Ever RUINED a paint job?

jakepressley · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:56 pm

Cause I sure did. I can't post pictures at this time as my pride is still recouping.

My E30 had a number of blemishes within the paint and clear when I got the thing. Keep in mind If I had simply left the thing alone and hit it with a clay bar I might have something that I could resell.

I prepped and prepped... completely removed the old clear and got down to the original paint. I then primed the entire car and started the prep cycle again. When I finally blew the first couple of coats, followed by wet sanding and finished the clear... I ended up with what looks like a fast print on an old school mac printer (1991 old school). It's BAD....

Here is where I messed up I think

1. Attempting to paint my car
2. wet sanding between coats?
3. rolling instead of spraying

I'm sure there are many many more mistakes. I'm not looking to paint ANY more cars but would like to know where I screwed up.

Macco Here I Come...

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 7:36 pm

Pics? Post 'em up--anyone who claims not to have messed up some car project at some point is just plain lying. BTW, that e30 on your blog looks more like a 325es with that spoiler and 2.7l engine. could be wrong tho....

From my experience with the 240Z restoration, I took wise counsel and had a pro do the painting. Too much involved with mixing, spray volume/rate, temp/humidity (water in the air lines too!), room preparation, ventilation/breathing apparatus to make it worthwhile as a once-in-awhile deal. It's a skill/art that needs repetition and tutelage to do well.

(edit: did you say you tried to roll on the paint? when you said "blew your first few coats" I thought you were spraying. I don't think the roller method works as well in real life as the Internet posts lead one to believe.)

However, I did do some minor paintwork on my E30 as the fender/hood had some crinkling from the PO's off-road excursion--and I had to paint a replacement front spoiler as well. Bodywork was teh suck, but it's marginally better than when I got it. Prepped with 220/320/400, followed by acetone, then two coats primer and three coats color...two coats of clear to try to make it match (halfhearted attempt, mind you.) The goal there was the 50/50 rule (Looks acceptable from 50 ft at 50-mph), so that was a little different, quality wise. It's far from perfect, but good enough to say "yeah...that car looks like it's all grey."

Sorry it didn't work out for you. I suppose you could sand off what you have done, re-prep and try again, but it sounds like you're set on the MAACO/Peach-type paint job. Once I find a decent replacement fender I'll be heading to a similar outfit. After all, it's a track car and paint doesn't make you faster.

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

Jake you didn't mention whether the paint was gloss, satin, or eggshell finish latex. :twisted:

Sadly there is not enough information for any of us to give you any real feedback. What type paint were you using, lacquer, enamel, urethane, etc.
Most importantly, how thick is the added paint and how well did you actually prep the old finish?
For my first paint job I bought enamel automotive finish from "Standard Brands" in CA in the color "Racetrack Violet". This was a deep purple with large metal flakes. I actually did some reading before proceeding and felt comfortable with the entire process. The only problem came in the instructions to "apply a full wet coat" so that the metal flakes had a thick enough film to float out flat. Too thin and the surface would be rough with the flakes sticking out instead of laying flat. I finished up the spray work after applying two full wet coats and stood back to admire the results. All was wonderful until an hour or so later when I noticed that the paint on the driver's door was slowly sliding down the door. The end result was a really shiny purple VW Beetle with drivers door paint thickness varying from a few thousandths to 1/2 inch thick at the bottom.
I think in this case you may need professional advice with respect to the next step.
The other thing I learned is that the pigment for RED contains gold and is really expensive. The cheap red pigments fade quickly, hence the original purple faded to a bluish metallic VW that I drove for years to come.
So how much for the car?
Charlie G

jakepressley · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:24 pm

I can't post pics yet...sorry guys and gals, I'm pretty embarassed about how it turned out...

In terms of my blog, Yes I did screw up... its a 325i, with a 2.5... My truck is a 2.7.... I swear this parenthood thing is making my mind mush...

My wife says that I'm not detail orientated enough for this kind of work, and after this I'm inclined to agree with her. My hands are in the air, Probably hit a Maaco and see what they can do with it... so it will sell.

The paint and clear was off the shelf from a local auto parts store (pre mixed). I also found out after pulling my gun apart that there was a hairline crack in the hopper, which made it VERY hard to control the spray pattern.

In terms of selling the car... Yes it does need to go, as I'm trying to get another project in the yard... but the car still needs, waterpump/timing belt, and upgraded head bolts, valve lash before I'll let go of it... All which will happen in the next 30 days. BUT I'd entertain offers.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 1:46 pm

E30 part-out party?

Probably do better than selling it in one piece.... I call dibs on passenger fender, diff and transmission! I'll pay reasonable prices, and even help you load it on the flatbed.

I am mostly kidding, but if you decide to part it out, there's at least one or two of us who would likely help out.

Either way, I hope it works out for you.

JamesShort · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:04 pm

Steven Carter wrote:

E30 part-out party?

Probably do better than selling it in one piece.... I call dibs on passenger fender, diff and transmission! I'll pay reasonable prices, and even help you load it on the flatbed.

I am mostly kidding, but if you decide to part it out, there's at least one or two of us who would likely help out.

Either way, I hope it works out for you.

You need another diff???? Did that one we install implode or something?

Man, I'd be tempted to buy this thing (Steve's e30 project sort of got me itching for a project car

), though I have say that an NA chassis Miata track/autox project has been piquing my interest the last few days....choices choices

.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:09 pm

...can't have too many spares, you know...

jakepressley · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:19 pm

In all honesty I'll probably get it up and running.. then sell it sometime this summer... but will put it up here for a couple weeks before it hits Craigslist. I never intended to DD or track it, Fix & Sell so I can keep tracking the mustang.

I'm on the fense because I've had an Audi 100 fall into my lap, and have 3 drivers who once again have claimed they want to turn it into a lemon's car. This has happend before though? A product of Friends talking/dreaming with beer involved. Everyone's all in with an Icehouse Glow...

ok... I really need to get back to work...

Stephen Westerfield · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 2:29 pm

jakepressley wrote:

words...words...words... Audi 100 fall into my lap....words.....lemon's car....words words.....

Run away.....quickly.

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 5:17 pm

jakepressley wrote:

I can't post pics yet...sorry guys and gals, I'm pretty embarassed about how it turned out...

I am sure you are not the only person in that boat. At least you are able to talk about it. Most of us just don't even admit we screw up!

Bernie Baake · **Posted:** Thu Jan 07, 2010 7:03 pm

Jake, I painted the hard top on my miata two years ago with a roller and used rustolium paint. From ten feet you'd think it was original paint. The trick is not to wet sand the paint until you have a thick enough coat on the surface to sand. I used four coats then wet sanded, then four more coats wet sand and buff, and the buffing is the key to the success of the paint job. There are a number of threads on the net about this type of painting and believe me it's not difficult---just time consuming. Don't give up, if it looks crappy sand it off and try again. Just sand it off and try again keep trying and it'll come out ok. The worst that can happen is that you sand it one last time and take it to a paint shop....
I believe I showed you the top at one of the HPDE's. Call Me if you have questions.

jakepressley · **Posted:** Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:13 am

Thanks Richard for the kind words... I mentioned it as a way of getting back into it as I was pretty frustrated last month with how it came out.

I'm thinking I may take the Bernie approach... yes I do remeber seeing your top, I think it was at a trackdaze day last summer, and it looked pretty good.

I think Bernie hit it on the head in terms of where my "critical" error was. I didn't get enough of a base to wetsand, ended up sanding through my applied coat to the original grey base... Then thinking somehow that the clear coat would make everything hunky doory.... WRONG!!

I'm going to look into rolling it, as I've given my spray gun away in a moment of frustration. I also need to work on taking more time and not rushing to get to the end... In my mind I want it done yesterday.. but there really isn't any rush.

thank you all very much

clinehall · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 11:06 am

I painted the saddle bags on my motorcycle (after not getting one connected properly at 6am and watching it fly down the road in the rear view mirror). Body puttty, paint, sand paint, repeat repeat. Got it pretty good and was doing the final touches compounding and then reached to get spray wax and sprayed BLACK RUSTOLEUM!!! My new rule is once the top comes of the beer DO NOT GO IN GARAGE!

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 2:23 pm

clinehall wrote:

and then reached to get spray wax and sprayed BLACK RUSTOLEUM!!! My new rule is once the top comes of the beer DO NOT GO IN GARAGE!

I made that mistake as a kid once.

Except it was a bottle of shampoo instead of mouth wash. Bleh...

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Jan 11, 2010 3:02 pm

Jason Mauldin wrote:

clinehall wrote:

and then reached to get spray wax and sprayed BLACK RUSTOLEUM!!! My new rule is once the top comes of the beer DO NOT GO IN GARAGE!

I made that mistake as a kid once.

Except it was a bottle of shampoo instead of mouth wash. Bleh...

Oh, the mental image that creates. That was funny....

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