bpotter05

Hey everyone. So I'm pretty much a n00b but I enjoy researching and trying to figure things out so here is my first attempt at any real wrenching, body work, and paint.

I bought a '93 Del Sol Si with z6 vtec about 11 months ago. I'd been looking for a del sol for about 3 months with no luck. So when I came across this one I jumped on it... and shortly afterwards regretted it lol

208k
5 speed
salvage title
busted out turn signals
front end completely out of whack
hood pop cable hanging out of front
no ac or radio
worn out cv shaft
4 bald tires
Rusted off exhaust after the cat
and some good ole Honda Rust

I replaced the turn signals, cv shaft, and tires. Then a few months ago I found the Del Sol I had been looking for. Bought it from the original owner (middle aged lady) and instantly became my daily driver. It is in a lot better shape and straight and clean title.

93 del sol si
5 speed
d16z6 vtec
working ac

After a little begging my younger brother talked me into selling the first Del sol to him. So I wanted to fix it up a little more so he had a respectable first car.

My goal is to keep it pretty much stock, get it running well, and have it be decent looking but overall do it as inexpensively as possible.

Now i can pop the hood from the inside of the car!
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Picked up a bumper as the original was sagging
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The car had no exhaust. It either rusted out and broke right after the cat or the previous owner cut it off there. It was Loud to say the least


Threw a cheap ebay cat back exhaust on there and instantly regretted it after hearing it. But its on the lil bro to upgrade that when he gets the car.

Fixed a couple shorts in the wiring and now I had a working radio and tail lights.
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Now for the rust... from what I can gather cutting out the rust completely and welding new medal on is the best and only real way to fix it... well I don't have the skill or welder to do that. So I took the easy way out and bondo'ed. I am fully aware it will come back and I'm ok with that. Trying to get an economical daily driver here is all.


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hood dent
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Well that's how she sits. I'm waiting for the gun I ordered to come in and I'll be ready to tape shoot the primer.

Tell me what ya guys think and if you have any tips on the taping and painting process.

qwk db8

So you put filler over your rust?

bpotter05

I wire brushed it off, sanded and sprayed some rust reformer on it. Went down to bare metal about an inch above where the rust was.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

Did you weld any sort of replacement metal in the rusted areas? If not, then I wouldn't be surprised if that body filler breaks free and falls out at some point. Filler is to be used as a light skim coat to smooth out minor imperfections in metal (tiny dings, scratches), not cover larger distances.

bpotter05

Yeah I've heard that. I used fiber glass matt for the holes then bondo over that top. I used the ''bondo hair" after the matt and before the bondo filler too. Its really thick shards of fiberglass, so I'm hoping that helps too.

bpotter05

Paint gun should be here tomorrow!

bpotter05

homemade paint booth lol
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bpotter05

Still waiting on the Fed Ex guy!!!

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bpotter05

So the Fed ex guy was 3 days late bringing my gun. It threw off my plans with my corresponding days off, but I'm going to try to get some primer down before work.

Tape off those precious seals!
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bpotter05

I got the primer sprayed. It is definitely showing the little imperfections I missed over the 6-8 months of prep I did, but that's okay. This is a learning process for me and I don't think its turning out that bad.

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bpotter05

I painted the single stage top coat today. Any suggestions from people who have finished a single stage before. I've read 1000-1500-2000 hand buff. What would you do? I want it as glossy as possible and I'm afraid if I sand it, I will lose some gloss.

bpotter05

bpotter05

Mr.Ricky

looking good man, nice work!

bpotter05

Thanks I appreciate it. I'm really pleased with how it came out considering the budget I was on. I only spend $100 total for the 2k primer and the single stage top coat.

joeshmo

Is that semi-gloss black? If that is full gloss black, it looks to me like you have gloss dieback. Trapped solvents and whatnot. Do you have any paint left? Was it a true urethane paint?

Regardless, if you put on a thick enough coat, buffing should not be a problem (and won't LESTEN gloss at this point unless those pictures are really, really bad.)

What I'd do: Buy a rotary buffer, not a DA buffer (I have a HF buffer that works well for me, but I use LCC pads with an aftermarket backing disk.) Kill the orange-peel with 1500 grit wet (make sure to get good quality wet sand paper. 3m and meguiars are both good.) You can hand sand or use a flexible block, depending on your experience level. I typically use a block. Finish up with 2000grit and crosshatch (go against the grain of the other paper) so you can tell when you are finished. The surface should be extremely flat and dull looking with no remaining 1500 grit scratches.

Load up a coarse pad (waffle pad or a purple LCC or a nice sheepwool pad) with meguiars M105 (you can buy this at napa or online). Buff the **** out of it (check youtube for videos on how. The main idea is avoid edges, go with the body lines, short and even passes, don't leave the pad spinning in one spot.) Now load up a finer pad (a "sponge pad", LCC white or orange (I think, it has been a while since I bought pads, ect.) with megs m205 mirror polish. Buff again, then remove residue. Wait a month or two, then wax it.

bpotter05

Thank you so much for the advice, I will give it a shot! I sprayed 3 wet coats of high gloss jet black urethane.

joeshmo

Post some pictures from some different angles and lighting conditions. It looks like you lost alot of gloss to me.

bpotter05

I will tomorrow when I get back.

thatoldb

How many coats of clear you sprayed?

bpotter05

It's single stage. No clear.

thatoldb

Man look funny for single stage what brand did you use?

bpotter05

UreKem

thatoldb

How many coats did you do?
Type of gun?
Compressor size?
Looks dry maybe needed couple wet coats
A buff might work

bpotter05

2.5 coats (1st coat was very light) 2k primer with 1.8 tip
3 wet coats of top coat 1.4 tip
Harbor freight 50 dollar gun.
Small compressor I know. 15 gallon craftsman.