doohopark

yes you are right, don't need to re-mask to clear. Oh for got to mention most clear times are capped at a certain point and the P-pages are not relevant to complete paint jobs.Soo all those things at the top are not relevant when talking about full paint jobs. I think it mentions it either at the beginning or the end of the paint calculations in the book.

we do a lot of trim paint in that paint. For best results i would recommend getting the stuff in the cans. I will try and post pictures in the next couple days.

the posted times for labor hours just is not for actually shooting the clear. It includes all the prep time. Sanding, just scuffing can take up to 2 hours on a entire car, a good block can take days. then there is masking time also the materials involved in masking. Like my shop, our masking paper runs anywhere from 40-80 dollars a roll, good masking tape is 3 dollars a roll. You figure in average of 100 yards of tape and 30-60 feet of paper and it eats at the cost of labor pretty quick. Actually most shop will tell you the labor times in those estimating system is hookie.

the best undercoat i have used is the Wurth brand in a can, althoe pricey some (some where around 14 a can) it goes on thick and is pretty durable. If top notch is what your looking for get the wurth stuff in a liquid and spray it on with a undercoating gun.

theres this stuff called trim black, come in a rattle can made by SEM

Yes it is indeed a repair job, I would Sand not grind off all the old filler untill rust is not visable, then go 3-4 inches past the end. Fix much of the sheetmetal as possible, prime with epoxy or por15 then reskim the roof. Much harder then it is written. The roof has to be the hardest panel to repair on a Z. Althoe the poster above mentioned filler not being thicker then your finger nail. Why would you say that?? if it wasnt thicker then your finger nail, why use filler?(unles you have some really thick nails) Wouldent you be better off useing a high build surfacer primer? Modern fillers can be used up to 1/4 inch (not recommended) with out any problems, as long as the substrate was properly prepared. In my opinion anything up 1/16 is a good reapir and up to a 1/8 inch can be used in a pickle. Oh forgot to add, Bondo is a Brand name, there are much better fillers on the market, evercoat rage extreme is awesome.

ya the roof is a PITA, the double crown makes it very difficult, i bought a 24" sanding block just to get it right. Mine was espically diffcult becuse i had to weld in a patch about 4"x4" right in the middle of the roof. the out come was good. this was done a few years back but i still remember that nightmare. Oh btw I own my own shop if any one is looking for paint/ body work in OC