'02 Suburban re-paint thread

Right on. She's looking good.

You have done a very good job so far, good luck with the final process.

Looks good to me!

Modern materials are amazing.
Getting ready to finish the last 2 panels.
600 on the runs and trash, 1000 grit for peel, then 1500 and 3000 Trizact. Getting ready for 8000 Trizact.
It feels about as coarse as copy paper and it is hard to believe it will cut anything.
Here it is after 3000


And after 8000


Based on the clear residue, the 8000 is cutting like mad.
Cool stuff!

5 hours and I got the last 2 panels "done" and I'm done for the day.



Now I just have to go back over it and touch up the ~100 spots that need further attention

And, I have to reshoot a panel. Looking for some advice/feedback on my plan here.

I found a spot where I sanded through the base to the epoxy sealer coat.
Since I was using black epoxy and black base, I didn't catch it until after clear.
(In the future, I might use contrasting sealer coat color to avoid this.)
I'm sure it is base sand through to epoxy and not clear sand through to base because it it glossy on top of the spot, clear over epoxy.

No matter, it has to be fixed.

Here is a pic:



Damn it! Here a is zoom out of the area:



My plan is to just repaint the lower back portion of this quarter panel, using the "soft line" technique, like you would do in a door jamb, of folding back tape to create that soft edge, and hid it in the portion of the body line that can't be seen from normal viewing position.

Here is a drawing to explain better:


Thinking I will scuff the area with 600 grit, touch up the sand through with base using a touch up gun, then clear the area, probably 2-3 coats.

Thoughts?

The soft edge should go slightly higher, right about the outside radius of the body contour.

Just out of curiosity, so you were sanding your base, then shooting clear directly over the sanded base?

crashtech said:

The soft edge should go slightly higher, right about the outside radius of the body contour.

Just out of curiosity, so you were sanding your base, then shooting clear directly over the sanded base?

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Thanks. I have lots to learn.
Why on the outside radius? Wouldn't I want any line hidden?
Yes, wet sanded base with 600 before clear, is there a better way?
Seriously want to learn!

Dean Jenkins said:

Yes, wet sanded base with 600 before clear, is there a better way?

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Nor done unless you have trash or really excessive texture. If you do sand you want to spray some more base over the sanded area before you clear. Looks like you got away with it though. You wouldn't have, had it been a metallic.

It's not recommended to clear sanded base. At least one more coat of base should be applied to sanded base before clearing.

Regarding the line, you should be masking it so that you can pull away the rolled tape just after clearing and put a little blender on it. Then when it's cured, hit it with a polisher and the line will blend right in.

Progress! Got one side cut and buffed. Man that is a lot of work, least enjoyable part of painting, for me.
The best part, for me, is pulling off the tape and paper. Like Christmas!

I decided to take a break from the tedium of cutting/buffing and do some re-assembly, on the one side.


Put the fender flares, mirrors, and door handles on.

Chris Hamilton suggested I take the mirrors off to paint, which was a great suggestion! Turned out to be easy
And, I ended up getting new mirrors. The factory ones were painted glossy.
I found some that were a textured surface like the flares.
And while looking at them found matching door handles. All very reasonable.
I like the look!


Really happy with how the texture, color and matte finish came out on the fender flares.
Total PIA to install, had to pull the tires to drill new holes for some of the nylon "Christmas tree" fasteners, but they fit good and I think, look good.


Also, the truck had plastic side trim with Chrome inserts, on the doors. I'm leaving that off. Like the cleaner look.
Was hoping to get the hood installed tonight, but was getting tired and punchy. Doing that alone is a delicate operation and I need to be fresh and sharp to do it and not cause damage, so tomorrow.

I cannot believe how much time I have into this . . .

Looks good! I imagine lots of time. Those things are buses. And it’s black to boot. But looks great! Did you touch up the sand thru? Those trucks are pretty easy to blow in at that lower body line. Luckily it’s a solid color. You’ll feel great when it’s done!

Whitesnake said:

Looks good! I imagine lots of time. Those things are buses. And it’s black to boot. But looks great! Did you touch up the sand thru? Those trucks are pretty easy to blow in at that lower body line. Luckily it’s a solid color. You’ll feel great when it’s done!

Click to expand...

Thanks. Haven't done the touch up yet. Waiting until I finish the rest, in case any other areas need it.
Also ordered blending solvent from SPI and it won't be here until Monday, so I'll wait for that.

Solo install of a large hood on a large, lifted truck.
Good thing my cherry picker has a high lift

Just hang it from the cherry picker and very carefully walk it back on thick towels.





And here it is, installed and adjusted, not a scratch.
I really like the look. Glad I got the aftermarket cowl hood and did the work to make it fit.


Here is a funny story about this hood.
Part of "making it fit" was carefully hammering down the hinge mount pads about 1/4", it just stuck up in the back and wouldn't adjust down.
After I got the fit right and painted the hood, I installed it and cinched down the mounting bolts.
One of the bolts dimpled the surface of the hood about 1/8". The clear had visible cracks in about a 3/8" radius around the dimple.
Crap!
Told myself, "well, I guess I'm fixing that and repainting the hood."
I pulled it off and set it aside and focused on painting the rest of the truck.

Went to address the hood issue and found the the dimple had receded to barely noticeable with the pressure from the bolt relieved. And the amazing thing was, the cracks in the clear "healed." Totally gone.
I didn't know it would do that.
I was able to block the spot with 1000 grit, the polish it, and now it is totally gone. Wow!

And I ground down all the bolts 1/4" before this final install.

Received the blending solvent from SPI this week and got to work on repainting the panel with the sand through.
Used the "soft edge" taping technique that I first heard about from Chris Hamilton (thanks!)
Then sprayed the edge with blending solvent after each coat.
The SPI blending solvent is cool stuff! Glad to have it in the tool bag.

Decided to use my touch up gun since it was a small area.

Worked great for base.
Bad idea for clear! Significant orange peel on first coat. Switched to the Iwata Supernova for remaining coats. Did 4 total and hopefully it will wet sand down and polish to a nice finish.
If not, get it flat and shoot more clear.

Base coat


4 coats of clear


Good news is that the blended paint, in the body line, is imperceptible, even before cutting/buffing.

I continue to be amazed how forgiving SPI universal clear is.
I'm almost convinced you could brush it on and then cut it flat for a nice finish.

This is the panel I did the repair on. It had significant orange peel and a few small runs. Thought for sure I'd be re-shooting it.

But it cut/polished up nice.
Still also amazed at how the soft tape edge and blending solvent work. No line whatsoever.





Now to wrap this thing up, get it back on the road, and get back to the "real" project, the 68 el Camino.

OK. Gonna call it "Done!" Well, I see a few spots I want to touch up the buffing on, but for the most part, DONE.
It is hard to take pictures of a glossy paint job, it reflects everything and the reflections make it look like crap.
So, I shot this short video. Not only a way to show the final product, but a chance to play with the drone. All good.
Check it out.

Sorry Dean but your video is not available....

DanMcG said:

Sorry Dean but your video is not available....

Click to expand...

Looks like YouTube blocked it. Just switched to Vimeo and it seems to be working now.

Awesome job of it. You're right, the pics are horrendous compared to the video.
Man, she looks good.