Look out! Fresh Paint, 56k

[4eyedconekiller]

Im serious, if you are on dial-up, run like hell - theres a lot of pictures here!

I havent had a chance to add my project, so here ya go!

THere are a lot of progress pics, because i started posting on another site before i joined here, so if you have any questions, just ask!

Here's a few before pics:
the one that i thought was the most cool is my in the grass shot - camera was sitting on the ground, with me all laid out looking at the display, lol. people were stopping to make sure i was ok...



Ive also had several tell me this one was their favorite too:




Now, on to the fun!














[img]http://carpron.com/multisite/d/160241-2/000_0033.jpg[/img/

[4eyedconekiller]

the gf also took some action shots, so here ya go.

[4eyedconekiller]

All sealed up and pink!



after several coats of color, and a few coats of clear:






Look over the paint booth, I got a chance to spray it, so i jumped in the booth and got it done.

Out of all the dings and rock chips, i missed 3



School and work have been kickin my ass, so ive had to take longer than i expected on the car, but 1 more buff, paint my hood stripe, then finish puttin her together, and she'll be ready to roll!

After first buff - had something in the paint booth, so we wound up buffing in the shop, where the lighting isnt as good


Many thanks to my boss, Ricky, for the help he's been - here he is running the buffer:


Some pictures from this afternoon, after a wash..





Some reflection shots:




-yeah, i know the fender isnt right... I forgot to line it up before i painted, so that will be another thing on the list.

Tryin to get her finished up by the end of the week, so keep your eyes open for some finished product shots!

[adam699]

Why did you keep the bumpers on when painting?

[Patrick Olsen]

Originally Posted by 4eyedconekiller

Here's a few before pics:
the one that i thought was the most cool is my in the grass shot - camera was sitting on the ground, with me all laid out looking at the display, lol. people were stopping to make sure i was ok...

Good stuff. That is a nice picture, too. The ole 4-eye looks damn good with that style Cobra wheel on it.

[blk91gt]

That looks amazing! Good job!

[4eyedconekiller]

thanks for asking, adam... the bumper is the original bumper, and it had been damaged in the accident it had been involved in right after i got it (see 1st set of pictures) I finally got all of it straightened out, and when i tried to stretch the bumper over the header again, it broke out nearly every place id fixed - i fixed it all, when we test fit the bumper, it did it all over again - my body work was perfect, but the bumper was in such rough shape that it wouldnt stay together - i got it on the car, got it lined up the best we could, and i fixed, primed, and painted it on the car. I can guarantee you, there wont be any problems with it, as far as there being clear between the bumper and fenders. its all got a pretty line, and its been sanded and buffed, with no ill effects.

Thanks Patrick, and blk91! Ive put a lot of work into it, and believe it or not, its far from perfect, but its a vast improvement over the way it was.

[puttputt]

Sweet looking ride. You done a good job. Keep it up. I love the four eyes.

[Nova72]

looks good! cant wait to get a 4eyed car after college.

[DADnGT]

Looks great. What 5 lug setup did you go with?

[250psd]

Look's great! I was thinkin' the same thing as mentioned above about the wheels. They look perfect on that car!

[4eyedconekiller]

thank you all - its been a long time coming, but im so itching to get it finished - looks like its gonna be RIGHT before Turkey Day, because its taking longer than i thought for my stencil to come in for the hood stripe, but after that, its on!

My 5 lug setup:
96 GT brakes/spindles, with ranger/aerostar axles, and ranger drums. I went with an 85 TownCar MC, and an adjustable prop valve, because for some reason, when i did the conversion with the stock booster and MC, it was like there was nothing behind the pedal - after a booster rod adjustment, and the TownCar MC, it stops MUCH better, but does show some rear brake bias, so I installed the Prop valve. I'll eventually go 4 wheel discs, with Cobra brakes up front, and probably some sn95 rears.

I agree with you guys - the first time I considered a 5 lug swap, I thought the same thing... now Im considering a change, or maybe not - Im considering a set of 99 cobra wheels, or some polished 01 cobras. the ones Im really starting to pine away for are some 10th anny wheels, with the darker (Im guessing anthracite) centers. What do you guys think?

[muztanggeetee]

god...i would give anything if i could do body work. awesome job man

[Puter]

Not bad! Congrats!

Are you going to put the hood decal back on? On my 84, I laid down the base, let it flash, put on my decals, then cleared. That way I have no wax lines and no lifts of the 3M material.

[4eyedconekiller]

mustanggeetee, its not that hard... You just have to get down the basics - learn to sand, sand sand, lol, and you'll do just fine - the rest will fall right into place.

Puter, I am going to paint my hood stripe back on... I like it being semi-gloss, so Im going to use a vinyl reducer (Dupont 305S) and lay it on there, using a stencil from Graphics Express. I had several people tell me to clear over it, but then it kinda throws off the point of painting all the trim that way, at least to me, anyway.

[yellowsnake01]

Wow man, the car came out great. I think it looks perfect with those wheels, the style really matches nice. Congrats.

Kinda makes me wanna throw a fresh coat on my '90.....

