Getting my car painted. 10-22-10 update: DONE!!!!
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
The car went into the paint booth today. I haven't received photos of the painted body yet, but I do have a couple of the doors and hood.
They first put one coat of color on the doors, hood and trunk, then one coat on the body, then the doors, hood and trunk get put back on the body and everything gets a couple more coats of color. After that, they blow it apart one more time and clear everything separately. The color should have been completed today, with the clear coat going on tomorrow morning.
The doors and hood look dull in these photos, but that's because it's just the base coat on there - once the clear coat is applied they'll be nice and shiny.
Here's the body, all masked and ready to go. The door jambs didn't get stripped back to bare metal like the rest of the car was - since they had no rust and no damage, they were simply scuffed and wet sanded in preparation for the new paint.
They first put one coat of color on the doors, hood and trunk, then one coat on the body, then the doors, hood and trunk get put back on the body and everything gets a couple more coats of color. After that, they blow it apart one more time and clear everything separately. The color should have been completed today, with the clear coat going on tomorrow morning.
The doors and hood look dull in these photos, but that's because it's just the base coat on there - once the clear coat is applied they'll be nice and shiny.
Here's the body, all masked and ready to go. The door jambs didn't get stripped back to bare metal like the rest of the car was - since they had no rust and no damage, they were simply scuffed and wet sanded in preparation for the new paint.
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
Here are the pics. 
Base coat applied:
Clear coat:
They first put on one coat of base with the doors, hood and trunk removed. Then they were reinstalled and two more coats of base were applied. Then, it was blown apart again to clear coat everything separately.
After the paint cures, it's time for color sanding and final buffing, and then final assembly.
Base coat applied:
Clear coat:
They first put on one coat of base with the doors, hood and trunk removed. Then they were reinstalled and two more coats of base were applied. Then, it was blown apart again to clear coat everything separately.
After the paint cures, it's time for color sanding and final buffing, and then final assembly.
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rlomba8204
- Posts: 4869
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Washington, DC
This is a great thread. It shows people what is involved in properly repainting these cars, or any car for that matter. I know that finances can be personal, but for those of us that toy with the idea of eventually going through this process, would you be willing to share the total cost of this project? Ballpark would be fine. And in this case, we have a "benchmark" so to speak of what a quality respray, and some relatively normal associated rust repair, will cost.
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
I don't like to talk money about these sorts of things, but I will say that from a financial standpoint it makes totally no sense to paint an e28 like this. 
My initial intention was to basically bring it back to OEM quality, but then it sort of mushroomed...there was a lot more rust than I expected (besides a lot of patches in the floors plus various other spot repairs here and there, I've replaced both front doors, the hood and one fender); we decided to go for a much higher level of preparation (there's a ton of block sanding in this thing) and I'm replacing virtually all of the exterior trim and weatherstrip.
Even with a pretty reasonable shop rate of $55/hr, in the end it's going to cost a lot more than the car is worth. A LOT. I'll probably have to drive it for the rest of my life to get my money's worth, but it's my car, I can afford to do it, and I'm happy with how it's coming out.
My initial intention was to basically bring it back to OEM quality, but then it sort of mushroomed...there was a lot more rust than I expected (besides a lot of patches in the floors plus various other spot repairs here and there, I've replaced both front doors, the hood and one fender); we decided to go for a much higher level of preparation (there's a ton of block sanding in this thing) and I'm replacing virtually all of the exterior trim and weatherstrip.
Even with a pretty reasonable shop rate of $55/hr, in the end it's going to cost a lot more than the car is worth. A LOT. I'll probably have to drive it for the rest of my life to get my money's worth, but it's my car, I can afford to do it, and I'm happy with how it's coming out.
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Bill in MN
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- Location: The Boonies, Mn
- Contact:
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Kyle in NO
- Posts: 17638
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- Location: Nasty Orleans------> Batten-Rooehjch------>More Souther LA
That is stunning! What a difference the clear coat makes. It's really interesting to see this process through each step.
As for the financial cost/investment - if all of us with "classic" cars only put work into the car if we expected to earn it back from resale, all these great cars would be junk. Hats off to you for pursuing this project because you love the car and you "want" to do it
Jim
As for the financial cost/investment - if all of us with "classic" cars only put work into the car if we expected to earn it back from resale, all these great cars would be junk. Hats off to you for pursuing this project because you love the car and you "want" to do it
Jim
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stuartinmn
- Posts: 9462
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006 12:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis
A couple more pictures:
They're color sanding and buffing this week and should be done by Friday, and then final assembly will begin.
I ordered a new windshield from the local dealer today; the old one isn't bad but it has one chip and some freckles from road grit, so I figured this is the time to replace it.
They're color sanding and buffing this week and should be done by Friday, and then final assembly will begin.
I ordered a new windshield from the local dealer today; the old one isn't bad but it has one chip and some freckles from road grit, so I figured this is the time to replace it.
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M. Holtmeier
- Posts: 3025
- Joined: Mar 11, 2007 3:06 AM
- Location: Dallas, Texas
Wow! 
You are one lucky dude!
This is the level of paint I wanted for my car, not that I could afford to pay someone else to do it, but lost the workspace to do it in.(not saying the actual finished product would be as good, but the process would have been correct and I would have layed the paint) Who cares about the money side of it, you can't take it with you! I bet you are having a blast seeing this project through!
You are one lucky dude!
This is the level of paint I wanted for my car, not that I could afford to pay someone else to do it, but lost the workspace to do it in.(not saying the actual finished product would be as good, but the process would have been correct and I would have layed the paint) Who cares about the money side of it, you can't take it with you! I bet you are having a blast seeing this project through!
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Mats Kinnby
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- Location: Sweden
