Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Off Topic Subjects => Topic started by: dakazman on Saturday,March 24, 2018, 06:30:29 PM
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After a year I finally repaired some defects and put on the the last coat of clear on my El Camino .
More sanding and polishing to go.
Dakazman
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Nice! You do like black, don't you?
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That’s emerald green mosaic paint it turns colors.
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Dave, if you don’t pace yourself you will run out of things to do. :BEER3:
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I’m pacing....,the Weather is perfect. I still need to repaint vette and the roof on my hi top van. Lol , plenty of beer 🍻 breaks on that job. Only after 5pm ..,4 ... ,Ok noon. I have too many hats and a drive to work. Like you , I’m looking for the next project.
Dave
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Nice! You do like black, don't you?
Well, you know what they say . . once you go black . . .
Anyway, please stop praising dakazman.
He's raised the bar too high for the likes of me already . . :D (I kid . . I kid.)
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Galvin, Big Lol,
But really , it’s my version of BRG.
Halfway mark, sanded to where I feel comfortable enough not to burn thru the several coats applied.
This car was also painted in my garage and I find it relaxing or maybe it’s just the fumes. Lol.
Dave
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Stunning, Dave! If I ever need to repaint Lotus, I'll invite you to relax up here!
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BDA,
I can do that . I worked , work for an airline . Getting there is easy Lol.
I have a few bugs to get out before a event in April. I rebuilt the tilt wheel steering column and need to install it , but I was waiting for my arm to be able to lift it in place . I can do it but I will have to pace myself.
Dave.
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I have been under the weather last week but finally kicked it. Getting my Camino ready for a event but needed to detail wives car , lol . Back on track now but still need a lot of finishing work. Hope you like the pics. You can clearly see the difference between the sunlight on the car now.
Dave
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Dave, they look great! I think you can have a job painting cars anytime you want!
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Just... wow! Someday you’ll have to show us your paint setup. My $15 Harbor Fright spray gun and 6.5 CFM compressor ain’t nearly up to your standards.
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Dave, wish you were my neighbor !
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Before the weather gets to hot and humid a total repaint to my wife’s van . Color still unknown to me , but it will be a complete change. Preparing now😀
Surf,
I have several guns , I’ll try to gather them up and yes harbor freight is in my arsenal. They are good throw sways and last surprisingly a long time but do leak .
Dakazman
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As luck would have it , my van decided to blow a brake line ., couldn’t wait to get painted . Removed line and will bend it up tomorrow. The squirrel didn’t like my messing with her ex home much either, but my cat took charge of that situation.
Also my new garage door opener doesn’t lift the door high enough to pull van into garage. Lol just stopped in time . Made some adjustments to the rods and will see if I could get the car back in.
Dave
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When it rains, it pours!
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BDA ,It sure does .
O’Rielly has a 25’ft roll of brake line so I decided to go with it other than join my he longest 72” length at advance auto. Bent up , flared and ready to install. I’ll just use the remainder length on the lotus.
Dave
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Bulk of the van painted , kept it almost the same color so I could get away from painting the door jambs . The ground effects will be gold.
Dakazman
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Very nice! Not quite as cool as your Lotus painting exhibits, but very nice!
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Outdoor paint booth?
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Certified, painted in garage and after dry drove outside.
Too many birds to paint outside.
BDA, thanks again, it’s the wife ‘s baby but I may paint ,”team lotus” with the lotus emblem on it so when I tow the lotus around it will look semiprofessional.
Dakazman
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Now that would be cool!
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Here you go, paint it like this van :FUNNY:
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I love it, only a little smaller lettering . Also only Gold. I have a lot of lotus pit crew trailer / van pics to go thru but this was the first time I saw that vehicle.
:lotus:
Dakazman
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here’s Paul Matty’s!
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Lotus fanatic, these pics are excellent. Painting ground effects now gold . I will incorporate some of these in the finished details. It makes this outdated van a curiosity item when done. Thanks again for the pic.
Dakazman
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Hi Dakazman,
here’s a couple more, not sure if they’ll help?
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Helped a friend out and painting his Harley.
Just a nice small job . Getting ready to buff out after painting this 2k urethane clearcoat paint with a base called carbon flash .
