rick, maybe try putting some paint on an old fender or hood and hang it outside as a "bug strip" ...frank...
Here's a shot of the landing area.....48 hours later it's still a little tacky, BUT I like the way it covers. I'm glad I didn't shoot the whole car before practicing on these fenders.
All the trim has been removed (WHAT A PAIN IN THE ARSE) without mangling or scratching it up and everything has been masked, I've started sanding it.
Stick those fenders out in the sun, might help cure. Lookin good and I see lots of progress. Yes, that trim can be a patience tester. Dan oh yeah,, use a little more thinner or catalyst for that primer, heck that happens to all of us sometimes.
Lettin em dry in the sun worked well... I was a little light on the reducer...gonna sand and reshoot tomorrow.
spray her a little thinly mixed this time and it should cure out well. Be careful with a thin mix,, will run easily and make the first pass a really fast pass. Dan
I was told buy a expert bodyshop friend of mine, to never used newspaper to mask a car. It produces paper fuzz which gets in your paint. If your planning on painting more cars, Harbor Freight has masking machines pretty cheap and the paper is not that expensive.
I found that out about the paper after I put it on. I took Dans advice and got the coaching of a professional. That was the first thing he told me when he stopped by. When I'm done with the priming and bodywork I'm taking it to his shop and I'll seal it and paint it there as I don't have anyway to keep the airborne contaminants out. I'm still doin the work he's just gonna be there to keep me out of trouble. I've mentioned this guy before, he restores early model Thunderbirds, one car usually takes him a year to do, but he doesn't farm any of the work out, he does everything himself. Probably the best looking work I've ever seen on an automobile. He's working on a personal car now..a Henry J...so he has some time to help me out. I feel fortunate to have his help. I'll see if I can get a pic of one of his Thunderchickens.
Rick, I've never seen epoxy primer take that long to dry. Are you sure you reduced it as recommended by the manufacturer? Do you have the correct activator? Something just doesn't sound right.
Ray it was a lot of little things, not enough reducer, too much volume and to tight a spray pattern. It's finally cured, I'll sand it a shoot it again today....this fender is my guinea pig. It's an 8-4-1 mix, I probably did more like a 8-2-1. I got in a hurry and didn't pay attention. While it took forever to cure and it has some runs in it I can see that if it's done RIGHT it will make for a very nice job.
So, I'm a little excited.The fenders were dry enough to work. Sanded out all my mistakes, got the mix right and the gun setup right (put a mini regulator on the gun) Thx for that advice Dan, i was able to keep a constant 20 lbs. of pressure. It worked great and covered beautifully. The pics are about 30 minutes after I shot em so there in the drying process if they look a little funny. 3 hours later they were almost dry enough to sand again.
I finished the hard sanding on this side of the car, there was alot of road rash on the bottom so I took it down to bare metal, the etching primer was applied to all the bare metal areas as soon as I finished sanding.... if you watch that primer when you apply it you can see the metal soaking it up....better that than moisture.
rick, great job ...frank... p.s. about 3 more mins. and the ...door handles and locks...would be off...
