[Schoust]

Hello Guy's
Well I am at the end of my rope with my Body Man and from the looks of it he is not going to make make it back to finish up the project? Guy's I am hoping that someone on this Forum can help me out so that I can get this Baby finished! The car is a 69 Firebird that has been almost totally restored. The body as of right now is almost perfect with the exception of one little dent where my Son hit it with something? Anyway it's small and will have to be addressed. The paint is PPG Base /Clear. The car was done right and has the appropriate base materials applied according to most all that I have read and most of the Guy's I ask. The car has been Jammed and shot once already and the wet sanding has been started and this is where I am. Now I really have never done this before only watched so I will need to be told what I need for materials and how to mix up the paint and prepare it for shooting.
Guy's I have asked a lot of different local people and I can not find anyone (unless I want to spend Large money) to even give m,e the right time of the day. The car is almost done so I am this close but this far away. Guy's if this request is to much don't bother. Maybe someone knows of a great book that will help? Anyone In Ct. want a quick side Job?? Lol!! I am willing to trade some HVAC skills as in Central Air.......
P.M me if interested.........
Thanks Ralph

 

[smrat]

well there are a lot of great books out there check Mr paperback, boarders,

 

[mike the painter]

go to "laquer thinner question" everything you need to know is there .feel free to join in .....everyones welcome... all paint questions will be answerd.

 

[kenseth17]

I am a little confused where exactly you are at. Also no one knows the full story or has heard both sides.
If this has just been painted with base clear, why does it need repainting? With wetsanded the paint started, it sounds as if it could be almost done, and something even a good detailer could finish up, unless there was a lot of bodywork missed or poorly done, or a poor application of paint. And being that far, see no reason why the painter would not want to finish up the job quickly, usually after spending so much time looking at one car, your happy to be finishing them up and seeing them go.
If it got a dent in new paint work, that should not require complete new paint, Probably only blending base and reclearing the affected panel.

I am also confused about when you say make it bake, or if its an expression, is one I've never heard. If its baking the finish your talking about, that really has no real advantage other then speeding up cure time. Allowing to cure naturally is perfectably acceptable, as long as temps are above about 60 and kept there for awhile during application.

Yes it can be difficult to find someone who wants to work on an old car as they are time consuming and expensive to do, and most are more interested in the better money and quicker turnaround of collision work then complete paint jobs, or restoring an old car. If this shop also does a fair amount of collision work, that may explain lack of progress or delays.

Also there is more likelyhood of problems with a big job. Often the person isn't fully aware of the costs or a financial difficulty comes up, and lets face it most people are not rich, but still want the best for their pride and joy. Or the person doing the job bid too cheap, finds out they are not making very good money and loses interest in the job. This is why many will only take a job on a time and material basis, squaring up after so many hours of work have been done and finished, that way the bodyman doesn't get burnt doing a lot of free work, and the customer can pull out anytime they are not happy with the work or progress.
Many also see the shows where it appears the work is finished in weeks or see maaco advertising 200 to paint a car and can totally off base in there understanding of the time to repair and produce a wave free body and a great paint job or why the cost is like it is. A shop needs to have good communication with the customers and explain why something they found will delay progress or why more expense will be involved, of if it will be pushed aside when there is collision work should make the customer well aware it will be used as fill in work when collision work is slow and that it may take awhile to finish.

Its even harder to find someone who wants to deal with finishing up work that is not there own, and not knowing how the work underneath was done and risk being blamed for a failure they really had no part in.

But it almost sounds like there isn't a lot of work left. Sorry to tell you paint and body is expensive (as well as equiptment and overhead) and requires a large commitment of time, and just like any other profession, we would like to be compensated for the time we put in doing work and the many years of investment we have in learning the trade. We can't help it that good materials are so pricey, or that to produce a good job takes time.

If its something you want to finish yourself, its not unheard of of a beginner getting good results doing it themselves. The ones that do often ask a lot of questions and practice getting use to useing and setting up their gun before going at the car. You will also need the proper equiptment and space or will get use out of any equiptment you must by, and have the time and patience to do good work, and don't give up or get discouraged if you have setbacks. Members here can help with specific questions and there is a lot of good information in past threads to read through. But as of right now what you need to do is too vague, and need to be more specific of where your at.

 

[mike the painter]

LOL ,Ken turn your decoder on...his bodyman isn't going to make it "BACK" hehe, theres a guy named Jack on another site that'll really confuss you ifin ya aint gotyer dekoder on, I guess I'm used to it. check out "storts1" at http://z6.invisionfree.com/ToolBoxTalk/index.php?showtopic=2726&view=getnewpost..... you'll get a good laugh,good guy too

 

[Schoust]

Hey ken thanks for the reply. I am actually very close to being finished but believe that another coat is needed and maybe some more wet sanding? As far as my body guy goes he has been well compensated and he is gone for a good reason.last I heard he left the State somthing about an ex wife??? Anyway I am into this job for around 5k in body work and prep. It is a shame he did not finish he was doing a great job! Sorry about the misspelled word I posted up on the run..

