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Luke is going to make it next Saturday not the one in two days. I may paint the damn thing this weekend, tired of ;looking at the appaloosa spots. Oh ya I still need to pound out the dent on the rear wheel arch all I need is luck, patience, a hammer more luck and Bondo, should be easy.... Tedd
Lesson learned. I tried to use up some old Bondo on the wheel arch and the hardener must have gone bad. After all night the patch was still tacky semi hard....Sooo I ground it out and started over. Don't try and save a dime and cost your self dollars.. All the white stuff on the ground is Bondo
It would have been done except I have been helping my dad sell a piece of property and I'm having to be his go between because of his lack of hearing. May go into escrow today and free up some of my time.
I think all I need is to final sand the wheel arch clean and mask off the car and shoot it. Sounds easy, in my minds eye it is but in reality it will tax my body about as much as it can take. I'll see how far I can get maybe tomorrow depending on how hot it is.... Tedd
Mask and paint today! It's about time, probably not the best weather wise because it's very smoky out this morning , no wind to speak of and a little cooler, time to getter done though, I have help coming from one of the renters and if we don't get it all done I can get him back tomorrow. There is a lot of sanding between coats to do and he hasn't done anything automotive might take a while to get him up to speed on the cleanliness and a the need to be precise on masking, me too. I'll try and get some pictures as we go for the changes, hope I don't get forgetful..... Tedd
No help today, my guy was a no show. I managed to plastic wrap the MPB even though the wind was pushing the masking plastic every place but where I wanted it, tried my patience to the max. Spot primed a few bare metal areas and taped up the head lights and BMW kidneys. I'll bag the beast tonight (car cover) so as to keep it as clean as I can from floating ash and debris, thank you Dixie.... Pictures to follow.... Tedd
Speed Pro sealer/ primer and the same for clear and Nason base coat. I've never used any of these products in this system but I have in single stage. We'll see, I may have gotten a little ambitious for my skill level but after all it's just paint....Tedd
Well, she finally is in primer! I would liked to have said no problems but it was a fight till the end. I had troubles with the gun I believe it was a tiny piece of Teflon tape that was that was the issue mostly, found it late in the battle. Then there was driver error that came and went all day. spilled 1/2 cup of paint on the concrete and it dried before I could get to it, still there but it matches the concrete. Then the wind came up and spraying became a hit or miss affair, then my legs became rubber bands and I mostly finished the job on a desk chair that I could roll around with.
It was a steep learning curve and I was behind the ball all day, learned a lot, sorta enjoyed myself but the sad thing though is I realized the BMW will never be a show Queen she has to many warts and scars to go far in that world. Hopefully she will put a smile on my face like the Miata and be a fun driver.
Only two coats of base and a couple of clears to go and she will at least look presentable. Luke will be here tomorrow and maybe figure out the security system so I can go for a ride..... Tedd She is loosing her spots, no longer a appaloosa but a Gray Ghost
Good idea..... But I kinda like MPB though. Long day for me I just got in from sanding the nose with 400 W/D... Long nose. I'm going to take a shower and go to bed.....Tedd
When painting my car back in 1998, I hand sanded it 5 times in one night. Boy, was that an effort. Luckily I had a friend at the local paint and body shop who offered to spray the final coats on his lunch break, and the car ended up being alot more presentable than if I had done it myself.
Luke came by on Sunday morning and left as confused as I was. He brought most of his testers and electronics and followed the juice to the starter but couldn't get passed the security system. He will return next Sunday with different stuff(?) to follow up on a few of his thoughts. Over my head, I've never had anything with a security system ever. Me, I have lots of sanding to do to get rid of the roughness of the primer that I just laid down. Color goes on next but I should spend extra time on the details, this is what people look at when you are done and it's hard to fix bobos after color.
