i saw that in autozone the other day, was thinking about using the blue to paint my control arms and valve cover. if i do that i'll let you know how it turns out.

Tip for aligning doors and body panels:

Wile the parts are still on the car, drill 2 1/16" holes in different locations on the part, thru the the part it mounts too (example- on doors, one hole in each hinge)
That way when installing that part back on, all you do is match the guide holes.

i read that duplicolor stuff, being a laqcur, isnt ideal compared to enamels... People where saying, for the price of buying enough of that. you could just buy real auto paint.

http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/dupl...er-114968.html

What if you're putting in a new part? Instead of drilling holes you could just make marks with a pencil like so. Couldn't you? A grease pencil might work even better.

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/5...ideprofxv8.jpg


http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thu...ase_pencil.jpg

ironic, the guys who talk down on the duplicolor are guys who havent used it.. despite some being professionals..

not to mention some people dont want to drill holes in their shit lol..

isnt that how it always is?

^ Dam must be nice to have a car with perfectly aligned body panals lmao

how is this flat/satin color achieved?
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...146_1_full.jpg

okay, so if i really wanted to, could i turn the one stage into a 3 stage? like prep, primer, sand primer, the one stage color, then clear (like clear with pearl?) and then a bunch of layers of clear?

There is a flatening agent that is mixed into the paint and the clear coat.

Most paint/body shops can mix the flat into an existing paint, or you can purchase special blends with it already in.
Its not the easiest to shoot because the agent needs to be thoroughly mixed, and mixed often. But it is much easier to sand/buff.
Oh, and its applied like regular paint, no special tools/skillz.

For guys that dont want to spend the addition $ to buy materials and supplies and aren't 100% confident that they can paint their car. Start by spending a full day or two and prepping the car. Then take it to Macco, Earl's ect.. and have them spray it. Their entry level package will only set you back about $300-500 and that should include you buying the prepping material you need to prep the car befor you take it to paint.

The key is the prep. If eveything you dont want overspray on is removed, and you bodyfill dents, dings, & imperfections then colorsanding to nock down the clear for an nice paintable surface, you will have minimal issues.

The rest will have to be left to the painter's talent and painting product used for durablity.

Check out the Link for my preivous S14 body work prep

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2389229

Your car turned out great from what I can tell from the shots.

I didn't realize people still used Cardomain.

2+ years ago it was the shiz LOL

will maaco paint with your own paint or do you have to use some cheap stuff you buy from them??? i've heard if you do all the prep depending on the store maaco jobs arent bad. your car turned out awesome btw... how is the paint now? still as good as before?

dunno if that would work.. when i took my s13 to maaco after i prepped it, they said "well since you did your own prep work, we will not warrenty it

but when i had that done, they had a bunch of lowriders and custom cars being done , and to me, my car came out awesome but i spent like $900 cuz i had them spray parts individually, gave them fiberglass fenders, 4 pc bodykit, rear spoiler all seperate and a lil repair work to teh spoiler and weld/shave one of the rear quarter lights

One thing you need to consider about a Maaco is that they paint thousands of vehicles a year (thats 1/2 the battle) and most great paint jobs are the result of clean booths and controlled temperatures (the other 1/2 the battle).

And if you can do your own prep beforehand . . . and i mean strip it down, remove obstacles like lights and hardware, and pay a little extra for dent repair and such, youll have an awesome paint job. It will be MUCH BETTER than a Garage job!

I had Macco shoot two of my cars (the kids cars so i didnt give a fuck) and they came out pretty damn good.

And it doesnt hurt to offer the guys cash and tip the best guy in the shop so he takes a little extra time on it for ya.

Ive considered this ^^ myself for the next build. We will see.


Oh, and about the "cheap paint". Its all about "getting what you pay for". Most shops, like the Maaco's, will offer different paints depending on how much you pay. Just as they ALL will make color sanding, clear coat, prep, 2-stage, etc . . ala-carte items. Cause of cheap asses like us!

My original write up was for the average do-it yourselfer or for those who want something ALOT better than rattle-can. But there are alot of us who dont even have the basics like a garage or gun to even start something like this.

Just throwin this out there.

^Would you remove the front or rear bumpers or the doors for Maaco,or just the trim,moldings,side mirrors etc ?

They will shoot what they see. So if you wanted the areas under the bumpers done, then yes. And if you were doing a color change, i would remove it all. Except the doors. Thats something that i personaly wouldnt remove.

The shop might want to charge more for shooting the parts you have removed. It might require them to shoot the parts separete from the car, which is double the booth time. time=money so i wouldnt be surprised. But the jams and bumper support and stuff would all be painted and matched.

Sorry for the crappy pictures, but I'll get some stupid clear ones tomorrow afternoon once I get home from work.

The car is now fully primered.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i.../DSCF02051.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i.../DSCF02031.jpg

Being my first time, I was extremely nervous since it's not my car, not my money being spent, and we've spent the last 2 months building it, I don't want to fuck it up now.

After some adjusting and such, I got the gun to spray out primer pretty smoothly, but will need to adjust for paint.

nice...

Keep us posted.

Here are the clearer pictures.

Went from this:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...3/DSCN3604.jpg

To this:
http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...3/DSCN3626.jpg

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/i...3/DSCN3623.jpg

I'll be spraying the jams, bumpers, and sideskirts with primer throughout the week.

Saturday is FormulaD, so Sunday is going to be full of updates.

I couldn't get the flow right for the first half when spraying primer, but toward the end, I got it just about right. It's all nice, smooth, and even now that it's been wetsanded, but I want to make sure I give it even coats when spraying the paint.

cool

you have enough walk around room in there?

When spraying, everything is cleared out.(Which only takes like 3 minutes, pool table, rims/tires, spare intake manifold, sideskirts, and bumpers.)

So, I have about 4 feet of walking space in between the car and the walls.

I just need better lighting and a bigger fan. With the door closed, I could barely see anything. Opened up the door, but got dusty.

So, by next weekend, we'll have a few spot lights, and a big fan for ventilation.

That way, it comes out cleaner.