Dakazman
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I know it’s not the team lotus van but the urethane paint was pretty easy to sand and buff out!
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More mirrors! Great job, dakazman! :beerchug:
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Thanks BDA ,
A number a members have asked how I obtain a mirrored finish. It is not easy . I spend sometimes
3 hours or more on the fender. With perserviance, obtain a finish pros envy.
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Some before and after pics...
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Nice! :beerchug:
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Still working on van paint and final touches. Raining for seems like weeks .., so I decided to finish up other jobs on my 8 vehicles. Good thing I did the Honda Sport driven by my daughter had a huge bulge on the inner side of her front tire found when rotating tires . I asked if she felt any vibration and I received an answer like, 2weeks ago I heard a load bang when I hit a pothole!!! I told her next time if you were living on your own go directly to a tire store and have them inspect the car. All better now that she now has two new tires.
Dakazman
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Nice paint, as usual! Talking care of the daughter's car is always an adventure!
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Just some jokes and a picture from 2 years ago...
Dakazman
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Weather looks great, prepping my Europa for its final coats of clear coat.
Dakazman
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No painting today but I did a bunch of favors for the neighbors who come over an ask me to fix things but nicely. Being so called retired is exhausting.
The engine cover was my biggest concern since I left it upside down when wet and warped the internal supports pushing the skin upwards. All fixed after some reverse coaxing and of course, sanding , painting and resanding. Now it’ and the entire car is sanded down to 800 for final clear coats. The pictures show some minor defects that I will get out soon.
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Nice work! Your in the home stretch to finish the paint work. Hopefully I’ll be close behind you.
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Looking forward to seeing the end result. You're doing beautiful work.
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Body surfaces were never that fair when they were new! It’s gonna look great D-man!
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Thanks guys ! Posting again in the garage section but I will update this thread with pictures also.
Hopefully no more projects. I still have a honey do list to work on also dealing with the household.
Fun times
Dakazman
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Its not what you think , more black, I wish .
the misses suggested painting several rooms in the house . I Just painted 5 years ago..., color change.
then the list kept growing of other things that need some attention. :huh:
Help,
dakazman
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I find spraying a whole room (walls ceiling, furniture, etc.) gloss black makes a stunning decor statement. You might even get a shoot in Architectural Digest!
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That’s what she wants on her kitchen cabinets ,🤫 LOL And...that’s after I build the cabinets.
Dakazman
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That’s what she wants on her kitchen cabinets ,🤫 LOL And...that’s after I build the cabinets.
Dakazman
This sounds so much like my life! Happy wife, happy life.
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7This sounds so much like my life! Happy wife, happy life.
europaguy,
you speak the truth! :I-agree:
Dakazman
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A friend that I painted his bike awhile back sent me pictures of his bike after he finally made it his.
He just wanted to say thanks again for the paint job and to say how many people complement it.
😢😢🤧. He really did a first class job on his build . Look back in this thread and see the difference.
Dakazman
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It’s officially over.
At least for two or three weeks. Florida is under attack, Even the most sterile shops have problems with there ventilation systems. Water drains clogged as they die after mating so the ground looks like black snow. Thousands of the pesty Love Bugs clog filters, ruin your clean car as they impale themselves on anything moving. Attracted to carbon monoxide and moisture.
Welcome to Florida!
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D'man, you aren't still painting are you? Besides, I wouldn't think you'd have to worry about them when you get your car together. I would think they wouldn't stick to that black mirror of yours!
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BDA,
Yes...I found some defects in the PO repair that looked good had void of air, so when exposed to the heat the finish was distorted. It is a set back however I can repair it before the engine is rebuilt.
Dakazman
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You are a sanding machine. You must know ever single square inch of that car. It is going to look perfect when she is done!
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It’s better to fix now, it’s an easy fix . My color paint is pure black base so there is no color inconsistencies. The clearcoat will be the entire nose to the lower door pin holes so it will only straighten up any other waves.
I’ll be full throttle on the frame components for now. Engine going to machinist maybe this week.
Dakazman
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Recently I purchased a rim that will be for my spare tire. Does anyone know what color they were?
If black, were they satin or flat? Here is a before and after soda blasting.
Dakazman
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I can only imagine what you'll do with them when you paint them!
