Today I put the Rat out in the snowstorm so I could finish the mirrors... Spraying clearcoat when it's below freezing has its perks though... They shine like glass! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Since the sun doesn't exist in Colorado this weekend, I took out a flashlight so you could see how the Solid + Metallic two color patina will look in the sunlight... All thats left to do before the Dragon is type up an itemized receipt for the mirrors... I want to break down the material cost on the receipt so people know what they're buying, and to justify the cost. I started this project with a $200 asking price as the goal, and came in right around that mark all said and done... Even at that cost, I'm not making a whole lot off of them, but the way I see it... I'm not doing this for the money, I do it because I like it, and as a way to relieve stress and let some thoughts out, and that's enough for me. After the Dragon, this thread should be picking back up again... I have a good bit of stuff already lined up (including a full car FULL RE RE job) some stuff that I want to do on my own, and even more stuff coming in. I just have to manage it, and keep everything at a pace that isn't going to hurt more than it helps like last fall, but it should be a good summer in the shop. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
So even before going to the Dragon this year, it has been a tentative plan to be doing a full paint job on a highly modified Subaru WRX wagon sometime this summer... Well, over the weekend the color/pattern test panel began for that paint job! The car itself is a 2006/2007 (Hawkeye) Subaru WRX wagon, and will soon be wearing rear quarter panels, doors, and front fenders from a WRX sedan which are about 1.5 inches wider per corner... It's also getting the hatch, tail lights, and rear bumper from the rebadged Subaru that SAAB offered for a couple years, and the front bumper and rocker panels from a Hawkeye STi and modified stock hood with vents from a new (2015+) Mustang and STi hood scoop. We're also thinking up ways to add the giant 6.5" fog lights from a 2002/2003 WRX into the STi front bumper. The guy originally came to me just wanting a plain desert tan paintjob, but the more of my work he saw, that quickly changed! We started throwing around pictures of different camouflage patterns, and after some mind probing I got a good idea of what he was after. To top things off I came up with the idea of adding the Subaru WRC graphics down the sides of the car in a subdued drip and splatter patina! So with everything thought out, and the tentative colors picked, my normal MINI fender test panel just wouldn't be big enough to show off what he was buying, so what to use? That POS $750.00 Siebon Carbon Fiber MINI hood I bought back in 2010 fit the bill and became the test panel! After a night of prep and primer, the desert tan base went on. It's actually a Toyota color called "Quicksand". Then a 12"X12" DG Club stencil was put on to show off the drip technique. We originally went with MINI Hot Chocolate for the color, but that is going to change, and you'll see why in later pictures... After that, was a S#iRt load of taping off for the first color in the camo pattern... Then sprayed with MINI Light Coffee... This is why the color change... They are just too close to the same color to be noticed at 10+ feet, and the graphics have to POP! Last night, the second color of the camo was put on after another roll of tape. We went with Jeep Commando Green for the color, and it works perfectly with the Quicksand and Light Coffee... That catches this project up to where it is right now! In a few minutes, I am going out to get some pictures in the sun with all the colors on the panel, then spreay it down (the entire hood) with another coat of Quicksand Tan... After that, what I do best starts along with all the craziness that comes with it... Pulling the layers of paint back down into the patina pattern that will reveal the final look of the paintjob. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Did you miss me that much Jeff? Just trying to get myself out and off line more, not to mention away from this house... I still check in every couple days. Well the tan overcoat is done and almost ready to start bringing back down into the other colors! I can share the pictures here, and on the MINI FB groups, but not my personal page or the paint shop page as a request from the customer... He wants the finish of the car to be a surprise to the Subaru boards. Here's 20 Feet in the sun... 10 Feet... And 5 Feet... Why is the different distances important? Because, he is going to be hunting show trophies! It's got to stand out enough from a distance to grab people's attention, and get more and more detailed the closer they are drawn in... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Well like I thought I did I made the first coat of tan too thin. Good thing that this is just a test panel, because hiding the spots of primer that are showing up in spots is going to be a pain... But I have an airbrush now so it can be done! Got a little bit brought down to about where it's gotta be, and we might keep the Hot Chocolate for the graphics... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
You are an institution here, Dick. I know I am not the only one who has missed seeing your trials and tribulations, so again, WELCOME BACK!
Thanks Jeff! I'll try to make it more of a point to start chiming in on things again... I kinda miss all of you.
