Rpeck

Well I got tired of spending my paint savings on other toys, so I did it myself. 5 weekends of work, 5 star self etching primer, Dupont 3.5 VOC ful-thane high solids black urethane paint, a 26 gallon Cambell Hausfeld compressor with an 11 gallon add on tank, and Devbliss finish line 3 HVLP spray gun. It was A LOT of work, I mean insane! Almost as many hrs as I have wrenching on this thing. It's still not done, I only have the hood on phase one of the buffing, but I should have it all cleaned up and buffed out in the next weekend or so.


Robert


Keep in mind it's not close to done yet, here are the pics;

AE pics

Click where is says "Full Size" for a better view.

Kim

I hope it turns out good.
A few months ago i did my 86GLX, I also used a DevilBiss sprayer, Man those things rock.
Final result, click my sig

Rpeck

Ohh, it's comming out fantastic, It will be perfect when I am done. All the white all over, and in the body lines is just the 3M buffing compounds I have not wiped out of the cracks, or off the un buffed parts yet. I will post more pics when it's totaly done.

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

A black AE will be pretty cool...

PowerOverFC

blasphemy!!

BlackIceGuitar

Looks like Its comming along good!

Rpeck

Thanks. It is. I was hoping to make 7 Stock with it this year .. but i'm just a couple weeks short on time It will be there next year for sure. I think anyone that has time, and wants to save money should consider painting themselfs, this was my first time .. it's not hard at all, just very time consuming. But they wanted $4-$6k locally to do all the prep and paint on this car, I did it all for just under $700.


Robert

cblake3

iTrader: (2)

Was your paint peeling? My AE has peeling paint and I have been contemplating getting it repainted, but I was told that I would have to strip the entire car first.
What did $700 include?
How much time did it take you to prep?
Did you have any body work to do (dents, dings, etc.)

Rpeck

The paint was peeling horribly all over. I had to strip the hood entirely, most of the rest of the car I could just sand and smooth the edges and primer over it. But I pressure washed the whole car with a high water pressure gun to remove any paint that was "flaking" off ... so I would not loose the lower layer of under paint causing me to loose my new paint. Any paint that stood up to the pressure washer got feathered & sanded.

The prep took about 80 Hrs I would gestimate, lots and lots of sanding until my hands bled, alot of places to small to use any power sanders. The body was very strait not a ounce of bondo anywhere, no bodywork at all.

$700 included the sand papers, the hardner, the wax and grease remover, the self etching primer (1 gallon), the tack cloths, drop cloths, 2 fans, the HVLP spray gun, 1 gallon of Dupont paint, the catalist, the mixing cups, the 3 step 3M post paint buffing compounds (fine rubbing compound, swirl mark remover, finishing glaze) Masking tape, and all other paint accesories minus the Air compressor (I already had) and the Electric buffer (already had)

carx7

iTrader: (31)

Looks good. I too am in the middle of paint work and that's how my car will be at SS6, cause I"m taking it... even if it's primered and in the middle of body work...

I am a bit concerned that you didn't take all the paint off to primer since there is still a chance that the white will pull from the primer... but other wise it looks good, and you may never have a problem.

Just to be safe (and super ****) on my repaint I took it to metal, but that adds a ton of work with metal prep etc.

It's kinda fun to do this stuff yourself... but very time consuming.

-Chris

Rpeck

I am not to worried about any paint peeling, the self etching primer/sealer is on very thick, and designed to penetrate and stop any of that. Also the existing paint I left did not come off from 125 PSI of direct water pressure and 320 sand paper till feathered, so I think it's good for life. I also put 4 semi think coats of paint on the primer.

I will keep you posted though.

Good luck on your project, and if you have any questions feel free to ask. I read a couple of books before I started this, and read alot of forums on do it yourself auto body work.

Robert

AK86GXL

Not to be a dick, but did you redo both the door jams and the engine bay? In looking at your hood you can see between the fender and hood to the white paint inside. I know Chris just redid his engine bay and that was hella work, and since you're going white to black I was just curious to know if you're doing the whole car or just the exterior. So far it looks good. Body work is a bitch, I learned that this weekend.

Rpeck

Yes I did the engine bay months ago (when I rebuilt the motor) , and I did do the edges of the hood, and all the jams. Thats not white paint you see, thats the buffing compounds that got flung in the cracks I have not wiped any of it out yet, I explained this above

n4ji

iTrader: (1)

Yep...

2ndGen.rocket

looks nice. I love black FC's. thats what color mine is gonna be soon.

Rpeck

Once I take the tape off the badges it looks sweet! The black on the black and gold AE emblems is a very nice touch. I just think black makes for a much classier looking 7 (no offence to others, just my view) I think the AE's should have been black to begin with. The best looking 7's I have ever seen have been Black or Red, you just don't look at a white 7 and think Damn! thats sweet!, like you do some other colors. I just need to pick out some very nice rims to match it now. I though about powder coating the AE rims black, but I decided I will hang on to those as they are, incase I, or someone else ever wants to make it factory again. Plus that would be just to much black. I am going to put some nice Alloy's on now I think.


Robert

2ndGen.rocket

yeah, definitely alloys or a light gunmetal finish like the Volk rims. I also agree that 10AE's should have been black. It makes the lines of the car so much cleaner, and it does look much classier. White IMO is too bright, and it doesn't go good with the car, especially with white rims as well. It may have looked cool in 88', but im not a fan in 03'. no offense to any stock 10ae owners by the way.

My88Se

iTrader: (10)

I love black fc's. Especially 10AE's.

Seeing that a lot of people seem to be painting their cars, i think i will undergo the challenge when the time comes. I can't wait to see the finished product.

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

This isn't sweet????
Damm!!!

evileagle

iTrader: (1)

Remember... it's your car...

Paint away man, black FCs rock.

DAN CARWIN

Rpeck I'm looking for 10th anniv. rims for mine, if you want to sell them PM me and we can discuss. thanks Nice work as well.

Rpeck

No, that looks real good! Evil, But I see you dumped the AE rims But thats not a stock look either, with the FMIC showing, the nose, and the headlight. I just say if I imagine that exact same car there in black it looks even sweet'er to me. But, I have a black/red jetski, black truck, black/red motorcycle, I just love the look of a clean black paint job.

Robert

eViLRotor

iTrader: (2)

Haha! That's not my car. Just an example of a really nice, white one.

I just wanted to see if you can still acknowledge the quality of a car, even if it is white. Kinda like saying a hot girl isn't hot because she's a brunette...

My car isn't white either...its pearl

My88Se

iTrader: (10)

But a blonde girl ISN'T hot unless she's a brunette..........

Rob XX 7

iTrader: (8)

good for you, only thing I would add is in the future lay out the money for better paint that all.

I know you used DuPont, I love DuPont, but the Nason line is very budget, mostly used on trailers and things like that. Spend the extra dollars so a few years down the road the paint job holds up. same goes for primers, a paint job is only as good as its primer and its main bond, so if that white paint that was flaking off underneath decides to start again, your white paint will fly off with the primer and paint you applied on top of it going along for the ride.