Painting in progress

I finally got the "paint booth" set up, i definitely got some strange looks from the neighbors.  Kinda looks like an impromptu meth lab, but who would be that brazen to install a meth lab in a front facing garage for all to see...  not me, of course, but I'm sure there is some Rhodes Scholar wannabe out there drawing up their plans as we speak.  When it was all completed, it looked like a murder scene right out of Dexter.  The best part was when I cranked on the fans, the top actually bowed in under the negative air pressure, so at least the fumes would go out via the filtered fans.  I'm sure the neighbors will appreciate that.

The booth did turn out pretty good, its a snug fit with the car in there, but it does the trick, at least so far.  I've sprayed a gallon of base coat over the car in the past three days.  3 light coats on Sunday, let it cure, then color sanded on Monday night and let it sit overnight, and finally sprayed a light base coat in preparation for clear coat.  I was all set to spray clear last night after work, but the more I read up on metallic coatings, the more it became evident that I needed to give it a light coat prior to clear.  Oh well, I burned through my very last drop of base color last night.  I was hoping to have enough left over to complete the top trim piece on the back glass and have a small amount left over for touch ups, but no dice.  I'll have to purchase a little bit more to complete that small panel.  But that's a job for Tomorrowman...    

Today it is all about making the ol girl nice and shiny again.  I'm getting excited just thinking about it.  It's been a long time coming, and so far the paint is turning out good, not perfect, but I didn't expect perfection.  I had a few runs and one instance of a piece of debris fell in the wet paint, but I was able to repair the areas, but until I'm able to get it out in the daylight and really take a look, its hard to tell if there are any other imperfections.  But so far, I'm happy with the result.  I'll know better tomorrow.

Till next time...

ready for paint... almost

Today I was able to wrap up the sanding portion of the prep work to get the vette ready for paint.  I got the headlights blown apart and all the body pieces I've removed over the past few months sanded down and ready to receive paint.  I even added in the drain holes for the rear hatch.  I figured I'd better get them in now so I don't have to drill holes in fresh paint.  Definitely need those in there, otherwise the water just ponds at the back edge of the halo.  No good at all. 

I'm hoping to assemble the paint booth tomorrow and start masking off the car.  We shall see.  I find my motivation comes in spurts at this point in the project.  The prep work seemed like it would never end, sanding, sanding, filler primer, sanding, sand...  well you get the picture.  I'm hoping that getting the new paint layed down will help to motivate me again.  I'll be able to put the car back together and it wont be the same repetitive task over and over.  I'm getting a bit excited now.  I really want to get it back on the road...  I wonder what a corvette would be like with snow tires in MI.  I can't think it would be any worse than the caddy, but that is for another time.  Just thought I'd post a quick update.  I'll get some more pics up once the booth is set up.

Back to work

Well, the past few weeks have been slow as far as progress goes with the vette.  The Nowacki family suffered a great loss of a good Man, we will all miss Dzia Dzia.  He led a full life with a healthy balance of family, friends, and career that is nearly impossible to duplicate.  It was amazing to see the outpouring of love shown by family, friends, and coworkers in our time of loss.  We can all only hope to leave such an impact when we pass from this world.  Dzia has run his race, I don't shed any tears for Him, for He is without the worries of this world in a better place.  The tears shed are for the void He left behind in this world.  He was an example to us all, and He will be missed.

Now we must move on as best we know how, and try to deal with our loss in our own ways.  We all love you Big Guy.  

Its funny how a death of a loved one puts things in perspective.  Things that once seemed important become insignificant, and things we take for granted suddenly become very valued.  We have an amazing family, we have our quirks, but when it comes down to the important stuff, we all come together to take care of one another.  We are all truly blessed.  

...Oh yeah, that corvette thing.  I know its the name of the blog and all, but its my blog and I'll write what I want to, car related or not...  I'm still prepping for paint.  I've got the booth all ready to go, got the supplies in hand, and tonight I finally got the bulk of the body scuffed up for painting.  All the stone chips are filled in on the hood, and the peeling paint by the mirrors has been addressed.  Its down to a final wash and sand for the main body, and a scuff and sand for the bits removed from the car in preparation for paint.  My goal is to shoot the color this coming weekend.  Then I can finally get to putting everything back together. 

Till tomorrow...