Just got done with my garage paint job~! Need info

[swift240sx]

i wouldnt clear coat it because its just goint to get messed up anyway. um i think it looks brute. sport compacr car had a 240sx project and kept it like a primer color or something and it came out looking great. go to the website and check out the 240sx project.

[0wn3r]

Maaco sucks, my boss used to work for them. They buy paint by the BARRELS, I dont need to tell you what kind of quality control issues that provokes. I decided NOT to clear it. I'm just too broke. I'm VERY HAPPY with the outcome. It looks great from afar, which is more than enough for me.

I DID prep the car right, I didnt half-*** this. This is the look I was going for.

i can hardly begin to describe how many things are wrong with this few sentences- i could probably flame for a good page or so, but i'll sum it up.

1. You are saying Maaco sucks but then out of all places you choose... Home Depot!! .......?

2. Yea, it really looks like you're really pondering the "quality issues" on this paint job.

3. If you were too broke, you should have put your money into a savings account... (if they even let you open one up for the total $ of like 4 spray paint cans.)

4. It looks great from afar to you, but you're the one driving, so you have to see it close up.

5. dude you went to home depot and bought friggin rustoleum and put it on (hopefully) your prize possession... then you go and say it wasn't half-4ss3d? come on...

now, i can understand if you're drifting like once a week and may run into dirt/rocks/walls and need to repaint it after each time... ok, then it can fly. but to me it sounds like you're just too lazy to go out there with a hose and sponge and put some time into it.

Just curious though, why did you ditch the white if you don't like dealing with scratches? Or, more importantly, why, of all colors available, did you go with BLACK?

because I saw it in a magazine or on the del sol forums and i said "WHOAAA DAT IS TEH JDM TYt3-NESS!! I CAN MAKE MY SICC WHIP LIKE DAT 2 YO!1!11drift!"

*sigh* i try not to bash the person, i try to bash the retarded fad. my bad if i seemed offensive.

[RatedR]

I went with black cause i preffered it over primer. I've seen the SCC flat black, looked great but I wanted the more satin look.

Own3r - I seriously dont think youre offensive, but you do seem to presume a lot of things. I didnt get RUSTOLEUM, I bought masking paper and tape from HD. I bought the paint at Kragen (lol). I dont believe in saving, whenever you get enough saved, once you spend that amount, you're back to where you were in the first place. (I'm working on a way around that)

I'm not pondering the "quality issues" of this paint job, I LIKE IT. I was just trying to see if you guys would put clear coat or not. I didnt ask if you guys would paint your car this way. I obviously DID, so I wouldn't be on this board asking to paint it semi-gloss black now, THAT WOULD BE POINTLESS. And it DOES look good from afar! I'm proud of the work I did. I took the car apart, taped everything off. Not bad for a first timer. Its just going to get better from here the next time I paint. Its all worth it for the experience.

Ohh and as for the quote you did:

1)del Sols are very promising platforms if you have no budget. I plan on buying another one and building it the way Honda should've = with a V6 NSX engine in the trunk~!

2)Just cause you dont like the flat black look doesnt mean nobody does. I like it cause old folks from the philippines used to keep their cars this color (510s, toyota mangos, etc.) and its just classic. Sure I didnt get myine the same quality as theirs, but I did it myself. And next time I do it over, it'll be better and with clear coat (yes, using a compressor and paint gun)

PS - Usually Own3r, when you drive a car, you shouldn't be trying to look at its paint job. You should really be paying attention to the road.

[gaehrings13]

Wet sand it with 1500 and 2000 it will look smoother.

[RatedR]

Thank you everyone else who's had a positive contribution to this thread. I was wondering if sanding it would also help blend in some overspray? There are a few spots I thought I got well enough but are a little 'bare'. They show brown/tanish hues on the paint, i know i need to go back and hit those again....

ballilover - I spent around 50-60 dollars on this. That's including the proper tape, masking paper, sand paper, scotchbrite and other things.

jdm master x- I think your car looks coo for the job you did. You really have to have a purpose for the flat black. Its not something you put on the car cause you think its COOL.

I'm expecting dents/scratches and I've accepted that, but it doesn't mean I cant learn on my car. I did this for a number of reasons. For the most part, I did it for the experience. Now I can say that I CAN paint an s13. I know what it will take to lay down some SHOW quality paint, and I didn't have to go to school for it.

Modified by RatedR at 6:52 PM 11/14/2005
Modified by RatedR at 11:30 PM 11/15/2005

[BaliLover]

Thank you everyone else who's had a positive contribution to this thread. I was wondering if sanding it would also help blend in some overspray? There are a few spots I thought I got well enough but are a little 'bare'. They show brown/tanish hues on the paint, i know i need to go back and hit those again....

ballilover - I spent around 50-60 dollars on this. That's including the proper tape, masking paper, sand paper, scotchbrite and other things.

Modified by RatedR at 6:52 PM 11/14/2005

I don't want you to think for a minute that I was dissing you or the semi-gloss Idea, I prefer semi-gloss to flat any day. I was just trying to stop you from making it look crappy. Sanding it isn't going to do much for the dryspray or the streaks, thats just something that comes with spraycan jobs. What I can recommend to you is something called a Preval. Its an aerosol can with a glass jar at the bottom of it. It allows you to purchase automotive paint/primer/etc and spray it without a compressor. Each can is good for about 2 coats on 1 panel (ie: door) For something semi-gloss black like you did, it would work great, but avoid using it on metallics as it tends to blotch them. The other tip I can give you, when working with spray cans and other small aerosol is to only do one panel at a time, such as a fender. Mask the areas surrounding the fender to prevent overspray, paint it and let it dry, then move on to the next panel. You can get away with doing a fender and quarter panel on either side of the car at the same time to make it go a bit quicker. Its a bit time consuming to do it this way, but the end product tends to have less dryspray and overspray.

[RatedR]

Yeah, I did start to do it one panel at a time, but then I started getting impatient and spraying all the way around. I should hit it with some more coats on the dryer part. I actually had one panel that came out VERY WELL.....the GAS DOOR~!!!! Ohh and I didnt think you were putting me down at all, I understand where you were going with it.

PS - Would I have to wax it after wetsanding? Doesnt it usually leave a dry white hue that looks smeared?
Modified by RatedR at 10:03 PM 11/14/2005

[slickster1013]

definatly clear it man, and be sure to color sand and buff it, will make it look a whole lot better

[240sxjeff]

240Jeff - I think your car looks coo for the job you did. You really have to have a purpose for the flat black. Its not something you put on the car cause you think its COOL. Modified by RatedR at 6:52 PM 11/14/2005

Are you talking to me? because my car is not spraypainted nor is it flat black, its pearl white.

[RatedR]

whoops, typo