Paint Prep - DIY?
 

Would appreciate feedback on whether it worth doing some or all paint prep (rubbing down) or whether it is best to leave it to the painter.

So far I have tried to do as much of the build as possible but I dont want to spend a weekend doing something that a painter could do in an hour or turn up with sub-standard preparation.

Do the guys who have done their own prep consider it worthwhile and what proportion of the painting cost is prep?

Regards
Martin

Martin, from what I hear a major part of the effort is preparation, never more so than with fibreglass cars. I've found plenty of useful tips in the Factory Five FAQ here under "Body & Paint Finishing Tips".

Regards,
Paul

Hi Martin
A good painter should insist on doing the prep, after all at the end of the day a good paint job is only as good as the prep. Plus if it turns out bad he can't blame you for bad prep. Spend the extra bucks.
Cheers
Brett

I would agree with Brett, Martin. The painter will want to do the prep. Also, it is a dirty and dangerous job best left to those with the expertise and equipment.

Merv

Surely taking back the gelcoat and removing the rough bits with sandpaper isn't going to jeopardise the end result? With basic prep, every hour that the painter doesn't have to work is another $50 in your pocket.

$50 an hour....man they work cheap in Vic. best bet to get a cheaper paint job is try and befriend a painter who is happy to guide you through the prep process, and then paint it for you.

I enjoy the body work, but it is not easy to get right and takes a lot of time. I bought some AFS (adjustable flexibility) sanders as well - youll notice there are no flat surfaces on your cobra. Sambo is right - the FF forum has great info on bodywork.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Set-of-5-FLEX...QQcmdZViewItem

Cheers.

martin,
i ditto all the above , unless you know what you are doing dont touch it! you can spend a lot of money on everything that you cant see (ie motor interior) only to phuck it with a sub standard paint job. an example, mine spent 3 months in the paint shop.
and i was helping on weekends:CRY:
,maybe thats why it took so long!
but it also depends on what you want in the end!
good luck, a good painter is hard to find an artist, well phuck they are rare!!

I totally agree...and it is complicated by the fact that not many painters have experience with glass bodies.

There are many owners out there who were initially happy with their paint jobs only to be dis-satisfied some time later.

Not an easy question to answer.

and it is complicated by the fact that not many painters have experience with glass bodies
the above quote was rebel1
EXACTLY!!!:)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAnnnnnnndddddd...

You can spend 8-10k on a paint job, and first day out get 50 stone chips on the rear gaurds or take a chunk out of the oil cooler shroud. That has got to be heart breaking. :)

Xactly Tenrocca, but for those who have taken the time to learn some body/fiberglass work can do a lot of their own repair work.

As you mentioned..it is a time consuming but rewarding part of the build.

You can make all sorts of stuff outta a bit of foam and some glass.

I did my own prep work AND paint, you can see the pictures in my gallery. I used two pack black primer and straight gloss Black top coat. It was pretty cheap paint but the painter was pretty cheap too!!! I had never done any of that type of work before but thought I'd just give it a crack....

Is it a professional job? Hell no! Does it look like a professional job? No way. Do I have a sense of satisfaction for doing almost everything myself? Hell yeah....

My tip.... good prep is the key to a top job. I didn't let the body cure for long enough before painting. As a result, I now have a slight "trench" on each of the front guards, where the inner guards are bonded to the body. These bonded areas have shrunk as they cured which has pulled the body in slightly.

Total cost for everything was under $600.

If I had my time again I would certainly give it a go, (after waiting for the body to cure properly)...

Plums, well done - that's a bloody cheap (affordable) paint job and it looks fine to me. When you speak of curing, does this also apply to body filler that may have been applied in various places?

Time Consuming Prep
 

We (brother & I) took the middle road and prepared the car for professional painter to apply the final coat.

After reading the many posts on this forun it became clear that getting it right for 'glass cars was a dark art - so we took no chances, disposed of a couple of chickens and applied the undercoat under a full moon

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...undercoat3.jpg

To get to this point took a full weekend and a couple of hours each night after work.

After the undercoat the rubbing back took another week of after hours activity and some weekend time.

The painter did the main body without doors/bonnet etc and shot those seperately. (1 day)

This is a photo during re-assembly... (taken with mobile phone so not great quality)

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...12-06_1206.jpg

The total cash outlay was $500
(the panel shop operator did receive a number of referals from my brother so they had a good relationship)

It is not the best paint job but it is better than I need/wanted/expected, I am very pleased with it and think that was good value for money.

It is a LOT of rubbing and you'll get tired and sore and will wish you hadn't - but eventually you forget that bit. Personally if I were faced with a 3 month wait and 10K I'd be stocking up on filler and paper again. Its a price/pain trade off.

There is a big version of this photo in the gallery - it might be worth examining other home jobs to see if it suits you.

http://www.clubcobra.com/photopost/d...m/THE_COB3.JPG

good luck

LoBelly

Guys...forgive a POM living in the US from interfering in an antipodean ( :) ) thread, but I did all my own prep on a fiberglass body a couple of years ago. I did all the sanding and filling (and sanding and filling and sanding and filling, and sanding and filling ...etc) and was just advised by a professional body guy during the prep, but dear god, it isn't THAT difficult to take all the seams out and smooth down most of the body.

It took me almost 200 hours of prep work (see my pics), but other then pneumoconeosis from inhaling fiberglass, IT WAS A BLAST!!!!!

As folks have stated, THERE ARE NO FLAT SPOTS ON A COBRA, and this is NOT rocket science guys, BUT it does require patience and attention to detail.

BUT the sense of pride and satisfaction is AMAZING...good luck, whatever you decide!

(and let us NOT talk about cricket...LOL)

Glyn

I think its our kiwis brother that would want to talk about the cricket...I think you lot are getting confused between that and the rugby. :)

Cheers

I suspect our displaced pom is referring to the embarrassing gaff made by their captain in the game against the Kiwis and the Australian delight in sticking it to our former jailers whenever misfortune visits them.:D

Apparantly its OK to tackle now? :) Would make cricket a lot more interesting..:D

I Picked up the bit about spending a weekend doing something that a painter could do in an hour......It's more like the other way around...A good painter will spend ages doing proper preparation. If he does it in quick time he's taking shortcuts. Be aware that preparation is 90% of a good paint job and it takes time for paint to cure etc. even 2-pack.
Good Luck. Smithy

Plums, to go on from Sambos question regarding curing times,
how old was the body before you started work on it ?
Did you cure the body in a spray booth or similar?
Did you complete the bodywork all at once or over an extended period?
How soon after the body was prepared did you notice movement in the panels?
Sorry for all the questions.

Regards.