[4eyedconekiller]

thanks yellowsnake... Go for it - what color?

[SleeperStang89]

All that work just to paint it with the door locks/handles/mirrors/window trim on the car?

Within 6 months of washing it with high pressure the paints going to start peeling/lifting.

[4eyedconekiller]

Thanks for acting like I dont know what Im doing... I can guarantee you that nothing of the sort will happen... It was left on, because time delegated otherwise. All of my tape lines are well under the trim and mirror edges - thank God that Ford doesnt have incredibly tight gaps on their trim and mouldings.

When is the last time you did any bodywork? If you really knew anything, you among others would realize that high pressure washing is by far one of the WORST things you can do to ANY paintjob. Even with stellar prep, which i can assure you has been done, a single rock chip can cause the demise of even the best paintjob.

My cars all get washed the same way, no matter what the paint is like - BY HAND, with two buckets and a microfiber mitt. How do you wash yours?

[SleeperStang89]

Wasn't saying you don't know what you're doing. Your car came out looking good. However, you did take short cuts for one reason or another.

No matter what you say. You can not physically properly prep around a door lock, or around the foxbody style door handle without removing them. Thats one thing insurance companies actually pay for. R&I door handles/moldings/door locks/mirrors etc, because even they know those are bad short cuts to take--and their cheap bastards

How do I wash my car? Some of the times like you, couple different mitts. Bodyside molding up mitt, bodyside lower mitt, and wheel mitt and bucket. I also get lazy and like to go to the touchless car wash. Even now more so that it's getting cold outside again.

I've done more than my fair share of paint & bodywork. If I wanted to be a dick I coulda asked who mixed your paint and went over on the white. I don't remember a factory ford red that had a pinkish/milkish cast to it.

Originally Posted by 4eyedconekiller

Thanks for acting like I dont know what Im doing... I can guarantee you that nothing of the sort will happen... It was left on, because time delegated otherwise. All of my tape lines are well under the trim and mirror edges - thank God that Ford doesnt have incredibly tight gaps on their trim and mouldings.

When is the last time you did any bodywork? If you really knew anything, you among others would realize that high pressure washing is by far one of the WORST things you can do to ANY paintjob. Even with stellar prep, which i can assure you has been done, a single rock chip can cause the demise of even the best paintjob.

My cars all get washed the same way, no matter what the paint is like - BY HAND, with two buckets and a microfiber mitt. How do you wash yours?

[4eyedconekiller]

Originally Posted by SleeperStang89

Wasn't saying you don't know what you're doing. Your car came out looking good. However, you did take short cuts for one reason or another.

No matter what you say. You can not physically properly prep around a door lock, or around the foxbody style door handle without removing them. Thats one thing insurance companies actually pay for. R&I door handles/moldings/door locks/mirrors etc, because even they know those are bad short cuts to take--and their cheap bastards

How do I wash my car? Some of the times like you, couple different mitts. Bodyside molding up mitt, bodyside lower mitt, and wheel mitt and bucket. I also get lazy and like to go to the touchless car wash. Even now more so that it's getting cold outside again.

I've done more than my fair share of paint & bodywork. If I wanted to be a dick I coulda asked who mixed your paint and went over on the white. I don't remember a factory ford red that had a pinkish/milkish cast to it.

The handles were left in, because of time constraints, and the fact that those handles are a bitch to get out/put back in. I was also unsure about how the guy before me painted it - this was not a resto paint, but just a freshening up. As far as mouldings, the window mouldings tend to bend, so i just taped them up, which turned out fine, with no ill effects. On the drip rails and dew mouldings, Im actually scratching my head now as to why I didnt take em off. I'm quite knowledgeable about how and why insurance companies R&I handles/mouldings/mirrors - I'm the one who writes the estimates and does the work.

I really wished that time and funds would have allowed a full teardown, and repaint from the inside out, but with the car in the shape it was in, which wasnt bad, if you look at the before pics, it didnt necessarily need it.

As far as you being a dick about stuff, thats kind of how you came across - someone to piss in my cheerios, rather than ask a question or two. It was almost as though you wanted to make me look like an idiot, and thats how I took it.

Last thing - thats the EXACT match to the original color - its 2R, also known as Jalopeno Red, which is more red-orange than the later vibrant reds. I mixed it myself, and the last time I checked, Dupont doesnt screw around with a several thousand dollar paint matching system, and I mixed it - didnt trust anyone else to mix it for me. Where do you see the pinkinsh cast? It may just be the camera, I dunno - You are the only person who has said anything about it, including my boss, who has been doing bodywork for 25 years.

Guys, Im sorry for getting so defensive - My old car isnt perfect, but I know what I can and have done, and it just kind of aggravates me when someone comes in to rain on my parade, rather than just ask why I took some of my shortcuts, like adam did.

[Patrick Olsen]

Originally Posted by 4eyedconekiller

Some reflection shots:

Maybe I'm just blind, but it looks red to me, exactly like it should. Just like my Dad's old (and long gone) '85 GT.