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Recently I purchased a rim that will be for my spare tire. Does anyone know what color they were?
If black, were they satin or flat? Here is a before and after soda blasting.
Dakazman
The one that came with my car was (still is) black. There's a bit of a sheen to it so I suspect it was originally what passed for "satin" back in 1972. The Elan went through a phase of having satin black wheels with chrome embellishers so I'd guess the spray shop would do all the wheels from the same gun.
Brian
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I have a friend that is powder coating my door latches, just gave her another job of powder coating the rim. Also will send her the seat teak assemblies. The color was restrictive to a matt Black or gloss.😀sold . Gloss it is. I will Post pics when finished.
Dakazman
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Door catches seatbelt clasp and spare powder coating. The drum brakes were just painted.
Dakazman
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I was also thinking about my door latches and am hesitant to paint them as they will probably scratch like the dickens. Need to electroplate them.
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I replated my bumpers and while I was at it, I plated the latch "tongues" for the boot and bonnet. I wish I had thought to have the door latches, too.
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My next trip I’m giving her the seat tracks. I think I just polished the tongues now that you mention it.
I will also get my Chevy Astro scissor jack and breaker bar done. It is compact and can certainly lift the car.
Dakazman
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This may be fake but it might bring pinstripes back.
Dakazman
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It’s still hot and humid 87-90f and your soaking wet just walking to the mailbox for parts...
The snowfall reports sound good from our northern friends, but that too get old. Friends of mine live in Wyoming and I swear they just went home after spending the winter down here.
The paint prep season is all most here so friends are dropping by while I was finishing up the repairs to the front turn indicators warts. Waiting for one dry day and he front clip will be painted and cleared again, along with some small touchup work. Then assembly 😃😃 of the body parts.
As for a favor, why are there deep waves in this piece,🤔. I decided to just start new and strip the entire piece. Mother of pearl ...heavy metal flakes, different base on multiple ribbons. A 70’s acid trip gone wrong. Probably cost a mint . No fear , it’s gone. A clean slate now, prepped and primed for the fatter front tire of a Harley.
Dakazman
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More nice work, D'man!
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Yesterday was the first dry day with no humidity . 😀👍👍Paint gun time! 👍
All I need is one more perfect day and I can hopefully finish painting the Lotus. Painted the Harley’s fender and cleared. Test good.
Sealed the primed the front indicator location after repaired.
Dakazman
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A finished product 😃
Dakazman
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Looks great D'man! You do like black, don't you!?
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I think he's got a 50 gallon drum of the stuff from a Black Friday deal......
;)
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I think D’man has the Stones “Paint it Black” on a loop in his garage.
“I see a red car and I want to paint it black...”
^-^ t
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Come on guys, it does seem that way though. The carbon flash black has dark blue and violet, and a lot of metal flake.
The weather closed in on me again before I could even finish a single fender . I sprayed the panel and brought it into my house. That’s what I posted. The front clip from n the Europa has to wait to Friday according to the weather report.
Dakazman
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Dave, you paint as much as I electroplate. All good :beerchug:
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Just as an update, Today I finished the repairs on the turn indicators . Primed and prepped for a low humidity and 0 wind. I really underestimated the time to repair the correctly and to have a perfect reflection in the finish.
Another little test piece will be a helmet... a lol of leftover paint to use up, yes Black, and Gold.
Dakazman
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I hope you get your humidity & wind conditions soon so you can finish the paint get start turning wrenches! :)
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Tell Elgin cams to finish my tappets 😥.
Dakazman
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Looking good!
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It’s hot and humid however I tested the limits of the paint outside, in the wind. The results were...
Dakazman PS, I ordered the JPS decals for second clear coat.
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That looks pretty good to me in spite of the humidity!
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Nice! Anything JPS gets my attention. Here is my helmet, I let the CF show through in a couple of areas. Anyone recognize the modified design?
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You added the red trim? The carbon fifer looks good also.
Dakazman
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The whole helmet was painted except the CF that shows through. Designed to replicate a famous Lotus F1 drivers helmet used in one race.
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So when are you going to tell us which driver's helmet you copied!?
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Nick Heidfeld, Lotus Renault F1 Team at Australian GP - November 15th, 2011
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I would never have guessed that! Of course the other clue is that I had to ask!
