Last night my painting advisor came over to the shop and informed me that my clear coats weren't right. He said I could cut and buff them, but it would be better to wet sand them down and reapply (with his help this time). I got about half the car done and will be back at it tonight.

Thursday, I'm going to try to take the day off and re-clear the car. That is if I can still lift my arms!

As a guy that painted his car, then sanded it all off and repainted his car... I feel your pain.

Zach

I'm not saying this is true of you, but a lot of people think that body & paint is easy. It isn't.

Easy would not be the way I would describe my experiences.

Only people who haven't painted anything can think that way. After painting my car I am in awe of the talent a lot of painters have and the work that goes into those awesome jobs.

I'm about 6/7s through the primer, sand, paint, realize that it sucks, sand, sand, paint process.

My arms are HUGE

When I started I just used my right hand, but learned quickly to switch off and let lefty get a workout. I might not be as skilled at aiming with the left side, but it works good enough to get some work done while I rest the right.

I'm not keen on the whole power tool thing. I figure with the limited skills I have, I could do alot of damage with a fast spinning abrasive.

Having just refinished an old oak dining room table, I guess I have a faint understanding of the pain of paint work...

Cutting it down to bare wood, sanding smooth (to 400 grit dry), staining, 8 coats of urethane, 5 rounds of wet sanding, two rounds of polishing, and it's STILL not the way -I- would like it. My wife says it's fantastic, I can only see the two spots where my first (and last) attempt at using an orbital polisher over-abraded the urethane.

I still plan on wet sanding the whole thing down again (400 and then 600), laying down another coat or two of urethane, wet sand again, and polishing by hand (more carefully next time).

I want it to look like glass...

Yes, I spent over a week on a freakin' wooden table instead of pulling the drive line from the 914 and performing an autopsy on the motor. Where are my priorities!?!?! (that's a rhetorical question.)

Answer: The 914 is hidden from view in the garage under a layer of thickening dust, and the table is something I see frequently everyday... damn, I need to see my 914 that often, that'd change my outlook I think...

-Josh2

Having worked in a NASA paint shop and then refinished all the floors, doors, windows, and mantles in now 110 year-old house (should have never sold it), I think it is all about patience. T I M E . Lots of it. One must be SICKLY dedicated to get that true luster and depth.

Hi Billy,

So what exactly was wrong with the finish? Give us some details if you can.

I don't want to go down the same road if I decide to paint my new project.

They don't call it body WORK for nuttin. Stay at it!

Oh yeah, and idea number 2, next time, go with a single stage. So much easier!

If you are doing solid colors single stage works very well. Depth of gloss and shine is just as good as doing a two stage job plus it is much easier to touch-up in the future.
Paul

Click to view attachment

This is why I think it will be a long time before I put any effort into my paint. Its far from perfect, but looks ok....I just couldnt drive it normally without fearing some rock would fly up and ruin my weeks of work.

Not to hijack, but since this thread went toward single stage paint vs. base/clear coat, are there companies making single stage paint matching the original 914 green, red, orange, etc. colors??

Paul

The local PPG dealer could look up Porsche paint codes (Thats how I got my Summer Yellow). That said, I don't know how close the combinations are when compared to factory painted pieces.

They just don't understand what we do. Lots and lots of people think they understand what we do. But, they don't. Ah ah ah, no you don't.... shhhh




Just about every paint line has a single stage system. Mixing a certain color code is just like following a recipe for chili, only in metric. Now matching any red, yellow or white that is more than a year old is damn near impossible. You will hear the word blend...

If it is all new paint going on, then no worries. If you get this done make sure you see a spray out before it gets shot on your car. That will allow you to see the final color, you may not like it. You never know...

AAHHHHhhhh horse pucky. It can't be that hard, sand a little, wipe some bondo and blow some paint through a gun. You guiys get paid WAY too much for WAY to little

--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scotty b @ Oct 2 2008, 05:03 PM) </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
[quote name='Twise' post='1086845' date='Oct 2 2008, 04:56 PM']
[quote name='sww914' post='1086228' date='Oct 1 2008, 09:16 AM']
I'm not saying this is true of you, but a lot of people think that body & paint is easy. It isn't.
[/quote]

They just don't understand what we do. Lots and lots of people think they understand what we do. But, they don't. Ah ah ah, no you don't.... shhhh


[quote name='AvalonFal' post='1086785' date='Oct 2 2008, 03:54 PM']
Not to hijack, but since this thread went toward single stage paint vs. base/clear coat, are there companies making single stage paint matching the original 914 green, red, orange, etc. colors??

Paul
[/quote]

Just about every paint line has a single stage system. Mixing a certain color code is just like following a recipe for chili, only in metric. Now matching any red, yellow or white that is more than a year old is damn near impossible. You will hear the word blend...

If it is all new paint going on, then no worries. If you get this done make sure you see a spray out before it gets shot on your car. That will allow you to see the final color, you may not like it. You never know...
[/quote]


AAHHHHhhhh horse pucky. It can't be that hard, sand a little, wipe some bondo and blow some paint through a gun. You guiys get paid WAY too much for WAY to little
[/quote]Uh oh.....I feel a battle comin' up ...... ........ ............ !!!

Click to view attachment

"Let's get ready to rumble!!!"

When I painted cars in California the local paint dealer, Melody Paints (it was in South City), stopped selling single stage paints. Something about the volitile chemicals they released. So they only sold 2 stage paints. They said the EPA believed if you covered up the base with clear it released less chemicals. Sounded weird to me because you had to spray twice as much paint to do it. Was that a load of BS or did they really stop selling single stage paints in California?

I used to spray Cenari (sp?) on my race car every other week. The 2 stage PPG stuff looked fantastic but it took longer to spray and cost me alot more money because of all the added catalysts and reducers for the clear and the color.

I got some single stage yesterday, black and that cool BMW dark aqua from the M3's.
I had 4 paint line choices. Dupont Chroma, Chroma Premiere, Glasurit and Valspar. They would have had to order the Glasurit or the Dupont Chroma.

They still let you paint cars in California?

Shhhh!

My problem was overspray. I think I had the gun set with too wide a fan and the edges layed on too dry. It looked like the clear was thick enough in the center of the fan, but it was bumpy on the top and bottom edge. I was told I could buff the finish out or sand it down and do it right. I was also told that the multiple layers of clear that weren't thick enough could delaminate.

I took yesterday off and spent 6 hours sanding the car down with 600. Its smooth now. Saturday morning my friend who paints for a living is going to help me get it right this time.