|
Only my cost estimates are worse than my times. Here we are in the middle of January, and there appears to be a lot of work left before painting starts. Jeff and Carter
have examined and rubbed every square millimeter of OW, looking and smoothing. Their experienced fingers can feel "wowies" that would rival a laser measuring tool. Each imperfection, bump or
dip, is either hammered or filled, sanded, and rubbed some more. OW is starting to look like a leopard.
In the old days, a car was hammered, sanded and then hot-leaded, sanded to smooth out the
imperfections. Enamels or multi-coated laquers were the state of the art. Today, modern polymers have taken the place of lead and laquer; primarily because the expectations of the customer has risen
significantly. An owner of a $45K car expects a repair to be as good or better than the factory, and to last indefinitely. Well, technology has come a long way, and OW is getting the benefit of those
developments.
Today, OW went into the booth for 3-4 coats of catalizing primer. This stuff has taken the place of the older laquer primer because it is so stable; It will not soften up under the
application of the polyurethane paints that will follow. All of this stuff is a cross-linked polymer that will stand up under UV and heat. Older paints would "suck down", and in time, you could
actually see the sanding marks in the finish. Worse, laquers would fade, dull, and in the extreme, would peel. The fillers are modern descendents of the old "Bondo". These are also catalized
materials, a close relationship to epoxy. They setup in just 10 minutes or so, depending on the amount of catalyst used. All of this material is much more flexible than those of just a few years ago.
These can be used directly on plastic bumpers with no cracking or peeling. Even though no paint is "chip-proof" these materials are much, much better.
2 disadvantages: they are very
expensive, and the materials data sheet indicate some very nasty components that if treated without care can cause problems for the user. For example, a top-grade laquer primer will cost $50 per gallon.
Catalyzing primer will cost $150. Just the finish materials for OW, Cadillac Diamond White Pearl, will cost about $800.
Application of these finishes has also changed a lot. This stuff goes on
very heavy, in multiple coats. The build-up is amazing. The final clearcoat finish is impossible to apply without some kind of imperfection of dust. It is expected, in a top-quality finish to
"cut" the final coat with 2000 grit wet sandpaper and polish afterwards to a super high luster. Some old timers insist that this finish is not as glossy. Maybe, but the perfection of
cut-and-polish beats the heck out of the constant reminder of a dust mote in the middle of the hood.
But any finish will be compromized if the preparation is not done well. This is why OW has
been under the hammer, fill, sand, inspect, over and over. Carter and Jeff follow each other around the car one day after another checking on every possible bump. If these are not taken out now, when the
final finish is applied, they will jump out and ruin the $2000-$3000 paint job.
OW is going to be shown, and we don't want any finish imperfections in the way of a first prize.
Anyway, we
are fortunate to have Carter and Jeff doing the work. These guys don't have the "attitude" of top automotive finishers. Carter was the #1 painter at Petersen Motors, where he was responsible
for fixing the messes on Mercedes and BMWs. OBOY, talk about tough customers! Even to this day, he receives calls from his old employer asking if he would come back to Petersen. No way! Petersen can come
to CJ! With all of the experience and care that CJ is giving OW, these are real people, no pretentious BS...guys that like to eat jerky...
Enough blather...more pix:
|
