Most liked posts in thread: Dick's random paint thread.

Finally got messaged back, and sent Goldsmithy the first pics! [emoji2]

Now it's everyone here's turn before I turn them loose on FB.
The results are stunning, pic's are unedited iPhone pics! And yes it looks better in person too! [emoji2]











Closeups:









As a request he wanted me to sign it, so here you go! It's subtle and hides in the paint unless you go looking for it. [emoji12]



How about some out in the sun? [emoji2]









If you want a closer pic of a spot, let me know... I can't ship it back for a few days so the paint can fully cure. [emoji12]

 

I've got actual business cards now! [emoji2]
Thanks to a very pleasant surprise from Erin. [emoji2]

 

Thats the plan Jeff, just need to make it happen! [emoji12]

So my 4:00 is done! In and out with a smile! [emoji2]

What was a simple tint job changed a little bit though...

Before:



And After:


Due to the storm clouds that came over the addition to the normal tint doesn't show up very much. [emoji20]

But heres what was done...



Then the tinted clear went on, and was scuffed back down with a single 1/8th inch wide stripe of red flake added. [emoji12]







After that, they were just shot with straight clearcoat, and done! [emoji41]









Installed close ups...





And there you have it, I'm calling it a day, and going to a friends house for some beers. [emoji12]

 

Its done, and with the amount of stuff I had to go throw just to get it painted, it looks better than I expected. [emoji2]















Sure there are plenty of flaws, and I didnt do some things I was originally going to (like paint the fog lights and side scuttles and black out the peeling "chrome") but DILLIGAFF?

No I'm saving my thermite grenade... Never know when I'm going to actually need it! [emoji12]

 

Putting up a couple closeups of that fender to show some of the detail before I sand all that paint off and do something else...
I know, there's a lot of dust and imperfections with the clearcoat, didn't really care, never planned on keeping this piece. [emoji12]

 

I love it when people give me a part, an idea, and very loose guidelines... It lets me take this...



And let my inner Re-Re out, turning it into this! [emoji12]



It was done in a bit of a different inset stencil/and light patina technique, using Chili Red, red flake, black, and a gunmetal candy pearl.

First was the flake over a black base, so the stencil was under the other coats. (Using black under any bright flake makes the flake pop more. [emoji6])











Then on went the stencils...



And the base coats... (Sorry no pic of the red base)



Then another set of stencils to make a shadow, followed by the gunmetal candy...







And the sanding began...





And the clearcoat to bring it to a finished piece...



























I will get some more pic's of this, as soon as it is installed in the 400HP Mazda it belongs to! [emoji12]

 

Two solids that will block out the base...







Followed by 3 transparents (this is more or less what the main part of the rust spots will look like.)...







Then a skim coat for a better transition into the paint colors...







Thats about it for the night... Too much masking to do. [emoji12]

 

Around here, I don't just paint! [emoji12]

 

Update:

The lamp project has been cancelled by me due to the amount of time it was taking away from other customers, and that customers generally bad attitude.
It will be finished to my original design and kept for myself at a later date. [emoji2]

More stuff will be coming, I am about caught up on the quick little stuff that piled up on me, and will be switching back to the crazy stuff soon. Starting with some more parts for Goldsmithy! [emoji2]

And each custom piece will have one of these stenciled onto it as a signature watermark...



Kristan @ Artistic Reflection hooked me up with a sheet (56) of them for painting her hood scoop this week. [emoji2]

 

Moving off of the Rat-MINI pic's since it has its own thread...

Sometimes just giving some trim a little love is all that is needed...



Maybe some tint to the tail light lenses..



Or an eyebrow on the headlights...



Coloring the fog lights with a candy pearl is quick, easy, and can make a big difference...



Using a candy pearl instead of a toned clear doesn't alter the light output as much as you think either...



Color matching all the trim to the body, just doesn't agree in my mind, so sometimes I like to change the color just enough to notice, but it's still close enough to blend in at a distance...



Thats about it for my MINIs... [emoji12]

 

Today I sprayed some color on one of my old NT-01's as a color tester for Erin's snowflake mirror caps...

Not going through the whole process, because this is technically painted trash, but here are the results! (The flake lights up a lot more in person! She should be more than happy. [emoji2])

 

As promised yesterday here's a few pictures of how this was done after the base rust went on...

First up was getting the bunny out of the garage! These damn things are getting brave!



Then it was all the masking for the CAUTION stripes, followed by that coat of Interchange Yellow...





After that set a few minutes, the tape was pulled off, and a coat of Astro Black went on...





Then after a full drying period, it was time to bust out the sand paper and go to town!





Just keep going deeper through the layers until you get the look you want...











When you get to the right look, then its just a quick round with the clearcoat and you're done! Time consuming, but well worth it! [emoji12]

 

Today was a pretty busy day for the paint shop, even though no paint got sprayed...

I decided to ditch the Mazda in favor of more space... The guy I was buying it from under the condition that he got it running has made no attempt to even look at it, and hasn't even called me since September... So I told him he has 2 weeks to get it out of my garage, or I will find a way to put it back in his driveway on my own, probably dragging it with dad's pickup. That will free up a ton more space which I desperately need. Good riddance RX-7, things would be different if it ran! [emoji2]

So with the new shop space, I went and priced out a bunch of stuff for the shop... Going to be building a 5X5 foot sound proofed room for the compressor, and an airbrush station on the back wall that will be big enough to spray a hood on! Plus I will be adding more lighting all high intensity LED flood lights, and upgrading the air system to a more professional setup.

I did start on building a multi outlet surge tank for the air today, and the fab work is nearly done.

Started with a 5 gallon tire fill tank from Harbor Freight...





Cut some useless stuff off... Drilled some holes, and welded the nuts on for the new ports...



















Still need to add the feed port to the bottom which will be for a 1/2" hard copper line into the 25 gallon expansion tank that will be coming next. Then it's getting some crazy paint! [emoji12]