Pretty helmet! Nicely done
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Notice that I changed the Q (for “Quick Nick”) to a G (for Glen)
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Nice!
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After a day at the shooting range, ..This made my day. :trophy:
My son in law , Chris, and I went down to a local flight school that’s painting there entire fleet. They had some questions about the paint, mixing and techniques . I could have stayed all day and talked.
I all most wanted to paint for free. :FUNNY:
Dakazman
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D'man, I'm not sure they would have wanted a plane shaped black mirror! It might have some weird interaction with radar... hmmm, is that what you're after - a stealth Europa?! :FUNNY:
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BDA, Quiet 🤫 that’s the DEA ‘s paint scheme . TOP SECRET! We only come out at night!
Dakazman
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You should have negotiated paint time for some seat time in the planes, that would have been a wicked trade!
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Started a simple paint job on my daily driver, since it gets the best gas mileage. some bad rust around rear window and under spoiler caused some delay's. A quick fix on a pulled out door handle anchor and was reinstalled . Welding uprear deck spoiler holes tomorrow and should put in primer by Saturday.
Its great to be back in my garage even though the temps are in the high 90's F
dakazman
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Uh... D'man. Don't you have wrenching to do on your baby? Focus! Focus! ;D
Really, I'm looking forward to seeing how that comes out. Is it going to be black too?
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Is it going to be black too?
I think it should be left in primer until the Europa is finished (well as finished as they ever are!), just to incentivise him.... :)
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Guys, I learned long ago that what the wife wants done , gets priority ! Yeah I know🤷♂️
Not black, doing the original yellow! Hopefully done by Wednesday. I thought about leaving it primer but it’s parts are all over the garage.
Dakazman
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With an open credit card limit and wife’s blessings I purchased a gallon of single stage mason 2k in the original yellow .
I sprayed a good first coating of up4453 hi build primer . Samir out tomorrow and if all looks well , I’ll spray the finish coat tomorrow. That’s the plan until I take my afternoon nap, but the weather may change and I’ll have to wait . Just hope for the best👍😁
I can’t wait to get back to my baby BDA!
Dakazman
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You need to open up a paint shop, D'man! But if you do, you'll never get around to finishing your Europa!
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BDA , I promise to continue working on Dolly very soon . I took some pictures of items I need to purchase or fabricate. One good thing about stepping back and rethink your vision saves time. One exception is to bring my corvette in for 5 new tires, I’ll just leave it at the shop . 🙏
Dakazman
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If tomorrow’s weather gifts me some dry air( low humidity )and no rain I’ll be spraying some color.
Door jambs and engine compartment will follow later.
Received all the sealant required to reinstall rear window , however I will paint without it installed.
Spraying a complete car is easier . Circling back to a problem panel, that will not confirm is easier.
Getting the entire job done is the focus.
Alarm set for 6am 👍
Dakazman
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A patch of dry air encircled parts of Florida, dotted with some on shore showers later in the afternoon. “Get her done”, went through my head as i maneuvered my other cars and payed down some cardboard around car.
Mixed a small batch of paint up and sprayed a panel, paint looked great and payed out nicely .. 😀
Off to the races I went and in about 1 hour , done. Some drips of sweat on a fender and hood but other than that , still going great.
Then one of those predicted clouds rolled past and drenched the cars outside. Lotus was covered 👏👏👏😅 but my vette with all the tiberon parts on top got a good cleaning, oh well !
Tomorrow I can start sanding it out and polishing it up .
Dakazman
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I'll know where to go if I need a car painted!
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Nice work!
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In my spare time and cleaning up garage I cobbled this together. My wife loved it🥰
Well it’s out of my garage.
That’s guys , BDA, Sure thing!😃
Dakazman
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You grow potted plants in your garage ?????
;)
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Sometimes I think I’ll have to start cutting roots of the cars🥱
After cleaning out the garage and into my daughters house, I now have some room.
I had all the intentions of working on my cars today however I woke up sore and achy and have a fever.. my son in law tested positive for Covid19 and we were at his birthday party 🥱🤷 I’ll give it a day but I do have a rapid test kit ready. I also had all my shots.
Dakazman
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COVID it was , I feel fine now and spent some time sanding down my paint job.