 

[mike the painter]

post a pic for Ken....us too...Ken,you sound like youve been at this a long time,good info... :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[kenseth17]

So its has been painted, but you feel it needs to be repainted, or are is it still in primer and your talking about more priming and sanding work needed? Is there a reason you feel as you say, it needs another coat.
Just trying to understand better where your at now, and why you feel it needs another coat.

Sorry to hear about your bodyman taking off.

Deadbodyman, guess I'll never be a writer or spelling bee champ. I never much cared for english classes. I thought I was doing good as most words are spelled correctly, and there are a few paragraphs thrown in there. When I first started would type one big run on sentance. Believe me, seeing some post here, there have been a lot worse. Just look up past posts by paint tech instructor.

 

[Schoust]

Ok I shoot you some pix and let me know what you Guy's think. Honestly I'm just looking for some advice thats all.... Here you go.....Again fella's I see your points I am a professional to just in another trade......This is somthing I really want to do but I don't want to screw it up thats all.......

 

[mike the painter]

when I go back and read some of my old posts,even I dont understand them LOL.I like the way you think and I might incorperate the pay as you go way ,in my shop,I wasnt having trouble understanding you at all,ken ,but thought it was funny that "bake" made you think the same thing as I did till I read it over a third time and realized it was "back" mispelled.no offence intended,just a shallow attempt at hummer,thats all, see, there I go again.did you check out my friend storts1?

 

[Schoust]

Hey Guy's Just wondering if anyone had an opinion on the pix I posted??

 

[mike the painter]

well.....hmmm...from what I'm looking at, the right side is painted and the leftside is primed,,,is that true?can you squeeze the whole car into a pic,roof and all,both sides? BTW,I have family in conn. new milford and danbury

 

[Schoust]

I see what I can do about getting you some more. The whole car has been painted what you are seeing is where he was rubbing it out (wet sanding it.)I will send them later on today. If you have an email address maybe that would be better? Hey by the way I am real close to New Milford and Danbury. My Kids play them in Midget football so i go up there a couple of times a year. Hey I have an idea are you planning a vist soon?? Lol!! I went back to look at those pix and figured out what you were seeing the car is Original GM Limelight Green and the way the guy was doing it was he hit it with some clear so that he could see the imperfections the light is poor in my Garage in fact it's poor in every garage and this is how he cheats. I know it's not the way you are supposed to do it but this guy does great work his cars are sweet I have seen them.

 

[kenseth17]

I can't tell anything from those pic, and all honesty pics are hard to tell anything from any ways, really best to see in person.

If it has been painted, it sounds like it has from what you said. and he was in the process of wetsanding it to buff it out, maybe all it needs is to be finished wetsanding a buff job. Wetsanding can save even some so so paint jobs and make them look good, provided enough clear has been applied.

Why not call a detailer and have them take a look at it and see what they think? Maybe they could run the buffer over a panel and you could take a look how its looking. Also with the clear wetsanded, does it appear as if there are a lot of flaws you can see in the sanded clear, or does it all appear pretty flat and smooth?
If the rest buffs out fine, maybe then you can take it for some estimates to repair the dent, blend in some color and reclear that panel. Even a collision oriented shop should be able to handle that fairly easily.

 

[Schoust]

I thought about a detailer but I am afraid that there is still more work to be done. There are several places that he was working on that have been sanded to the primer level. I thought that you could see that in the pix of the quarter panel? As far as it being ready for a detail I think that it will need more work in the areas that I was referring to where the primer is showing through. I will say this a lot of it looks good to go like the hood for instance it looks real nice and has not been wet sanded yet. And the roof is no worry because it is a Vinyl top. There is clearly some dust in the clear and the typical stuff that ends up in the clear in a garage paint job but I was assured in the end that would not make a bit of difference. I can try to take some better shots and see what you think I got a much better camera now than the older one. Thanks

 

[kenseth17]

I thought about a detailer but I am afraid that there is still more work to be done. There are several places that he was working on that have been sanded to the primer level

Okay, I wasn't aware it has been sanded down to primer in spots. Yes, then it sounds like paint work is needed. I think your best course of action is to keep searching for a body man (it can be a tough one), who hopefully take a look at it in person, and discuss what will be required to finish is up, hopefully even be willing to take on and finish the job. No easy task, most collision oriented places will likely walk away, and anyone who does decent work at a decent price likely has a bit of work already.

Take a look at this thread about a search for a body man. Please excuse my post, as I stubbled onto the thread after I had recently finished working on a mustang that I made squat on, as well hearing from a lot of people thinking they could get something like an old minivan painted for a few hundred bucks.
http://www.mustangsandmore.com/ubb/Forum27/HTML/000409.html

Is there any car shows, cruise ins, ect in the area you could attend. Maybe if you get out and start talking to some car buffs in your area, they may have some recommendations on who to call. If they are someone who has had enough work done, they may know who is good in the area and might be willing to take on the job. Maybe you will luck out and they might even know someone who does it on the side reasonably, is into old cars, and does decent work.