So, the experiment is done. I set out with two goals and then added a third.
Goals:
1) Find out if I could set up a cheap, temporary paint booth in my shop, that worked well enough to paint my whole car
2) Find out if I could actually get great paint results and have the confidence to paint the whole car myself, at home.
3) Added goal - Set up a cheap, effective fresh air hood system to use (vs. 3M respirators) I did this and the results are posted on another thread.
Here it is with basecoat black, and with SS stripes taped off and ready for white paint:
And here it is with the white sprayed and tape pulled:
As you can see, the white bled through my "professional grade" automotive masking paper. I asked the guy at the auto paint supply store about that. He said, "Oh yeah, the green paper will bleed. For that kind of masking you need the blue paper." Thanks for that post facto information . . .
Ended up not mattering as my taping of the front corners totally sucked and the stripes had to be redone anyway.
I'm almost embarrassed to post this picture they are so bad. And what is really embarrassing, as the GM aficionado's will spot, is that I put the rounded corners in the wrong place. They go on the outside corner, not the inside. Doh!
The whole point of this exercise was to learn, and I learned a lot!
So, back to the drawing board and sand off the stripes and start over.
And, of course, I sanded through the black basecoat in some spots, and even through to metal in a few others. And the exacto knife used in the taping process cut through and left deep scratches that had to be glazed.
The bare metal spots were really small and I had used up all of my epoxy primer.
So, I thought, "I'll just use a little rattle can primer on those spots, that should be OK."
Huge mistake! When I sprayed the next coat of black basecoat, the cheap primer reacted with it and caused the based coat to crinkle up. Argh!
So, sand things down, get the right paint, do it right.
Here is the next go 'round after I got the black basecoat fixed.
Taped off the stripes (with BLUE Paper) and skipped the whole curved corner thing.
Learning to tape those curves will be another project for another day, before I get to the "real" project.
And, the early SS stripes didn't even have curves, they are squared off like I did.
And, the GM officiando's will point out that '68's didn't even have these kind of stripes. They were introduced in 1970. But they look way better and many people put them on the earlier cars, which is what I did.
**FYI, I used "Intercoat Clear" between the black and white. The SPI rep recommended that and it was a great idea. Allows minor tape bleed to be fixed. If the white was on the black without intercoat clear, no way.
Second time the stripes came out awesome! So, time to clear coat this thing and wrap it up.
Earlier in this thread I had asked about how well the clear will fill in 400 grit scratches. Many said it not to worry, that it would.
Wow! Totally amazed at what the clear filled in. Really impressive.
Also, someone else had mentioned that they were using a similar booth setup and that overspray was not a problem with primers and base, but that the clear was a whole other thing. Roger that! A lot more overspray and fog was on the edge of being a problem.
Will need more airflow for bigger project for sure.
Here are the pictures of final product in clear, without any cutting or buffing yet. When I do that, the experts say it will get even better.
**That crinkly look is the plastic tent being reflected, not the paint
I'm pretty happy with how it came out!
All my goals were met and I think I can do this.
It was pretty fun actually and I enjoyed the whole process, even the mistakes.
**Notice in one of the pictures I have the tailgate on sawhorses. This was a reproduction one that I had ordered and it arrived damaged. Decided to use it for test sprays and dialing in the gun/distance/speed.
Sheet Metal is much better than cardboard!
Thanks for all your interest and comments on this post. I got lots of great feedback and ideas and really appreciate this forum.
Dean