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Putting lipstick on my pig

Started by alabbasi, 21 November 2007, 02:18 AM

alabbasi

Today i picked up a gallon of PPG onmi base coat in Astro Silver (DB735) and a gallon of clear coat and decided that I am going to spend the weekend painting the tire smoker.  So far, I removed to door and sill molding and stripped the hard window rubber from the front windshield and sanded the car down with a DA and 220grit sandpaper.

Tomorow i'll remove all the lights and the front bumper, wash it and work out the dings and chips in preparation for shooting it on Thanksgiving day or the Friday after.

Here are some quick pictures taken in the dark:









It's going to be a cold day on Thursday. Wish me luck!

So far, the only money that i've spent on this car is an oil change, used MB-TEX seats from a 300SD up front and a suspension pump from a 300TD to hold it up and the self leveling valve control arm from a Euro 500SEL.

If anyone thinks that these cars arent green, they should see the amount of recycled parts that I have in my cars.

With best regards

Al
Dallas, TX USA.

Andrew280SEL

Good luck!! :)

Can't wait to see future pics of your progress. 8)
'79 280SEL- 560,000 Kms
'73 350SE- getting an AMG facelift
'79 450SEL 6.9

WGB

How many litres to a US Gallon - a gallon of colour and a gallon of clear sounds like a lot of paint?

What undercoat are you using?

Bill

CraigS

3.78 lt to a US Gallon - I sell Olive oil this way !
[url="http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/"]http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/[/url]

alabbasi

#4
Quote from: WGB on 21 November 2007, 08:21 AM
How many litres to a US Gallon - a gallon of colour and a gallon of clear sounds like a lot of paint?

What undercoat are you using?

Bill

It's not a lot considering the size of the car, once you reduce it, it's about the same volume as an imperial gallon. I used about 3/4 gallon on my MGB which is much smaller.  As I'm not taking it down to bare metal, I'm not going to be using a primer. Sanding the existing paint will give the new paint a good canvas to adhere to.

With best regards

Al
Dallas, TX USA.

s class

Al, I would think hard about not using a primer.  If you have feathered edges in the old finish - ie maybe in some places you have only scuffed the top of the old clear, in other places you may have gone into the old basecoat or even primer - these edges will show through your new basecoat because the reducer in the new paint will soften the old paint, especially at the feathered edges, slightly.  A primer - stopper coat in this case - will stabilise the surface.  You need to give the primer at least a week to cure before rubbing it, to allow the feathered edges under the primer to harden again. 


[color=blue]'76 6.9 Euro[/color], [color=red]'78 6.9 AMG[/color], '80 280SE, [color=brown]'74 350SE[/color], [color=black]'82 500SEL euro full hydro, '83 500SEL euro full hydro [/color], '81 500SL

alabbasi

It should come out OK, I've painted a car like this before and it was fine provided that you go over what you sanded with DA using a sanding block and 400 paper.

Remember, lipstick on a pig and not concourse finish  :)
With best regards

Al
Dallas, TX USA.

alabbasi

Continued today by getting some sand paper and sanding blocks as well as some masking paper and tape.

Then I washed it with dish soap andn removed additional bits trim from the car and covering any pits and chips with glazing putty.

I'll have to coninue sanding for a couple of hours tomorow and wash it one last time.

There are some stickers in on the rear that I need to take care of but I cannot find my scraper!

Hopefully, it can get masked and painted on Friday (I need a box fan).

Question: On the 6.9, how do you remove the right bumperette?








With best regards

Al
Dallas, TX USA.

WGB

Never taken one off a 6.9 - I guess the oil tank gets in the road - but the outer bolt should be visible in the wheel arch and the inner one may need the headlamp removed.

To remove the headlamp the small metal trim piece under the light may have to be removed and this has two small self tappers near the centre and two more at the outer end where they bolt to the wing. If you can't get at these outer ones the headlight can be removed by removing the plastic nut from within the engine bay for the indicators, pulling out the indicator forwards,  removing the two inner self tappers for the trim piece (Near the radiator)  and pulling judiciously to get access to the bottom self tappers that mount the headlight - I think three at the bottom, three at the top and one on the inside vertical edge of the light - leaving the adjusting screws alone.

That should give you access but I will look at my stripped 450 tonight and see if there is anything else required like removing the battery and tray.

Bill

alabbasi

Today was brutally cold, we did more sanding with finer sand paper as the       DA did a great job of hitting some areas but there were too many patches left. Thanks to my good Friend Ken (Wodnek) I managed to get the bumperette off on the right side and the headlights.

I also worked out the dent of the rear door with the help of my workshop neighbor Tim who helped me out today and is loaning me his space to paint the car (my shop is packed with cars and parts).

Today was brutally cold. It started to snow later that afternoon (snowing in Texas!).

The sanding is 90% there. I need to a little more sanding and glazing and pull the rear lights and the mirror. I hope to mask it and paint it by Saturday.







This is Tim, Tim took the morning out on thanksgiving to give me a hand it's bloody freezing outside and he turned up on that bike in the picture above so he deserves some props.

With best regards

Al
Dallas, TX USA.

WGB

Will the paint flow at these temperatures.

We have the opposite here - it's 37 degrees celcius today which is the old 100 Fahrenheit I believe and paint doesn't like that temperature either.

Bill

CraigS

What the hell is DA ? I hate acronyms!

Quote from: alabbasi on 21 November 2007, 11:58 AM
.................sanded with DA using a sanding block and 400 paper.


[url="http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/"]http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/[/url]

Andrew280SEL

Looks like your doing a very nice job so far Al.

I love watching these project threads unfold, watching the cars come together. :)
'79 280SEL- 560,000 Kms
'73 350SE- getting an AMG facelift
'79 450SEL 6.9

dudu

Quote from: CraigS on 23 November 2007, 01:15 AM
What the hell is DA ? I hate acronyms!

Quote from: alabbasi on 21 November 2007, 11:58 AM
.................sanded with DA using a sanding block and 400 paper.



DA = Dual Action Sander.

Something like this....

http://www.aircompressorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=161

Regards.

CraigS

If you read Al's original post, he said "and sanded the car down with a DA and 220grit sandpaper."

Translation - "and sanded the car down with a dual action and 220grit sandpaper". Doesn't make any reference to a machine.

See why I don't like acronyms !
[url="http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/"]http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n77/Aegeanfoods/My%20Cars/[/url]