Just Sharing Out Loud

[LCD Gauges]

It appears that I'm going to drop the ego, and dig deep into my pockets for a "real" paint job. I've given up the dream that I'll be able to get close to
a pro-looking paint finish on my own.

Having said that, my car wont be ready for paint this year - there's just too much to add, and figure out. I want to modify the rear tail lights, the rear hatch,
add side scoops, spoiler, and who knows what else.

For that reason, I'm going to attempt a temporary paint job myself, and save my pennies for a proper, killer, show car edition the following Winter. This means I'll have
to redo the bodywork, and have it prepped again. I'm willing to go through those extra steps to have the GTM on the streets this year. After hearing my
engine fire up, there's no way I'm going to let it still another twelve months will I'm saving the cash.

There's someone in mind that is going to paint the car. He boasts about his, "ice show car shine", and attention to detail. I'll be checking out some of his work soon. Maybe he'll allow me to post some pictures of his portfolio here for critique.

Does anyone have any words of caution about my process? IE: Don't use xxx primer if you're going to sand it all down again.

[Kalstar]

The best advise I can offer is....

It not the paint that's expensive, it is the proper fitment that eats up the hours,driving the body man crazy and beats your wallet to submission. If you can hire a body guy "on the side" to fit the more difficult parts, then you can concentrate on the easier stuff like seams and larger panels. Single stage paint can look very nice and is very forgiving. Also Polyprimer is a very nice addition you should consider.

It appears that I'm going to drop the ego, and dig deep into my pockets for a "real" paint job. I've given up the dream that I'll be able to get close to
a pro-looking paint finish on my own.

Having said that, my car wont be ready for paint this year - there's just too much to add, and figure out. I want to modify the rear tail lights, the rear hatch,
add side scoops, spoiler, and who knows what else.

For that reason, I'm going to attempt a temporary paint job myself, and save my pennies for a proper, killer, show car edition the following Winter. This means I'll have
to redo the bodywork, and have it prepped again. I'm willing to go through those extra steps to have the GTM on the streets this year. After hearing my
engine fire up, there's no way I'm going to let it still another twelve months will I'm saving the cash.

There's someone in mind that is going to paint the car. He boasts about his, "ice show car shine", and attention to detail. I'll be checking out some of his work soon. Maybe he'll allow me to post some pictures of his portfolio here for critique.

Does anyone have any words of caution about my process? IE: Don't use xxx primer if you're going to sand it all down again.

[sk7500]

Tino,
That's the how we did our car but it didn't have too much to do with ego. I drove our car in primer for a year to give the body mods time to fully cure. Preferably through one of the hot and cold cycles of your area. FG and fillers harden quickly so you can work them but it takes a while to fully cure and become relatively stable. Also it's a lot less stressful assembling the car and not have to worry about scratching fresh paint. Also pre assembly makes sure everything fits right. Then it's just a matter of disassemble paint and reassembly. Reassembly always goes together 10 time faster that the initial assembly.A GTM looks good in any color even primer. (See picture)
After you have done your body mods and spent countless hours block sanding to make sure everything is fitting and straight go ahead and give it a coat of paint with the knowledge that this is only a shinny primer for the real paint job. Or think of it as a guide coat. With that attitude you might find painting a car is not so bad. You'll likely find some spots you will wish you had done a better job at. Paint will show those areas more than primer. That's fine because remember this was only the shinny guide coat. Let that paint cure for a month or so, so it will fully shrink. Then when you are ready for your final paint job you just need to scuff off the gloss,( runs, dust and other imperfections) and you are ready for another paint job. When I painted our car I did the preliminary paint work out to the clear and then sanded the entire car before applying the last two coats of clear.
Find the local automotive paint store and talk to them. Tell them what you are trying to do. I'm sure if you show them some pictures of your car you'll get plenty of help. There are many grades of paint. You should have some idea of what system you will ultimately use, but for now the cheaper the better. It's not uncommon for a paint store to get back paint because the color didn't match something just right. Your not trying to match it to anything so it will work just fine for what you want. And you'll probably be able to buy it at a substantial discount. If you use a solid color single stage you can paint the car one part at a time to get you used to spraying smaller objects. Work your way up from mirrors to the full body. As far as painting it on the chassis of off. That's a whole different thread. Pros and cons both ways.

[LCD Gauges]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll definitely go with a poly-primer, and will be doing the fitting myself (doors, hood, hatch, etc). I'm not too far from getting the body back on the
chassis to continue the body work. I just need some time to get the go-kart rolling, and all the bugs worked out.