‘97 Cobra Restomod

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Makoto

Makoto

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thanks, man. since the sealer layer just wasn't laying down right when i wet sand i'll likely bust through to that.

so here's the aftermath:

FAILS
1. i did not seal up the door jams properly and some overspray got through in some spots (i can probably clay bar that out)
2. because the sealer was giving me trouble i caked on too much in one spot, soaked some masking, and sorta glued it to the door.
3. obviously the epoxy primer (sealer) base is hosed so when i wetsand the whole car i'll definitely bust through to that.
4. i missed a spot on the decklid that needs a bit of filler.

WINS
1. the body is sealed under 2 layers of epoxy primer and a coat of color
2. we can at least finally see what its gonna look like in the end (even though the quality is shit right now)
3. those body lines.
4. the one body work bit i missed is a removable part (decklid)

LEARNS
1. need a better water filter (ordered)
2. i can't use a suction feed gun on such a big job.
3. learned what not to do with this 3m foam gap tape
4. i should slice the job up more. A. roof B. sides C. bolt on parts

as with most things you can only ever win big if you risk failing big and all things considered i figure its a few steps forward even if a couple steps back.
 

ttocs

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What I learned from painting my car? I don't ever want to paint a car again and I like painting stuff honestly. That is why I decided to try it but I quickly realized how many devils there are in soooo many details that you have to cover. I learned not to buy cheap masking tape and to always to a test spray on an old fender/hood I had prior to spraying anything I wanted to polish later to see if everything was lining up to make it work. Its just not as much fun as I imagined it would be :)
 
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Makoto

Makoto

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What I learned from painting my car? I don't ever want to paint a car again and I like painting stuff honestly. That is why I decided to try it but I quickly realized how many devils there are in soooo many details that you have to cover. I learned not to buy cheap masking tape and to always to a test spray on an old fender/hood I had prior to spraying anything I wanted to polish later to see if everything was lining up to make it work. Its just not as much fun as I imagined it would be :)

10000000000% and you can't really appreciate the cost of hiring a thing done until you try and do it yourself. i got it 99% right but that 1% covers a lot of area.

the only reason i didn't just pay a shop to do it all is i don't trust them to get the body lined up how i want it to be. at the very least i could hand it over to a paint shop now with the instructions to make it right and they wouldn't have to line anything up at all.
 
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ttocs

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a good body shop guy should be able to tell or know if he is just doing a quick spray so you can flip it or if you are a picky mofo that is going to keep it and critique it when its done. What I mean by that is I had my side exhaust installed by maaco years ago because I was about to move across country and was hoping that if anything did go wrong maybe another maaco in my new town would help. We have all heard about them and how they can do some cheap work but when I went in I told them it was going to be kept and I wanted extra bracing on the bottom and that I did care about the fit/finish. In the end my only complaint was that they didn't do a perfectly smooth transition between the skirt and the body but it wasn't a deal breaker and I was happy with the quality of the paint/work done.
 
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Makoto

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after mulling it over i think i got my problems figured out.

1. don't use the suction feed gun (the reason im redoing the job)
2. new more robust air/water filtration system (done)
3. spray gun cup liner system to simplify the process (done)
4. test my new system on the sail panels and a pillar parts

if #4 is good we proceed

5. 600 grit wetsand for the roof and a reshoot sealer/color
6. reinstall glass
7. install new carpet and seats
8. get suspension and engine tuned
9. wetsand body 600 grit, reshoot the body (fixing a couple things i missed)
10. do the hood and bumpers
11. finish interior
12. keep it till the wheels fall off or someone offers me a stupid amount of money for it
 

ttocs

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I am sure with those learnings that the 2nd coat will not be as bad. My only other suggestions is for ventilation and keep your floor wet and it helps keep overspray down as best you can in the garage. I took some old tarps and got some cheap box fans and closed the garage as far as the fans and then took tarps and taped them between the 3 fans blowing out. Even with that it got thick but you gotta do what you can. The wet floor helps to keep dust from getting kicked up and locks down the overspray from getting kicked up once it is dry.
 
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Makoto

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okay so first things first, here's the new cup system for the gun. no more filter on the gun, that was making it really tough to spray the bottom parts of the car. also, the sealed cup should make sure i can track material usage while keeping the gun fed properly.

gun1.jpg

here's the new filter system. i got one more air/water filter on the way to be double sure we're golden.

gun3.jpg

those black panels and roof get done next. i'm going to shoot the sidescoops as well with no epoxy primer just to see how that color matches with the rest of the car.

gun2.jpg

and brand spankin new carpet in the hizzy. putting the seats back in today. also i discovered my driver's window won't roll down so i gotta figure out exactly why.

int1.jpg

that's about it. a buddy locally has some seatbelts for me. i'm shooting to be 100% done with everything but interior by november. might even get that done as well.
 
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Makoto

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so i wetsanded the epoxy primer and i think it can be saved. if i don't bust through I'll be able to throw down some color and be done with it.

roof1.jpg


roof2.jpg

the subframe connectors don't actually pose much of an issue with the carpet install.

int3 - Copy.jpg


pretty happy with these seats. need to order that new steering wheel. finally.

int5 - Copy.jpg



int4 - Copy.jpg
 

joemomma

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Those seats look very similar to the ones I got (I did opt for the "pleather", but same design). In fact, the brackets look identical.
 
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Makoto

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wetsanded all the orange peel and trash out. needs a bit more cut and buff but i can do that in the end. I'm considering jusut hiring a paint correction dude to go over the whole car when i get all the paint work done.

roof4.jpg
 

ttocs

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its starting to look really good. I can't help but think it needs a pinstripe or some little graphic/detail/idunno...

Now that your this far into it, do you think you will paint a car ever again? It was about this time I was thinking F-THIS I am paying next time....
 

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