Small Paint Project on GS400
11-03-10 | 11:49 PM
#1
Small Paint Project on GS400
Hello guys, I just want to share my first paint job on the rear bumper and a quarter panels. I dicided to tackle the task myself for this project, cus the auto paint shop would charge me like $1300+. Plus, their paint and clear coat quaility aren't the best either with that kind of money. I used Dupont Chorma Pro base/clear coat including the primer. This is a tri-stage color. Soory for the camera phone. I have not wax and buff yet. Just let it dry out for overnight or a couple of days. What do you guys think? Any +/- comments are appreciated. Thanks.
11-04-10 | 12:41 AM
#6
Thank guys with your comments. I am in Norcal, otherwise, yes, I won't mind doing your bumper.
Pls, keep the comments coming. I think my next project will be the front bumper and the hood.
Pls, keep the comments coming. I think my next project will be the front bumper and the hood.
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11-04-10 | 05:46 AM
#10
not trying to devalue the job so far... but painting is the easy part any one can do it its in the finishing you do on it that will make or break the hard work already done. Luckily you have a light color car so you dont have to worry about swirls too much. Cant wait to see the final outcome. Take your time on the 3 stage of cut and polish, do plenty of wet sand to get rid of any pesky orange peal... hopefully you have plenty of coats of clear on it to cut. 
I dont think I would attempt to do such a job, I give 2 for having the cojones
its in the finishing you do on it that will make or break the hard work already done. Luckily you have a light color car so you dont have to worry about swirls too much. Cant wait to see the final outcome. Take your time on the 3 stage of cut and polish, do plenty of wet sand to get rid of any pesky orange peal... hopefully you have plenty of coats of clear on it to cut. I dont think I would attempt to do such a job, I give 2 for having the cojones
Last edited by Mr Jokster; 11-04-10 at 05:51 AM.
11-04-10 | 06:08 AM
#12
OP since it looks like you got a good hand on this, why didnt you just do the whole car? It would probably have been less hassle with blending, not to mention, if it doesnt come out right, at least the whole car will bad all around and even instead of half the car
still a damn lot of work! I have to give another
mostly so you dont think I'm flaming in any way 
11-04-10 | 07:41 AM
#14
What will you do with the clear line on the c-pillar? you wont really want to sand and feather the clear........ what made you choose not to re-clear the pillar all the way to the front?
Besides that it looks pretty good!
Besides that it looks pretty good!
11-04-10 | 08:58 AM
#15
ok...where do I begin?
1. Its great that you tackled the job yourself. Not a lot of people will do that. You chose a good line of paint and spent a lot of money on it (3 stage is not cheap). Gotta give you props on that.
2. the first thing I see, which was brought up was that you didn't clear the whole panel...meaning you stopped with the tape at the top of the rear window. This is going to create a hardline, you cannot feather clear (as brought up before). They do have a "new" blending clear which is crap and only for rush jobs that won't last for 6 months. Usually when you paint a car, you have to clear where the panel stops. I'm talking CLEAR not paint..you blend your panel but the clear needs to be done on the whole panel.
3. I see you didn't remove the moldings on the back window (the ones that run all the way to the front windshield). You will have clear peeling problems down the line, when it comes time to remove those moldings for any reason, the clear will crack in that groove. Although you taped it, clear will find its way into EVERYthing also it doesn't allow you to sand the edges of that panel, so the clear doesn't stick in that groove.
4. Did you paint it with the trunk open?
You don't become a professional overnight, but you do learn a lot from the experience. I'm sure you've learned a lot already. As time goes by, you'll continue to learn and become that guy that everyone goes to do the job....keep doing what you're doing, learn from your mistakes and talk to lots of people that do this. Everyone has their own way to do it, you can always tell the hacks from the pros by talking to them.
1. Its great that you tackled the job yourself. Not a lot of people will do that. You chose a good line of paint and spent a lot of money on it (3 stage is not cheap). Gotta give you props on that.
2. the first thing I see, which was brought up was that you didn't clear the whole panel...meaning you stopped with the tape at the top of the rear window. This is going to create a hardline, you cannot feather clear (as brought up before). They do have a "new" blending clear which is crap and only for rush jobs that won't last for 6 months. Usually when you paint a car, you have to clear where the panel stops. I'm talking CLEAR not paint..you blend your panel but the clear needs to be done on the whole panel.
3. I see you didn't remove the moldings on the back window (the ones that run all the way to the front windshield). You will have clear peeling problems down the line, when it comes time to remove those moldings for any reason, the clear will crack in that groove. Although you taped it, clear will find its way into EVERYthing also it doesn't allow you to sand the edges of that panel, so the clear doesn't stick in that groove.
4. Did you paint it with the trunk open?
You don't become a professional overnight, but you do learn a lot from the experience. I'm sure you've learned a lot already. As time goes by, you'll continue to learn and become that guy that everyone goes to do the job....keep doing what you're doing, learn from your mistakes and talk to lots of people that do this. Everyone has their own way to do it, you can always tell the hacks from the pros by talking to them.
Last edited by speedaddic; 11-04-10 at 09:02 AM.