scooterhulk Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 This topis has bound to be beaten to death, but I can't find anything after searching with various word combinations. I've seen several S30's with black window frames, and I want mine done the same way. The car is mostly stripped for restoration, and the window frames have been removed. I am on a bit of a budget, and would like to do as much of this myself as possible. In other words, I'm hoping to avoid powdercoating. Is there a method or product that will give me a good finish and stay on indefinitely? If you've done this yourself, I'd like to see a pic of yours if you have one. Thanks James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldAndyAndTheSea Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Scuff them and shoot them with black paint. The quality of the prep/paint dictates the longevity of the product. Or you could plasti-dip them for a not so indefinite option. If it tears peel it off and re apply. That's the cheapest route, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 For me -powder coating was cost effective. To get the toughness of powder coating you would need to epoxy primer(etching) to get the good grip on the SS. Then a top coat. Maybe I just get it done cheaper around here, but the cost was so reasonable and not having to deal with paint fumes, clean-up, etc.. If you haven't really priced powder coating, you should. Most powder coating places are shooting black everyday and have the black on hand. It's when you start ordering odd colors is where the costs go up. If you have everything prepped for the powder coater where all he has to do is shoot, it might be cheaper than you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted September 30, 2012 Author Share Posted September 30, 2012 (edited) Thanks. I'll have someone price powder coating them then. I think right now I wanna do window frames, door handles and locks. I'm pretty sure the car's gonna end up white (originally a metallic blue/green). Has anyone done locks before? Will there be a problem with baking the lock cylinder? I also have the factory 5 hole mags (I can't remember what they're called, but they're the same wheels that are on every Zamboni I've ever seen...) with aftermarket chrome spinner centercaps. I was thinking about either coating them (eventually?) black as well or polishing them and rechroming the spinner centercaps. So, currently it'll end up white with black chrome, black 240z (fiberglass) bumper, black louvers, shaved rear bumper. Any thoughts? And if anyone has a recommendation for a white paint, throw it in. I LOVED the 2011 BMW mineral white metallic, but holy s**t it's $850 a gallon. If I'm gonna try to do it myself, I just don't know if I can risk $850... Thanks for the input. Edited September 30, 2012 by scooterhulk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanceVance Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 And if anyone has a recommendation for a white paint, throw it in. I LOVED the 2011 BMW mineral white metallic, but holy s**t it's $850 a gallon. If I'm gonna try to do it myself, I just don't know if I can risk $850... Subaru 'Satin White Pearl' is very nice; Get a quality job done though, the factory paint is VERY thin and chips easily, so go a little thicker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted September 30, 2012 Share Posted September 30, 2012 Earl Scheib will paint any car for just $149.95... That includes the window frames! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 God, I don't wanna do Earl Scheib, especially if I've ripped it apart and put the work into it I have. I removed the fenders, hood, headlight buckets, all the glass, everything. I think it's stuck there until I paint it. I'm assuming the Subaru Satin White Pearl can be had for a lot less than $850. I'll look into it tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Hey, a good paint job IS in the prep work. I've heard plenty of great painters say that if they did all the prep work themselves they wouldn't mind taking a car to someone like Maaco for $200. What people like them DON'T do is the $2k worth of prep work straightening the body, sanding, sanding, sanding.... Hell, even masking right seems to be a lost art with these budget shops.... But truth be told, they're not bad at laying paint, especially as that's pretty much what they do. That said, I do all my own painting. I like it. I'd rather do a bad job myself paying for my own education, than pay for someone else's just to save me headache. If I just wanted to spend money there's a million hobbies I could have had. I love cars because I GET INVOLVED, which is fun! Regarding the trim. You've heard the advice, and I would just repeat it. Make sure to give it a good scuff before priming. I don't worry about wetsanding between coats if it looks to be going on well. It's not advised practice by teachers, but I avoid as much sanding as possible if I'm happy with how it's turning out. I'll save my sanding for maybe once before final color coat, then before final clear coat. I find I ruin more paint with my cheap sand and makeshift blocks than help it, so I stick to just leveling out thick areas, or removing orange peel to try again. And the only reason I sand clear coat even is when I screw it up, since it's a fickle beast. Too thin or too thick and I know it's got to come off. With something like trim though, I wouldn't be too worried about it. Just sand it down good and use good paints and it'll stick just fine. And then post pictures when it's done. Not too many S30's running around with blacked out trim. I plan to do the same, but I'm a little ways out still from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Gollum pegs it. They can paint it properly cheaper than you can buy the materials. Money is in the prep work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 Money is in the prep work. Same is true for welding, gardening, landing on the moon, brain surgery, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted October 1, 2012 Author Share Posted October 1, 2012 "That said, I do all my own painting. I like it. I'd rather do a bad job myself paying for my own education, than pay for someone else's just to save me headache. If I just wanted to spend money there's a million hobbies I could have had. I love cars because I GET INVOLVED, which is fun!" I agree. My welding improved a lot working on this car. I didn't think I could do it when I started. I'd kinda like to do it myself because it'd be fun, I think I can do it, and I'd save a buck. That said, I had ES paint two cars before, and I just didn't like it. I had an old BMW that was ready to paint, all they had to do was mask and shoot. It looked okay, but there was overspray and it was thin in spots, but smooth. Maybe it was just my own experience. Different people do that job, of course. I won't trash ES because people wouldn't have told me beforehand they did a good job if they hadn't done a good job before. I've got a good (paint)gun and a garage. We'll see what happens. But, if it looks like crap, I suppose I can take some pride in having been the one that made it look like crap haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snailed Posted October 2, 2012 Share Posted October 2, 2012 You could also wrap some parts of the trim in UV stable vinyl. It can stretch and conform to almost any shape with some heat and will last a long time, plus it's removable if you want to go back to bare stainless some day. I remember an '86 volvo I had, had the exterior of the B pillars were wrapped in satin black vinyl and they were still in excellent shape after a few hundred thousand miles. Just an idea... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I don't have time to get involved any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage-TechZ Posted October 3, 2012 Share Posted October 3, 2012 I don't have time to get involved any more. Lol @ Tony D......I feel you here,lol. I always do my own prep and paint and its very satisfying once past the initial learning curve and tool cost outlay. About 20 years ago was my last set of painted frames and trim....and it still looks awesome today. The steps were >> 1)- Fully pull all trim off and separated from seals,glass etc. -(NOTE:-You can do this on the car but your results will decline) 2)-Either media blast with quartz or thoroughly sand with a DA or by hand with autobody grade papers. 3)-Wash with soap and water,airhose dry and wipe sterile. Repeat with alchohol or metal prep wash. 4)-Make a hanging rack with wire- (hang from garage door ,rafter etc.) I actually did mine outside in full sun for best 3d visibility. 5)-Use any quality self-etching primer-(key). 6)- Spray your choice of catalyzed body color paint or one part S.E.M. trim blk. Spray evenly and slick...do not heavily coat. 3-5 light coats works best. 7)-leave in the sun all day before handling. Note...the thicker you make the layers of prime and color on trim...the easier it can be chipped when smacked. The post cure in heat helps greatly to avoid this result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 Snailed, I worry about the vinyl coming off. I don't have experience with that stuff, but I assume it's like that spray on plastic stuff that some people use to temporarily paint their cars (I can't remember what it's called now). Plastidip I think. I want it to last so I don't have to remove the trim again (ik I should probably powdercoat, but I'm on a budget). Speaking of budget, paint will now be Rustoleum gloss white. Flame me if you want, I'm ready and maybe deserve it for going from an $800 choice to a 27 dollar can of industrial paint. My gf is in grad school and the commute is killing her, so I've suddenly decided we should move an hr away so it's not so hard on her. I rolled a 78 Yota pickup this spring, and it came out pretty awesome. So, I figure what the heck. Plus, I pissed off my painter friend, and since I've never sprayed before, I'm gonna do what I know and roll it. So, Tony D, I think now I can paint the car for cheaper than the shop Vintage-Tech, thanks for the step-by-step. I'll paint mine that way, and maybe I can post up some pics when its done. I apologize for not being on this thread in awhile. I wasn't getting emails telling me I had posts, so I stumbled onto my old thread and noticed I had more replies. Wasn't trying to be impolite. Thank you all for your help. Now to the laboratory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 Hey Vintage Tech, how much do I want to sand on this chrome? I assume I'm just roughing it and not taking the finish off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 28, 2012 Share Posted October 28, 2012 Come to think of it my frames were quartz blasted and shot with Imron in 1986, and it is still there...but if you don't make sure your door frames are aligned and they hit the window frame it will chip! Hell, I did the window rubber trim as well, and even that is holding up well, but I installed it with plastic tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scooterhulk Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 How much should I sand this chrome? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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