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Thought I'd better update this.
Been a busy few days on the car.
Firstly considering I'm a computer nerd for a living and I'm doing this in my garage at home with a £100 compressor I'm gobsmacked it's turned out as good as it has.
I did start by flatting and polishing after 24 hours but ended up having to redo a few panels as I'd gone too far with the polisher.
So I thought I'd let the paint harden for a few weeks before I have another go
All the pictures are of the panels straight after the paint has gone on them. No flatting or polishing has taken place yet other than on the roof.
I'll let the pictures do the talking but to say I'm stoked is an understatement.
No more progress on the paint side of things until my paint supplier re-opens as I don't have enough paint for the two bumpers and the rear wing
Last edited by dazdavies; Apr 3, 2020 at 05:47 PM.
Looks very nice daz and you saved a lot of money, I’m guessing you have in experience in this field Eg. Paintwork? i made a pigs ear of debadging the front grill then spraying it black, you can’t see it on the pictures I put up thank god but it’s something I will give to a body shop with other bits and bobs to do.
Looks very nice daz and you saved a lot of money, I’m guessing you have in experience in this field Eg. Paintwork? i made a pigs ear of debadging the front grill then spraying it black, you can’t see it on the pictures I put up thank god but it’s something I will give to a body shop with other bits and bobs to do.
It's the third car I've painted.
Painting is the easy bit. Its true what they say. All of the work is in the prep.
The prep is simple enough it's just hard work.
Painting is easy once you've got the technique right.
For me the hardest part to do is the wet sanding and polishing. I really haven't mastered that yet I'm still getting small scratches that the compound isn't removing.
I think I need to use finer paper. I'm currently using 2000 grit. I might invest in some 3m Trizact 3000 and see if I can get the finish I want with them.
It's the third car I've painted.
Painting is the easy bit. Its true what they say. All of the work is in the prep.
The prep is simple enough it's just hard work.
Painting is easy once you've got the technique right.
For me the hardest part to do is the wet sanding and polishing. I really haven't mastered that yet I'm still getting small scratches that the compound isn't removing.
I think I need to use finer paper. I'm currently using 2000 grit. I might invest in some 3m Trizact 3000 and see if I can get the finish I want with them.
interesting daz, good thing to be good at lol...you see daz I’m at the other end of the spectrum, I eff’d up a Front grill haha..but if you need your boiler fixing I’m quite good
Firstly considering I'm a computer nerd for a living and I'm doing this in my garage at home with a £100 compressor I'm gobsmacked it's turned out as good as it has.
Originally Posted by dazdavies
It's the third car I've painted.
Two quite different statements there . I was gonna mention I find the most difficult part of a DIY spray job is keeping it looking good...
One's I've doen in the past have tended to scratch easily. If you've managed to polish through it, it could be that the paint hasn't cured properly but I'd be inclined to put more coats on (certainly on the bonnet) so it's thicker & you have more wiggle room. (Bear in mind factory paint is lacquered so that's what you're polish when removing scratches & not your basecoat).
As I type this I realise you could quite easily just flatten a panel back down the line & spray again but that's more aggro.
I don't want to come off like I am telling you what you should do but if it was me I'd leave it for as long as possible to harden before polishing, ceramic coat coat it for added protection (you can put several layers of ceramic on) & finally apply a silicone sealant.
This will give you a large barrier of protection & also make cleaning it easier as a PH balanced wash won't affect the ceramic coat & you can keep topping up the spray sealant.
Apologies if you were aware of that or don't do many miles for it to be an issue but I know the pain of putting tens of hours into a paint job only for it to age much quicker than it should.
Two quite different statements there . I was gonna mention I find the most difficult part of a DIY spray job is keeping it looking good...
One's I've doen in the past have tended to scratch easily. If you've managed to polish through it, it could be that the paint hasn't cured properly but I'd be inclined to put more coats on (certainly on the bonnet) so it's thicker & you have more wiggle room. (Bear in mind factory paint is lacquered so that's what you're polish when removing scratches & not your basecoat).
As I type this I realise you could quite easily just flatten a panel back down the line & spray again but that's more aggro.
I don't want to come off like I am telling you what you should do but if it was me I'd leave it for as long as possible to harden before polishing, ceramic coat coat it for added protection (you can put several layers of ceramic on) & finally apply a silicone sealant.
This will give you a large barrier of protection & also make cleaning it easier as a PH balanced wash won't affect the ceramic coat & you can keep topping up the spray sealant.
Apologies if you were aware of that or don't do many miles for it to be an issue but I know the pain of putting tens of hours into a paint job only for it to age much quicker than it should.
Cheers,
Stuart
That was my issue I think. It hadn't been baked so it hadn't hardened properly. I've just flat and polished the boot as that has been painted a week or so now.
That's come out pretty good. If I can get the rest of the car looking how that does I'll be happy.
I've just discovered your "DIY 550BHP STI V3 Type R" thread, was the metallic purple spray job 2K with no lacquer?
(I still think lacquer is a good idea for a glossy finish & layer of protection - but from UV rays & physically).
No that was done by some moron who was supposed to be a professional painter. It was a fecking mess.
Looked alright in the booth then we rolled it out into sunlight and OMG it was patchy as hell!!
Tried to cover it with ****ty graphics but I hated them.
So I ended up paying for someone to do it properly in white.
Ten years ago that, unreal!
Last edited by dazdavies; Apr 7, 2020 at 03:14 PM.
No that was done by some moron who was supposed to be a professional painter. It was a fecking mess.
Looked alright in the booth then we rolled it out into sunlight and OMG it was patchy as hell!!
Tried to cover it with ****ty graphics but I hated them.
So I ended up paying for someone to do it properly.
Ten years ago that, unreal!
At least it was free (& yes I am bored)
Nice colour though, I’d probably do mine a dark metallic purple if I was going for a full paint job.
How was the Subaru scene in Australia compared to over here daz? We’re lucky have to some fantastic specialists and enthusiasts here, is it pretty much the same?
How was the Subaru scene in Australia compared to over here daz? We’re lucky have to some fantastic specialists and enthusiasts here, is it pretty much the same?
I was in Western Australia which is a bit different to the rest of it because its so far away from everything else.
That said the scene in Perth was pretty good with the only downside being some tuning companies that really shouldn't be working on cars of any kind.
There were however a handful of very good ones.
Lots of events out there which was good.
The rules surrounding modifications are draconian and the police let you know about it at every opportunity.
Other than that it's brilliant out there.
Last edited by dazdavies; Apr 7, 2020 at 08:35 PM.
Bumper was in a pretty poor state. The moronic tuning company in Australia who first cut the bumper for the Process West Intercooler, prior to my ownership of the car, made a proper pigs ear of it. It never fitted properly and cracked in several places as a result.
So today I cut it properly, repaired the cracks with a bit of plastic welding using my soldering iron. I've then filled and primed it. All I need now is to get hold of some paint but I'm still struggling to do that due to lock down. Happy with how much better it looks already because it was pretty scraggy before I started.
Was dreading this next step as you have to be incredibly careful. One lapse of concentration and it costs you.
Flatting and polishing.
Scary stuff!!
Mission Success!!
No burn through thankfully.
One fresh paint job flattened and polished. I am gobsmacked how well this has turned out considering I've done it in my garage with a £100 compressor. Going to seal it with some Wax next.
. I was gonna mention I find the most difficult part of a DIY spray job is keeping it looking good...