Son in law also up and out cutting his lawn.
Dakazman
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Finally over COVID!
Did a fast job painting the spoiler yesterday before the humidity hit. Today I juggled sanding and polishing, assembly, on my tiberon . The day seldom goes to my plan but it was productive.
It’s not a show car so I cut my sanding time and left a few imperfections in the paint.
I’m going to spend a little more time on it and paint the door jambs on some under hood areas. It is at least in drivable condition.
Rear window installation went so so . The 3m tube of sealant was partially hardened and would not come out of the tube. I had to cut it open and apply the sealant with my fingers . All ended well, with window in place and no leaks.
Dakazman
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Looks nice! :beerchug:
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Thanks BDA, These were taken a few day ago with interior parts reinstalled, but forgot to post .
Job done for now.
Dakazman
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Getting ready to paint a JPS emblem on my composite veil bonnet
The base was sprayed gold iridescent awhile ago . I had problems finding someone to do the decal so I decided to have a go.
Just finishing up the line work and placement. I’m still deciding whether to add a 3/8 circle around the entire decal in the appropriate dash marker area . Any thoughts on placement or ring?
Dakazman
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Nice work D’man!
In case you’re interested, r.d. enterprises might still have JPS stickers. Many years ago I sent Ray one I got from the Lotus distributor in New Orleans for him to make copies.
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I will check with Ray. eBay has many smaller ones up to 12” but leave out parts of the emblem.
This is a very large decal .
BTW, this will be painted on and clear coated.
Dakazman
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Of course if you're looking to cover most of the bonnet, a little sticker like I showed you won't do.
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BDA,
It may make a nice garage wall hanger,...Maybe a ceiling hanger since I don't have much wall space left. :FUNNY:
D'man
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The finish on this 3rd time sanded and clear coated about a year ago showed no defects save for a small dimple and my Bernie thru the clear which I saw in the previous application but wanted to see if this would be an alternative to the veil . Tomorrow I’ll do a respray on this prepped bonnet and some touch-up work on my vette.
BTW , that’s just white residue from the clear coat that was sanded with 800 grit as per specs.
Dakazman
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Posting now the painting of the synthetic veil with JPS insignia.
The process of the steps involved to take it from a blank piece of paper to laying it out were time consuming. This is the final layout and positioning, still needing some trimming.
Cutting out two patterns helped so when the vinyl was floated as a set can be trimmed and set later in as single letter’s correctly.
Now just waiting for a good day to spray some Gloss Black.
Dakazman
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So you are painting the veil then putting it on the bonnet?
Not sure I get what the process is :confused:
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IFF I’m following correctly, d-man has a veiled, clear painted hood he’s adding the decal to.
dakazman, paint that hood black before adding the JPS logo. Then you’ll have an alternate hood to swap in as needed :)
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The bonnet has been veiled long ago and painted Gold. The stencil was then applied over the gold. Now, I'm up to painting it Black then removing the vinyl stencil , then clearcoat.
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Thanks for explaining! Should look great!
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Yeah, I was confused too. It should look great!
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I see it now , the clear in the first picture is all that is permanent.\
D'Man
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So it will be black! As it should be >:D
I watch some maker videos. And it always amazes me when they take some off the wall path to the goal that, yes, was much simpler and faster than I would have taken.
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Kendo,
And now Black it is. :)
I just had a great day for painting and I've been waiting for just the right day weather wise. I had a few items to paint, both clear and black.
my motorcycle front fender was chiped by a rock in the black, silver and orange flames. I dont like to play with color matching but I think it came out well enough.
The JPS bonnet is now in Black and clear coated.
My Forth time sanded and cleared all black bonnet is again in clear after waiting a few months without any shrinkage. I'm really happy with it.
D'Man
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Had some time to buff out the original bonnet again, hopefully this time it will stay mirror like and stop shrinking . The last clearcoat was 9 months ago and held the mirror effect.
Also finished a few honey do’s , picture frames and fix a Pella Awning window . It’s a known
defect in the exterior trim and the glazing compound.
I usually catch the glazing flaking out but I missed this one. Pella said they would replace for 2k
But for $100 and a few day’s work it will be as good as new.
The picture frame only waited about a year 😁🥱
Dakazman