Build thread - new paint and body for 220K mile SC400 by Asha'man

3 minute(s) of a 111 minute read

10-2-2011

Made some progress over the last week, although I've been working a lot more so not much happened on weeknights. With the help of my lovely girlfriend, I got all the sheetmetal put back onto the car. Gotta appreciate Lexus engineering - if you've ever bolted a hood on a Fox Mustang, it's an hour job trying to line the damn thing up. This car has self-centering bolts - genius!

So this weekend, like the last several, has been devoted to car stuff. Yesterday I busted out the new bumper cover and got it all cleaned up with soapy water. This is the first step in getting all the mold release crap off/out so the paint can stick. 

Brought it in, hit it with SPI Waterborne Wax and Grease Remover, then scuffed it with a grey Scotchbrite pad and did W&G again. Scuffed:

Sanded down the black rear bumper with 220 grit and a red Scotchbrite pad:

Sanded the side extensions and left the (mostly primed) wing alone:

Everything ready:

Note the ghetto front bumper rack. It actually puts it at just the right height and I can get almost everywhere I need to, plus it's very stable. Work with what you have, I say.

Car with sheetmetal!

Parts in epoxy:

And first coat of base!

I've got two coats of base on there right now. Coverage is solid except for two tiny spots on the front bumper that are hard to reach. I'm running a little low on color so I'm not sure what my plan is going to be. I may mix up a tiny bit to spray those spots and then call it good so I can clear the parts tonight. Weather looks good for the first part of this week but it's supposed to rain Thurs/Fri and be kinda coolish next weekend so we'll see what happens.