Paint Blog 5: Primer

Bucky sees Sharka for the first time.

Bucky sees Sharka for the first time.

“Hi little grey car. I’m Bucky!!! Who are- OHMYGOD SHARKA!!!! What have they done to you?!!?!?!?!?”

Poor Bucky. He had no idea.

Primer

Primer

After I got Bucky calmed down and parked a bit of distance away, I clicked off some shots. All the body work was covered in a layer of primer. Yay!!! Very excited!

Blended tail light panel.

Blended tail light panel.

Yeah.

Yeah.

ZMOG!!! Love.

ZMOG!!! Love.

This, for me, is the pay off. The money shot. The thing I’ve been waiting for.

Love the tails. That little edge that pokes out? Beauty. The smooth flank? Yum.

Hood???

Hood???

And then there’s the hood. This hood had fresh paint on it not a week ago. Hell, not a DAY ago. It was all blue and clear. We were just gonna paint on stripes and hit it with more clear.

But that was not good enough.

The hood has a lot of inconsistencies. The fiberglass is pretty rough. There’s some hills and valleys. I mean, it was made in 1988. It has seen a lot of years.

When the hood was painted the first time, it had some flaws in the finish. It looked like odd orange peel. I asked about it. I was assured that some more clear and some sanding would get it nice and flat. I was not worried.

But now? There’s nothing to worry about. The hood is flat. It will have a lovely finish once done without blasting through a lot of clear. I’m very happy about that.

Bits and pieces.

Bits and pieces.

Mud flaps.

Mud flaps.

These little things got primer too. They were hiding inside.

I almost feel like I should put an FAQ section. I had questions. I imagine anyone reading along does too.

FAQ – Paint blog #5

Why is the hard top not primered?
It has good paint on it already. It will get scuffed and removed prior to paint.

Why is the undercoat not primered?
Same reason. It’ll be scuffed and sprayed with the rest of the car. The primer spray was only for parts that have required filling, smoothing, and other such body work.

Why are the doors still on?
I asked them to NOT go into the door jam area. Sharka has been painted twice in his life before I got him. I didn’t see a need to paint the door jam a third time.

What’s up with the minor masking?
They ripped off most of it to drive the car outside while another was in the spray booth.

DOOR HANDLES?!?
They’re off the car right now. Yay!

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  • GasperB says:

    We’re excited to see the end result Adam but it’s looking great so far. Ali’s green Mk1 goes in for a full paint job in 3 weeks so we’ve been watching this thread and getting ready.
    And we never did say thank you for the tea. Thank you 🙂
    Keep the blog updates coming, they’re a great read.

    Gary & Ali

  • Brad says:

    You know, I’ll be going through a similar process with my Supra later this year I imagine… how are you holding up without Sharka? I can’t imagine letting go of a car you love so much for too long… must be tough.

    • revlimiter says:

      I might not be the best person to answer that. I get to see Sharka every day and take pix. I even get to help. I’ve actually done a lot of work myself.

      Being without the car would crush me.

  • Stoly says:

    This is about the time reality sets in… Emotions are on full tilt. The Sharka you knew vs. what you see now vs. what Sharka will be… Take a deep breath. Go thrash Bucky. Hat tip to the body/paint shop. Sharka is in good hands. Breathe.

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