Uncategorized
Painting the Escort (Part 6) – Painting! (the Escort) [Part 1]
What a ridiculous title! What it means is simple: this is the first post dealing with the actual painting. Why don’t I simply wait till I’m done painting and make a single post? Because, it is the process, not the product, that matters. Deep.
Now, this morning I did my first coat. Then, tonight, I did my second coat (see the image EXIF data for the times: I work late). The plan is that I will pick up more paint tomorrow morning, then do a third coat. I will see how it turns out, and chances are I will let it dry till the next morning, when I will do a light wet sanding to remove the dust and bugs that may get stuck it in, smooth off the paint, then I will do the final coat (or two…)
More photos after the break!!! (And, of course, the photo of me that I promised). › Continue reading
Painting my Escort (Part 5) – Primer
Well, today I did the two coats of primer. This was great, because I learnt two valuable things: technique for painting, and how many cans it takes per coat. I was surprised to discover it took about 3 cans of primer (430 g per can) to do one coat. I only had 2 cans, and I wanted to do 2 coats, so I ended up grabbing more primer, and I also bought the last cans of Yellow Tremclad from the Aylmer Canadian Tire: sorry!
Total cost so far: a little over $200. Not too bad I suppose. Now I’ve got 10 cans of yellow, which should be enough for 3 coats. However, I still wish to do more than 3 coats, just to make sure it is bold and durable, so I may end up grabbing more paint. However, the topic of this post is the primer, and here it is!
The front after one coat.
This morning, I applied one coat, then I let it dry for about 7 hours (I did the first a little before noon, and I did the second a little after 6). This is the fast dry stuff, and it felt dry after only about 30 minutes, but naturally I gave it more time.
Tomorrow, I plan on applying one coat in the morning, and then seeing where I end up. I hear too many different instructions for painting, so I will see which way feels best after I get started. My dad says to blend the coats, and do one after another. Previous instruction has told me that for spray paint I should do a coat, let it dry, then do another. After the first coat tomorrow, depending on how it goes on and dries, I will determine what to do.
Click for more to see some before and after shots!
Painting my Escort (Part 4) – Masking
Since yesterday afternoon/evening, and all of today, I’ve been masking the car, all the parts I don’t want paint to get on. Finally, I have finished that! I’m ready to go and spray it all!
However, there is a slight change in plans. Originally, I was going to paint just the door interior edges, and other crevice work, but then I decided I am best off covering everything up, then doing the whole thing in one shot. So, tomorrow morning, I will begin priming, after I wipe it all off with gas.
More photos after the break.
Painting my Escort (Part 3) – Sanding
Lots of it. Depending on how long and hard you work, it can take from hours to days. I worked at it non stop on Wednesday, from 8:30AM to 5PM, and then again this morning for a couple hours, and now it’s done. It is very rhythmic and mind numbing work: time flies, and your mind separates from the task at hand… It was fun! Here are some of the results:
The nicely sanded hood. Notice I did a proper job, and removed the washer nozzles.
Painting my Escort (Part 2) – Body Work
So yesterday, Monday, the 24th of May, me and my dad began the body work on the Escort. The process went a little something like this:
- Grind the paint off around areas that bubble and are cracked.
- Sandblast the areas that have rust on them, then around the areas to be patched.
- Put fiberglass body filler around all the areas and in the holes.
- Grind down a bit.
- Use Bondo over top of the fiberglass to give it a smooth finish.
Yesterday, my dad let me do a lot of the work to get used to the tools and process, so naturally, being my first time operating any of these power tools, I didn’t do a godly job. However, I certainly didn’t do too bad!
This is as finished as we got the back right fender yesterday.
Painting my Escort (Part 1)
Summer is here! And, I have plenty of little projects lined up. Right now? Painting my car. No, this definitely doesn’t count as a little project. The rust has come back after I painted it last year, and I realized that the Duplicolor/Canadian Tire paint/primer doesn’t last at all. However, I realized that the section of my car I painted using Tremclad is in the same condition as it was last year!
This is the repair with the Duplicolor. Didn’t last so long.
This is the Tremclad job: not too bad!
I have been wanting to paint my car Yellow for the longest time. Now, having realized the rust is back, and will continue costing me money, I decided I’m going to paint the whole car!