An Update!

[Turk]

Before someone reaches the conclusion that this is nothing more than a shameless self promotion, I want to make it clear that the only reason I divulged the details of our efforts of painting my car was to openly admit how much love and care goes into making these cars look like something we could be proud of.

There are many painters out there, some are members on the forum; who have done show quality paint jobs for a fraction of what we have invested.

I bet for $5,000 to $7,000 you can get your car to look better than mine. This was our first attempt to play with fiberglass body car from scratch. For instance I don't know that it was absolutely necessary to remove all the gelcoat to do what we did.

We spent a lot of time in the paint booth, and out in the sun trying to get all the oils and release agents out. A lot went into assuring ourselves against any pin holes. I am not sure a few pinholes in places where you can't even see them is all that important. I think the body got more bubble baths and than I did during the period it was in the shop.

You could use 1200 sandpaper, whereas 1500 takes longer. 2000 is painfully slow. All this and very carefull attention to blocking not to distort the overall shape all added up.
I honestly couldn't tell what WAS necessary what was a total waste of time. This is one case where ignorance was a bliss.

I don't believe all those cars we see at car shows and drool over have gone through the same ordeal to make their cars come out as mine did. So please before you pile up on me, understand that this is not case of self promotion as much as a public disclosure of how silly we were.

Then I have heard of people spending upwards of $10,000 on two fenders and a gas tank on a motorcycle paint job. In retrospect I feel like I got a bargain, considering I obviously did NOT pay for the materials (courtesy of PPG) and did not pay the full shop rate, since I am the boss.

Don't think you have to spend anywhere near that amount to get a good paint job. Ask around and also go look at the work being done,and also make sure to look at at least one finished job before you hand your car over to someone.

TURK