Paint & Body Work - No longer the Ugliest Firebird in the WORLD!

All -

For those interested in seeing the final transition of "the ugliest Firebird in the WORLD" into a street car that my gf would actually ride in, here's the "BEFORE" thread:

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/paint-body-work/1145587-painting-myself-how-much-paint-required.html

Attached is one picture of how it looked a couple of months ago :( and a number of pics of how it looks today :D

(Let the flames begin on how a 4th gen should NEVER have a 2nd gen bird on the hood!)

Looks great, I like the bird!

not bad at all, in my opinion

nice... Great work.

I think I currently have the ugliest trans am on ls1tech forum.

nice... Great work.

I think I currently have the ugliest trans am on ls1tech forum.

...thats saying something.... :P


car looks great, the bird actually looks really good as well!

I think it looked great before personally, though even better afterwards. Great paint job :)

well i do....:(
http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/7295939418.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)

You guys are kidding yourselves I have the ugliest one on tech.

OP great job. I'm not sold on the bird 100% but can't take anything away from you for doing a great job.

Wow - yeah, I was right there with you man...

I spent so much time on the engine (Rebuilt, 30-over, Squires Turbo, Meth Kit, etc...), drivetrain and suspension, that I forgot the thing had to (ultimately) look good too.

My father always says never do anything to a car that doesn't make it faster or safer, but after driving around in "the Calico Cat" for over 6 months, I knew it was time to address the exterior.

Stick with it! It can look as good as it runs!

My gf now picks my car over her's every time! :D

(Having said that, nothing is more fun than blowing away a Shelby KR or Z06 with an ugly POS! The looks on the various driver's faces is priceless!)

well i do....:(

Im Planning on painting my 96 camaro someday and was wondering how much painting experience you had before doing the T/a. Also any close up shots of the t/a and what was the hardest part?

good job, love the old school bird!

Nice, side pictures please!

-SS

Im Planning on painting my 96 camaro someday and was wondering how much painting experience you had before doing the T/a. Also any close up shots of the t/a and what was the hardest part?

I had zero automotive painting experience - but as an engineer, I knew it could be done, it would probably just take a lot longer to figure it out.

The hardest part was all the prep work! After sanding 60% of the car (and getting progressively better), I had to go back and resand from the beginning. Every little detail missed / done poorly in the prep work shows up in the finished product! (Ask me know I know!)

Don't think this'll be done over a weekend; sanding with 220 took an entire weekend! (Then I had to go over it with 320 and 400 as well!)

I now know why painters charge the amount they do - the prep work takes forever!

looks good i like the bird aswell

Looks good man!!!! That bird is huge! haha

great job! im diggin it:)

Love that bird !

Yeah, probably 70% of a paint job looking good is in the prep work

hate the bird hoods...but you pulled it off nice A+

What tools did you use or have access too. Also how big of a compressor did you need?

What tools did you use or have access too. Also how big of a compressor did you need?

I borrowed the gun from a guy at the local auto parts store who has painted his Fiero about a dozen times over the last 3 years.

My compressor is a Sears Professional 220 unit with a 60 gal tank and a working pressure of 180 psi; so it was regulated down.

As for doing this yourself, read everything you can, and ask the guys in the paint areas of NAPA and O'Reily - they'll talk for hours if you just ask open-ended questions.

Oh, and be prepared to sand, sand, sand!!!

Have you ever taken three pieces of three different cars and bond them together and try to make everything look stock as if you never touched them lol
I took my vert Corvette and made me a hardtop/targa top/convertible and made it look stock. Probably spent 100+hours sanding till my hands bled. That was sanding 101:secret: I really appreciate the info :) How long do you expect your paint job to last ? Curious.