ACOTE's 68 2000

[2mAn]

Woweee, that is quite an amazing paintjob

[pebbles]

Nice work Alex. You could nib it with some 800 and re- clear.
When you clear the small parts, spray 2 coats, then cross spray a third coat. The cross pattern will flatten it out.
What brand of clear/activator/reducer are you using?

[greydog]

If most of the flaws are in the top coat of clear, how about wet sanding out the dust and runswhilecutting and orange peel, then spraying another coat or two of clear?
Then 1500 g block 3000 final and a nice buff?
Dan

[ACote]

Thanks everyone, I'll give the wet sanding a go then if needed spray more clear. Going to try and finish the fenders next. Then the rest of the pieces so I can get it all assembled and have some garage space back. I'm back to work tomorrow so I'll be doing what I can to prep everything.

[SLOroadster]

Wow, looking good Alex. Those fisheyes are going to be a pain. They are the result of the paint not sticking for some reason, likely a contaminant like soap, water, silicone, wax ect. The only way to fix them is to sand the area all the way back down to primer, clean it with acetone, then try again. Make sure your air compressor has a good air dryer on it. Yeah. its a pain, but that is the only way you will get the paint to stick.

Will

[ACote]

Here's the fisheyes all dried up. Looking much better than the earlier pics. Yeah I think I got something in the line but it might be salvageable since it was the last coat.

[greydog]

Just a tiny bit of oil is all it takes in the line.....
Likely will sand away.
Dan

[ACote]

Bouncing back and forth from the fenders and got rid of the run. Using the run as a test. I block sanded the run out barely, didn't go through the clear with wet 600. Next will be 1500 and 2000 before polishing.

Body work on the fender getting there.

Unfortunately there's some rust so next up will be a patch panel and more body work. Had a lot of dirt trapped here.

[greydog]

Looks dood Alex.
Dan

[ACote]

Whelp working nightshift is slowing me down. Don't want to wake the neighbors with metal cutting. But I have plenty of stuff to work on until morning.
So easy with the windshield out. Just pulled the dash far enough away to get to the wingnuts off for the gauges.

Original yellow paint for comparison. New paint matches great!

Extra hand throttle shell, might come in handy later if I need a sleeve for a cable. They just installed the new one and left the old lol.

[datsunrides]

Came out pretty damn good for your 1st shot. Flaws are to be expected but most are afraid to even try. Just to touch on and further comment on what others have said. For shooting color and clear, you should use the small tips for better laydown. In general I like a 1.3 for base and 1.1 or 1.2 for clear. The larger tips will also work, but you need to use a slower reducer so it can laydown before it sets or you get bad orange peel. Problem with that is since it takes longer to set, higher chance of runs (which are fairly easy to address in the clear). The fisheye was caused by either oil on the surface or contaminates in the air supply. Prep-solv type products work great on the surface (pre paint)and for years I have gotten away with a basic water trap off the compressor and a disposable point of use filter on the air connection on the gun. I also have a dedicated air hose I use for nothing but painting. It's amazing how small insects are attracted to fresh paint. I'll bet your doors and fenders will turn out even better due to the experience you gained shooting the body.

[ACote]

Came out pretty damn good for your 1st shot. Flaws are to be expected but most are afraid to even try. Just to touch on and further comment on what others have said. For shooting color and clear, you should use the small tips for better laydown. In general I like a 1.3 for base and 1.1 or 1.2 for clear. The larger tips will also work, but you need to use a slower reducer so it can laydown before it sets or you get bad orange peel. Problem with that is since it takes longer to set, higher chance of runs (which are fairly easy to address in the clear). The fisheye was caused by either oil on the surface or contaminates in the air supply. Prep-solv type products work great on the surface (pre paint)and for years I have gotten away with a basic water trap off the compressor and a disposable point of use filter on the air connection on the gun. I also have a dedicated air hose I use for nothing but painting. It's amazing how small insects are attracted to fresh paint. I'll bet your doors and fenders will turn out even better due to the experience you gained shooting the body.

Thanks! I was pretty pleased myself. I'm going to give it another shot, started wet sanding with 600 to get all the craters and orange peel out. I'll have to feather in a little more basecoat on the back shelf as those were too deep and I cut through the clear in a spot. Front of the car is good so I'm doing the back half, taping the seam on the rocker. I had a few things I did wrong and all of them could've caused the issues.
I'm going to add a filter at the end of the hose(thought before the hose would work, now I know the hose gets contaminated)
I didn't let the clear dry between coats. Need to be more patient!
Going to make sure everything is super clean. Craters are close to where I did a touch up in the base so I think I missed tacking that area after.
I'll also paint the fenders while I have the paint in the gun.
Getting closer! Also I'm real handy with a 2x4 and hammer now.

[datsunrides]

As long as your happy with the results, that’s the important thing. The filter will be helpful. If you don’t have a water trap/filter off the compressor, yeah, the hose can get oil and water in it from the compressor. You can get a basic water trap/filter and the disposable point of use filters at harbor freight. The clear does not need to necessarily dry before the next coat, but it does need to flash. This should be listed on the p-sheet and usually is between 5-15 minutes. The tack cloth is only for dust removal, they will not clean off oils (like from an ungloved hand). You should use a pre paint cleaner before tacking. Lacquer thinner will work in a pinch, but is pretty aggressive on fresh coatings. Keep at it Alex

[pebbles]

Oh boy. Cut thru the clear. Not sure i would spray base. I would spray clear. The non catylized base overlapping the clear may lift/craze when re cleared.
Fyi, i never tack rag base coat prior to clear.
If the air compressor gets hot, the air will cool as it goes thru the hose, condensing into liquid form. Ive got 25' trap, 25' trap, and a disposable at the gun as Mark suggested. Keep that compressor cool! I know more waiting lol.

[ACote]

Oh boy. Cut thru the clear. Not sure i would spray base. I would spray clear. The non catylized base overlapping the clear may lift/craze when re cleared.
Fyi, i never tack rag base coat prior to clear.
If the air compressor gets hot, the air will cool as it goes thru the hose, condensing into liquid form. Ive got 25' trap, 25' trap, and a disposable at the gun as Mark suggested. Keep that compressor cool! I know more waiting lol.

Awesome, yeah planning to go to harbor freight and getting a water trap and a nice filter. That was my newbie mistake, need clean air after the hose too!

Was too tired to post yesterdays work:
Wired a new accessory/ignition wire for a separate fuse for the new sound system. Wasn't sure if the radio and 2 amps would be too much for the old 20 amp fuse and had an extra spot so why not. Next up is giving the interior a quick coat of rust preventative black and sound deadening. Then run wires for under the carpet.
Gauges cleaned up Nice enough for me, was debating painting the rings silver but after some scotch bright and cleaning with a tooth brush they'll look great in the new dash.
Worst one before:

After:

Nice tach

Weld had good penetration this time, tacked all around. Ground the inside to prevent interference with the rocker. Sprayed some Rust converter after.

Clutch pedal was an inch higher than brake pedal. Found the old master and swapped rods.

Don't try doing this in car if you get frustrated and aren't flexible! Would've been much easier to drain the system and get that snap ring on the bench. Finally got it though. Pedal position is much better now.