Still having fun and I know I could have bought a turn key car in better shape for less than what I'll have in this one, but isn't that what we all do? Where are all the memories and the grief you over come the small victories that will happen. Hopefully I'll learn something or remember something I once did and made my day easier. It's all about the journey the rest of it is just stuff you own..... Tedd
Finished sanding this morning and plan on getting at least one coat of color on, two with luck. I think it is pretty well prepped mostly smooth as a babies butt but no telling what it will kook like when there is a sheen to reflect defects plus I'm not as piacular on the hands and knee areas. We will see later today, after all it's just paint. Pictures to follow this afternoon...Tedd
Guess what ?PG&E shut off the electricity today, just got it on in time to take a shower and go to bed. A tree fell across some wires in down town Forest Ranch, If I had any luck at all it would be bad luck. Paint tomorrow pictures to follow I promise..... Tedd
In color now, two coats, I'll clear it tomorrow. I'm a little worried as the baby butt smooth doesn't look as baby butt as I thought it would when coated with color. Don't know maybe I can berry it in clear but that idea doesn't sound right..... Pictures are in but car is still wrapped in plastic..... Tedd It will look better after I peel the plastic away
Thanks guys, Glenn some of the pictures were taken as progress went on and were taken as I remembered I needed to shoot a few. Taking pictures were often a after thought, mirror was painted.
I will block it one more time and that should do it but If I screw up and burn through to primer any where I don't think I have enough touch up paint left to do much in repair especially after I pull the plastic wrap and tape there is always something showing up. I wish I would have bought another quart...Tedd
Here are a few pictures of MPB with a couple coats of clear. Pictures look better than the car looks in person. I'm working on the orange peel( cut and buff) then I'll give it another coat of clear. I think the hot temperature and lack my of knowledge is is kicking my butt getting the thing to flow out like I know it should...... Tedd This may be only one coat of clear My friend Dan shooting the low stuff, thank you Dan
Well, I got a little pissed when I tried to remove the orange peel, it was going to take a huge amount of hand sanding and would still look like a patch work quilt. I got after it with a DA and ground it down to he color and beyond in some places. That what happens when most of your toys are show quality I just didn't want a ugly duckling in the stable. I'll either learn to spray decently or I'll let someone else take a whack at it.
Dan was a little shocked when he came over tonight the MPB look worse than when he was here working on it this morning. I told him it needs to be better than just red, it has to look good also. It will get done but in the way I want it to look. Good enough is not good enough. Sorry for the length of this thread...... Tedd
I hear you on "good enough just isn't good enough" I had my car painted 2 years ago and wasn't happy with it. I wound up blocking the entire car out again and having it repainted. It was worth it. I would have never been happy, and to look at it and be unhappy every time just would make me feel like a failure. Nice to have someone for the low work. My knees are pretty shot as well.
Steve
Well one step forward and two back. She looks much like it did a week ago, grew spots and everything. Now If I can find the combination to get it to flow out I'lll be a happy camper. I would rather put some work into it now than hid it in the garage the rest of it's life. Here it is as a appaloosa again. She has spots again but is smooth. I'll see if I can do something with it.
Sorry to see that. You did take down some hi spots and now see the low ones as well. It will look better for it, however it will be nice to be done, and happy!
Steve
Actually the one picture of the trunk lid is after a small scrub with a DA and a wash, lots more to come off to be really baby butt smooth, it's almost like a guide coat to see the area where I need to concentrate on. As you can see it's everywhere.
I'm headed for the paint store today for some paint and advise. If I don't get smarter this time I'll watch someone else paint the damn thing. I need to move on their are other projects that need to be finished before the snow flies..... Tedd
Well I did good on the paint today (buying it not putting it on).I did business with the owner old friend who he and I go back over thirty years, gave me a 1/2 gal for free and only charged me for other sundries. got off very cheap.
Rebuilt/replaced some fittings that leaked a little and installed a new water trap, compressor is ready to go. I will sand one fender and Dan will do the rest of the low stuff and I should be ready to paint a color coat by 10 tomorrow morning. Tedd
Ah.... Probably not, I barley remember to take pictures, but I will try to do a better job with what I do, maybe get Dan to do some camera work... Who knows... Well see a lot depends on how the first coat goes down and how my mood develops as the job progresses. Thanks for taking a interest in this saga I didn't plan on it being this long.... Tedd
Well I've been sanding for three days on and off but paint is on hold for today as Luke is coming at 8:30 this morning. I bought a new starter and a BMW service manual with detailed diagrams of the mystery alarm anti- theft system so maybe I can (Luke can) get this thing figured out and fired up. If you see a picture some place than my front yard it got started... Tedd
Luke bypassed part of the anti theft device but only got the MPB to turn over but no spark no start. Frustrating and I don't feel like I'm much help. The only thing that is good is now I know the starter is good and I need to return the new one I bought for credit. This has got to end soon I need to move on and get this thing finished..... Tedd
