the polish. The result? I am extremely impressed! The polish only took about 30secs with each step, and it looks near perfect! I haven't made it to the wax stage yet.

Here is an untouched side, with orange peel:


After sanding + polish: (the white powder is the residue from wetsanding)


Shiny!


Time to wetsand the whole car! This is going to take a long time....

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054

Definitely impressive result. I hope your arms don't fall off from all the sanding and polishing.

Thanks for taking the time to post. It's going to help a lot of people.

Cheers,

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Damn! That front slip angle is way too large and the Ackerman is just a muddle.

Build Log: viewtopic.php?f=35&t=5886

HOLY CRAP! I wouldn't have believed it.

_________________
mobilito ergo sum
I drive therefore I am

I can explain it to you,
but I can't understand it for you.

Wow, fantastic results, both in the change of color scheme and finish work!

After I painted my last bike, I wetsanded with 1000 then 2000, then buffed with a Meguiar's polish and finished with Meguiar's Tech Wax.

Initial clear coat:





While wet sanding:



After polishing:



After waxing:

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Ford 5.0 into an M3
mikaelvroom.com | @MikaelVroom

The wetsanding and polishing/waxing makes all the difference. I never realized the importance of it until yesterday.

_________________
"The decision to build a car is not one reached through a rational mindset. It is a decision that is made because we have to do it! It makes no sense, but neither does love, children and taxes" -Sam Buchanan

My Build Log: http://www.locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=3054