Finally some progress...

[redlightningsvx]

No sorry you won't.....lol...........and I want to see some damn pics already!

[SVX10]

haha...I'm nervous to post them. Everybody's gonna be all judgemental like "Why'd you do that?"

It looks cool, but it's definitely different.

[redlightningsvx]

You should have seen the first time I painted my car. It looked like chip guard from the doors up, and I even took it to Reading last year. It's all a learing process so show the pics and I could give you some pointers from looking at them.

[SVX10]

Well, the way it is right now you won't be able to see what I did wrong during the application because I've sanded it down. My guess, though, is that I put it on too thick, and used too much flat clear in my flat:regular clearcoat ratio. Biggest issue was probably too thick of a coat, though.

So, I ended up with the really white, hazy areas where the clear was too thick and the flattener really flattened it out. I tried 600grit sanding to get to a point where I could re-apply and not have any white, but that was taking FOREVER. The last thing I want to do at this point is re-sand the hood, front bumper, trunk lid, mirrors, and door handles.

With the 600 going too slow, I moved straight to 80 grit, and I sanded as though I were sanding filler. It knocked down the white spots very quickly and left a really cool crosshatch in the clearcoat...cool enough that I said to myself "hey...I just might leave it like this!" It has the appearance of distressed furniture, and i think it'll look really cool after I add the gold accents I'm planning to add after it's all painted black.

So, that's what the pics will show...a fresh paint job sanded down with an 80 grit crosshatch pattern.

The upside is that it'll be incredibly easy to make the rest of the car match when I paint it, and it'll be incredibly easy to touch up in the future. Plus, it won't show scratches.

Considering that it looks cool and has those advantages, I'm planning to just stick with it. I'll throw up some pics tonight.

If I ever do another job in the future, though, it's getting a gloss finish to show off all the prep work I did. That's my biggest regret...I did some really good prep work and it won't be anything anybody will be able to appreciate.

Mat

[SVX10]

http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/b...netwright/SVX/

That link takes you from primer through prep through spray through curing through crosshatch sanding.

[SVX10]

Well, I suppose perseverance and learning from mistakes yields good results!




More pics available here:
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/b...painted%20SVX/

Not sure what happened to make this time around a success vs. the miserable failure of last time. I modified the amount of flattening agent, which I'm sure helped alot, and I also used a 1.3mm tip for the clearcoat instead of 1.5mm.

[subbieatnz]

Originally Posted by SVX10

Well, I suppose perseverance and learning from mistakes yields good results!

Im not a fan of the satin/matt look but that looks pretty good

[svxistentialist]

Originally Posted by SVX10

Well, I suppose perseverance and learning from mistakes yields good results!




More pics available here:
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/b...painted%20SVX/

Not sure what happened to make this time around a success vs. the miserable failure of last time. I modified the amount of flattening agent, which I'm sure helped alot, and I also used a 1.3mm tip for the clearcoat instead of 1.5mm.

You have done a superb job, looks very well.

Like Subbie, I'm not really a fan of the flat or satin finishes but you have produced a lovely job here and congratulations.

Your Rota G's look stylish as well and they will stay looking good until you rub them off a few kerbs! For that problem it would be the Enkeis for me, every time.

Nice job man, nice job. Post pics when you have it assembled.

Joe

[STeeL25T]

I knew flat black would look awesome on these cars, it really shows off the amazing lines we have. Remind me of the Tumbler from Batman Begins haha.

[SVX10]

Originally Posted by svxistentialist

You have done a superb job, looks very well.

Like Subbie, I'm not really a fan of the flat or satin finishes but you have produced a lovely job here and congratulations.

Your Rota G's look stylish as well and they will stay looking good until you rub them off a few kerbs! For that problem it would be the Enkeis for me, every time.

Nice job man, nice job. Post pics when you have it assembled.

Joe

Thanks

The Rotas are going to be a bit of an issue. They're waaay too wide and rubbing pretty severely. I'm not sure if negative camber will be enough to fix it I may have to try to trade somebody for the same wheel in an 18x8.5 and larger offset.

[Johnybeas]

wow... looks soo good! I'm not usually a fan either but that looks way good, and with the flat look you could pull of vht nightshades without clear coat too to give it more of that solid black look. nice work!

[jokethis89]

Wow that looks really awesome!

Wanna paint mine?










....in like 8 years...when I get it done?

[Johnybeas]

holy old thread bump batman! still a sick paint job!

[SVX10]

lol...wanna just buy mine and save yourself the trouble? I love my SVX, but it just sits in the garage now. The E85 STi and various company cars handle the daily driving responsibilities these days.

Thanks for the compliments. I've since removed the tint (which was purple) and changed to silver wheels with less aggressive offset (had really bad rubbing).

Seriously, though...if I found a good home for it I'd probably sell it...