Originally Posted by 4eyedconekiller

I agree with you guys - the first time I considered a 5 lug swap, I thought the same thing... now Im considering a change, or maybe not - Im considering a set of 99 cobra wheels, or some polished 01 cobras. the ones Im really starting to pine away for are some 10th anny wheels, with the darker (Im guessing anthracite) centers. What do you guys think?

I absolutely love the '99 Cobra wheels on a Fox. I would have picked up a set years ago if they were 17x9", but unfortunately they're only 8" wide. At least you know they'll fit perfectly, since they're the same size and offset as the wheels you've got now.

The 10th Anniversary wheels definitely look awesome. I'm not sure about the anthracite, though. Just visualizing in my head, it would seem like the anthracite and the black trim and hood strip just wouldn't go right. The silver 10th Anniversary wheels would look very sharp IMO. And I vote NO on polished, again it just doesn't seem like it would match the look of the car.

[SleeperStang89]

Sorry I came across as a dick. I wasn't trying to. Was merely asking why shortcuts were taken since you were doing it yourself.

Anyways. Your car doesn't cast orange to me, it casts pink but that could be my laptop screen. Who knows.

Overall it looks like you did a great job and I'm glad youre happy with it.

I won't debate the issue about color-matching and ANY paint manufacturer. Anybody who has painted in a professional setting will tell you most colors are NOT an exact match, and further tinting/color matching will be needed.

Toyo 1C8, GM 382E are notorious for not matching and having up to 10 different alternates depending on brand of paint youre using.

This is the pic I was referring to the milkish/pink cast.

[glennster]

Nice,looks like the 86 LX I had.

[1trkpny95]

Car looks great man! My buddy and I painted mine a year ago. (3) 16 hour days and she was done. Congrats!

[grn92conv]

Give dude a break. Looks like he painted at work and probably didn't have time to do a complete restro. "Just a freshin up job", looks good to me.

[Hissing Cobra]

Foureye ftw! I LOVE it and think that the Cobra rims knock it out of the park. Nice job!

[madquake]

dayum care to help me do my GT I need a little fresher upper ... My shiat needs it... Good job. Somebody mentioned they wish they could do Body work ... well I'm with him. I've tried it and well I suck at it.. defintely need talent to do that.

[1trkpny95]

If you need body work help just PM me and I'd be glad to give some tips. The biggest key to it, IMO, PATIENCE!

[4eyedconekiller]

Originally Posted by SleeperStang89

Sorry I came across as a dick. I wasn't trying to. Was merely asking why shortcuts were taken since you were doing it yourself.

Anyways. Your car doesn't cast orange to me, it casts pink but that could be my laptop screen. Who knows.

Overall it looks like you did a great job and I'm glad youre happy with it.

I won't debate the issue about color-matching and ANY paint manufacturer. Anybody who has painted in a professional setting will tell you most colors are NOT an exact match, and further tinting/color matching will be needed.

Toyo 1C8, GM 382E are notorious for not matching and having up to 10 different alternates depending on brand of paint youre using.

This is the pic I was referring to the milkish/pink cast.

Apology accepted... Like i said, time (its been sitting in my shop at work - kind of in the way at times) and funds (Im a terribly poor independantcollege student, with a job that has a lot of perks) dictated that a full tear down and repaint was not not in the cards for me at this time.

I also understand your point about not arguing paint matching and different manufacturers - everyone does things a different way. Before i turned out the pictures of my car, I compared the color to other pictures ive seen of cars that were supposedly the same color, and the match is very close

What you see in the picture that you are referring to is the reflection of the shop door/building - the car was sitting just outside, so i could wash it. There may be some discrepancy from the camera as well - its a 7.1 MP kodak - definately not a professional piece of equipment, but a lot better than a camer phone. This was also before the application of a hand glaze, that tends to bring the color back to just about anything - if i get a chance, I'll take some more pics, and you can show me more of what you are talking about. I can see no reason for the car to appear pink - there is almost no white in the formula - theres considerably more black, but the rest (95%) is red and red-orange

as for those two colors, they most definately are a bitch to paint - weve done a couple of both, and they have come out pretty close - the kicker about a red or a silver is the fact that they have a tendency to fade really quickly, and no matter what color red/silver they are, after a few years it makes them harder to match.

Thanks to everyone else! As soon as my stencil for the hood stripe comes in, I will finish everything up - that, and a few more pieces of trim are the last pieces of the puzzle. Then its a race to get it back together, and on the road!

[79mustang351w]

Lookd good...and thanks to your four eye love....I now have motivation to get my AZZ in gear and get something done on mine tomorrow after work!! Thanks.

[4eyedconekiller]

haha, thanks man... I was actually just about to post on your thread.. looks like you're comin along pretty good yourself!

[stoksuks]

Ive seen a lot of four eyes & I think I like yours the best.It looks good & I know how good it feels to actually get a project to the point of yours.Great job.

[comet5.0]

Looks great! Love the 4 eyed Foxes!

[wmdspalmer]

Looks very nice. I am in the process of repainting an 85' GT black. What color or color code did you go with for the trim/moulding? Thanks!

Will