Good news and bad news with this test panel... The BAD: Neither of us are 100% in love with the final look, so a redo is in order... The GOOD: Neither of us is 100% in love with the final look, so a redo is in order! The colors are great, the blotch pattern is almost perfect, but we agree that the amount of patina coming through the blotches dulls it out too much, and we need BOLD! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sit down, Dick and enjoy a cigar...kick back and enjoy the upcoming weekend. Get your mind off your project...sometimes the best solutions come from "down time".
Where's the fun in that? Besides the stogie time... I've been planning how to spray this for months, all I've got to do is change the process and move on to the next one! That's the whole purpose of a test panel. No discouragement here, I just now know one way not to get the results we're looking for! The next round should nail the look, I'm even adding a color and switching the graphics color, because the customer has a good idea of the flow of color already, and this piece will be hanging on my wall in the garage for a while! I am going to finish taking the patina down, and add the pictures to my sample book along with the process used to create it... That way it can be easily recreated for future projects. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Today I got most of the paint on this taken down to show the patterns and colors... Even though it's not being used, the practice is useful and so are the pictures. You never know if you might have to show someone a certain pattern. I blew through it, not caring if I went too deep, so there's a lot of spots that are rough, but here's a few close ups... This one shows the main 3 colors from roughly 8-12 inches... You can see that the green and tan are about the same shade but different hue, and that's what is causing the majority of the problems. Here is a close up of the Light Coffee brown on the Quicksand tan, to me it's acceptable on a standard job, like if I was doing a Jeep or something that was really going for a functioning camouflage. The Commando Green on Quicksand Tan... Way too close, even from the minimum focusing distance of an iPhone, it's hard to tell the difference between the two. The only part that came out as I envisioned was the Hot Chocolate drip work that makes up the graphic, even though the first basecoat was way too thin and rubbed away easily. Now for distance shots... It was kinda cloudy today, and that was messing with the light from the earlier photos, but you get the idea... 20 Feet.. The Green doesn't stand out at all! 10 Feet... Still not enough contrast between the tan and green to make the camo pop... 5 Feet, you can see how the tan is trying to overpower the other two colors, but it isn't bad for what it is. It would actually make a decent functional camouflage on a boat or piece of hunting equipment... Waited a few minutes and got one decent shot in normal sunlight... Not this weekend but the weekend after, I will be doing more testing for this job, but I am changing the graphic color to a bright obnoxious green! I'm also doing something crazy with the patina effects... Rather than splattering the whole panel with one color, each set of blotches will be splattered individually! The Light Coffee with a Commando Green splatter, The Commando Green with a yet to be determined medium brown splatter, and since the Quicksand wants to change colors if I splatter it, I might splatter everything over with that! Then instead of doing a Quicksand overcoat, I'm just going to hit it with a layer of clearcoat so it doesn't dull the colors out... That should give us the right look for the project, and make the camo blotches appear to change color at varying distances! But this weekend is all about getting some high end black on a set of R53 mirror caps for none other than Dave.0 himself! The only thing special his caps are getting is my signature graphic on the bottom in a nice subdued gunmetal grey candy... Oh and the paint is going to be stepped out (reducing basecoat with clearcoat in a varying level of transparency) in three coats before some thick clearcoat goes on as the final. Doing it this way makes the paint look deeper than the factory finish on a Rolls Royce, and you know the Mistress only gets the best. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
In round numbers, what does it cost to do a whole car custom job like you're doing on the Subie? How about a small car with just a good single color and really deep shine?
Did you get the PM? I keep getting this message... Everything is filled out, don't know whats up??? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
As promised for the weekend, Dave.0's mirror caps are gittin DONE! Just straight non metallic Jet Black, with a little extra prep and clear... The way I'm spraying them the black should be deep enough to suck the souls out of small children, puppies, and make unicorns cry! Typical Redhead! Started with a thick layer of high build primer when I primed the tester panel hood, and leveled everything out this morning in a nice single direction cross hatch pattern with 220 grit... Then shot them with a quadruple coat of MINI Jet Black... After a good long drying period, I'm going back and leveling this basecoat, washing them up, and properly stepping out the black in 3 different mixes of clear+black. Then prepping them again, applying my signature graphics on the bottom corner in a black/gun metal candy, and putting the final clearcoat on extra thick tomorrow afternoon. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk