Ratsun Forums: jun - Viewing Profile - Ratsun Forums

benzo, on 06 September 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

Mooneyes show in Pacifico Yokohama on Dec 5, any thoughts about being there at the same time?

I know what you mean Duke. I like painted handles on some cars but I don't think they look right on 510's. It looks like the handles weren't removed/masked during repaint.

What I'm going to do is to use ALSA chrome effect paint to "restore" the chrome. I've used it on many projects and the finish is very convincing. I figure I can't do more damage to these handles so I have nothing to lose. And I have a lot of this paint on hand. Once it's gone over with urethane clearcoat, I think it will hold up well to door handle duty.

Thanks again for all the inspiring comments guys. It's been a ton of work but I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Yesterday I got all of the body sides blocked and smooth. I did reflection checks from every possible angle to make sure I got all the wobbles out. They look good, to me. I saved the roof for last as I wanted to spend my sweet time blocking it. I've already moved the paint booth date back another week. My goal is the get the entire body flat and ready for sealer by Friday. Get the jambs painted/cleared Saturday, meet all of you fine folks at JCCS on Sunday and getting the door latches/etc back on midweek so I can drive to the booth. Engine's running, doors stay shut, should be good to go to make the 2 mile trek to the paint booth.

Despite all the prep, I'm sure I missed a ding or five, or maybe I could have sanded a bit more, but I think I'll be content with the results.

I also turned my attention to all the little ancillary parts- door handles, latches, etc etc. All the things that came off the car while disassembling the hatch and stuff. Man, those parts are super crusty. I began degreasing and wire wheeling whatever I could. Some parts are going into the sandblaster for a full cleaning. The mechanism for the hatch is pretty interesting! And full of crud, I spent about 30 minutes cleaning that one part! I noticed it works much better after the cleaning.

I'm a bit stumped on the door handles. 3 of them are done with. Chrome is really pitted and worn. I began sanding them down to prep for paint. What kind of paint, I haven't made up my mind yet. Might restore the chrome without chrome plating it...chrome shop wants a pretty penny to redo these things! Well...I have the perfect paint to fake it, might be time to dig the stuff out again.

Thanks Benzo. Hopefully I can find some 14x8j's in Japan in November. SSR Casablancas would be dreamy. Fingers crossed!

Progression of a dirty, spraypainted engine bay over 11 months. Enjoy!

The Dat-side, on 05 September 2010 - 09:50 AM, said:

I'm going to roll clean for a while. I do like the shop logo look but I think it worked better when my wagon had that "Japan junkyard find" look going. If I do it again, it will be vinyl, I don't have the heart to spray paint stencils on new paint.

As for cleaning the engine bay, plenty of degreaser, wax remover, brushes, and elbow grease. I've been cleaning the bay since I got the car almost a year ago, so it's been quite a project. I never thought I'd have a bay clean enough to eat out of