So after picking up the ground control kit, Tokicos, hardtop, rx7 460s, 6ULs, 225 hankooks, bushing kit, LC1, new G3 gauge setup, upcoming spark tuning expenses, alignment, tire mounting, and misc cosmetic replacement parts I was a little strapped for cash. And my paint was still ******* dismal. I couldn't justify dropping the cash on some shitty macco job or forking out the arm and a dick for a quality job, especially since I hope to see some autox or track time and my paint is bound to get jacked. I figured it couldn't be any worse than my current paint so I dropped about $100 worth of seagloss paint from westmarine and just did it according to all the other "50 dollar paint" threads. **** turned out pretty sweet for the amount it cost me.

 

Wow that looks great! I love the fly paper look in the last pic.

 

Really nice dude! How much is left to do, or are you all done?

 

wow holy crap that actually looks really good considering the price..

can you PLEASE post links to the "how to's" that you followed? I am seriously considering doing the same exact thing with my car. my car is white too, so I'll probably end up using the exact same paint too

 

Nice work. Boat paint is expensive, but awesome. Super tough and super glossy. Best part is a lot of boat paint is made to be applied using the roll/tip method, where you spread the paint with a roller then brush it lightly with the tip of a brush to smooth it out. I used Awl Grip on my boat and I was amazed at the finish.

 

All done if I can still manage to pick up this white trunk lid I've had my eye on locally. Probably a little more buffing for the hardtop too.

My $50 (more like $452.63) paint job writeup thread - TONS of pictures. - Honda-Tech

This guy spent a little more than me, but he does a pretty decent writeup.

Annd...

This page:

Rickwrench, Alfa GTV, Falcon Squire, Corvair

Also, I still have a lot of paint left over for touch ups.

 

are those flies stuck on wet paint? if so, how did you get them off?

 

They wetsand right out.

 

You wet sand them out before buffing.

 

white is so easy to wetsand and buff to a shiny finish. Black on the other hand...

Ask me how I know.

 

Any tips on finishing the black? It's being far more difficult than the white.

 

Came out awesome man, good job!

 

Awesome. Was that brushed or rolled? I especially like the 5th picture where you can still see the trunk. Paint looks very smooth and glossy. Wonder what the life span is on this paint? I need to get off my *** and start on my paint. I have everything but the paint, so its not like it would cost much to do the cheap route. I'd rather have a 8.5/10 job all over than a 4/10 front bumper, 7/10 hood, 8/10 doors, 6/10 trunk... mix and match paint looks like ****.

 

I rolled mostly and brushed on areas the roller couldn't reach. You know, that was probably my main motivator for the project. About half of my car was clear coated and the other half was original. The clear was cracking off in a bunch of spots and just looked horrible while the rest of the uncleared paint just looked bad. The paint as a whole just couldn't keep a shine for very long and just looked so bad with unmatched finishes. Pretty happy with the end result I've gotta say.

And thanks, Matt. Btw, what's up with your missing GV lip?

 

for some other miata results:

https://www.miataturbo.net/forum/t5199/

my old one's in there somewhere, and i'm thinking of doing it again on my new miata...

 

Thats my current issue. It used to look decent enough when I got the car 2 years ago, but even in just the last 2 or 3 months the paint is finally at the tipping point where its going to **** REALLY fast. No amount of buffing or polishing will bring back any kind of shine. The paint is... just dead. Front bumper went first, followed by the trunk lid and rear quarters and rear bumper last. Doors and front fenders still look fine outside of chips and scratches from 15 years of driving.

An idea of vinyl has actually popped into my head a time or two. Cheap, and can be easily redone every few years when it starts to get faded or scratched. Can also do any color over any other color. Just make one big vinyl bra. Bit more work in the bending and stretching vinyl to make it fit curves, but not too bad.

Oh, also. Did you do the door sills and engine bay or anything? Just outer panels? I couldn't allow myself to do a color change without making door sills and engine bay match; and what did you do prep wise? Just a quick thing, or a full out prep. I was thinking maybe just hitting mine with some sand paper, primer, then get to painting.

 

Very impressive. Good work!

 

the white with black HT/pillars and black 6ULs look awesome. I'm going to roller my ugly car when the motor comes out.

 

how long did it take to dry?

 

It self-destructed like all the other authentic lips.

BTW - speaking of things flexing and cracking, how's the boat paint expected to fare on the bumpers?