new paint job

[LanceB]

Took the 81 in today for a new paint job. Been waiting for 3 years to do it. Wife finally gave in. Didn't go with the highest price because I plan to drive it more. Hard to justify some of the prices I heard for a non-showcar. Fixing all of the cracks and the red will finally all match. I am very excited, but kind of nervous too. I saw some other cars this guy has done and he is known as a perfectionist, which is good. I guess I will see in a couple of weeks.

 

[The73vetteman]

Hope it comes back looking hot!
Let us see some photos.
J

 

[LanceB]

For some reason the "fever" has come back with a vengence this year. I like my corvette now more than when I first bought it (6 years ago?). It runs better than new, and now it will look like I want it to. My body shop guy and I did some research on the paint, and my 81 was originally frost beige. I always suspected that because in the jams there are chips that show some sort of white color. The red is an 81 red, and while I like being all original, there is no way I want that color. It stays red.

 

[George Black]

Lance: Are you also having the door jams painted or just the entire exterior? Repainting the underside of hood OEM black?:

 

[LanceB]

We are painting all exterior and the jams. The underside of hood looks pretty good, it is black and we didn't discuss repainting it. The biggest problem with the car is that there were cracks in the hood (where the hinges are, someone tried to pull down on it without unhinging it). Also in the fenders fiberglass fibers were visible in places where someone had done a shoddy job before. Also it looks like different shades of red in places that were painted at different times. We went with the whole redo. I am excited about it, even though it was a large chunk of dough to do it.

 

[George Black]

Lance: Sounds great! I am sure that it will look really good when it is done!

I have a 2nd corvette that needs paint. Hope to do it soon. Estimates range from $4k to $8K. I will be driving the car so I do not need a showcar finish. I just want the best looking paint on a driver that I can have! Will probably go with a $5k price. I want jams painted, but do not want paint overspray on my interior to clean up! Keep us posted on your paint results.

 

[LanceB]

I'm a little nervous about it. I suppose it is normal to be nervous.

 

[LanceB]

update

Talked with body shop and they said it will be ready end of next week. He said it will exceed my expections. I would say that means it is going to look pretty good. I will be purchasing a digital camera soon so I take pictures.

 

[78SilvAnniv]

Lance, I have a feeling you are going to be on top of the world when you pick up your newly painted vette.

Kenny surprised me by making arrangements to have mine repainted for me almost five years ago. I had been driving the 78 for nearly 7 years, and even when I first started driving it, the paint was looking 'poor'. It didn't have many chips but the entire top (hood, tops, back deck) of the vehicle was sun-faded, spiderwebbing, cracking and the pin stripe tape was coming up in places.

When we picked it up, she looked shiny and beautiful! The paint-master did not use stripe tape, all 78SA 'decals' were masked and painted, with clear over all. So like you, mine isn't 'stock/factory' either. I think it is better.

Certainly do want to see pictures!
Heidi

 

[LanceB]

I had a dream (nightmare) last night that I picked it up. It looked unbelieveable. I was driving down the road and lost control on a curve and ended up in a lake. I got out and was trying to figure out how I was going to fish the vette out before I woke up. Strange dream to have...

 

[78SilvAnniv]

I had a dream (nightmare) last night...Strange dream to have...

Not really. (At least I think so.) I also had dreams about mine when it was at the paint shop. Almost all of them were anxiety dreams of one form or another. The bad dreams mostly stopped when I got the 78 back. 78 was at the paint shop for about 6 weeks.
I did have a few bad dreams after I got her back, but I think that is expected ...you've just spent a lot of money to make your vette cosmetically pretty and we all know how easy it is to damage these fiberglass vehicles...

 

[LanceB]

update

Went to check on the 81 today. I was pretty excited to see it in disrepair because now there are no cracks and the body is very smooth. It had some cracks in the hood around the hinges. My body shop guy ended up taking some aluminum strips and "burying" them in the hood where the cracks were occuring and putting the glass on top. I thought this was pretty ingenius. So far it is looking very good. Will post pics when it is done!

 

[joe1975]

Hey Lance is your man stripping the body with a razor blade?

 

[LanceB]

While that is the way I wanted to do it, the price to do it like that was a lot higher. My body and paint was in pretty good condition except for some cracks and chips here and there, so I just had him sand it down and fix all of the bad areas. It is a driver, so I don't expect show quality, but I think it is going to look pretty good.

 

[joe1975]

Just courious.

 

[LanceB]

Done!

Picked up 81 today. Wow. This thing looks perfect. He made a picture album of before, during and after that he is sending me. He told me it is probably the best Corvette he has ever done. He used 4 coats of clearcoat, he even painted the rocker panels, side vents, and the window trim while I was there. All that is left to do is to put the new rear emblem on it. It didn't come with any hardware, and he didn't have any barrell nuts to fit it. Only problem I see now is that my heater core may be out. There was a lot of water on the passenger side floorboard. I wiped it all out when I got home, and took the mats out to let dry. I hope it is from pressure washing it during the prepping and finishing process. I will post pics when I get them. It looks like it just rolled out of the factory. Unfortunately it is now time to do the hard work. The aluminum wheels are due for their 2-3 hour polish and cleaning so they match everything else. I know what I'll be doing the rest of the weekend.

 

[George Black]

Lance: That is great! Glad to hear the good report on the paint!--Patrick

 

[George Black]

Lance: Any update information re if your heater core is leaking? If it was only water and not coolant, then I strongly suspect it is from pressure washing--could also be that the water drain hole behind the right front kickpad area is clogged; which is common. Water enters from upper right front cowl area and runs into passenger footwell.

Any problem with keeping paint overspray off your interior? Did he remove interior door panels for the paint job?

Really glad it turned out great! New paint always makes a corvette drive better!--GP Black

 

[LanceB]

There wasn't any overspray that I could find, of course I am going to be cleaning this thing for weeks until it is "clean", because it got so dusty. The engine compartment got the dirtiest, started cleaning it last night, haven't found any overspray yet.

 

[Eddie 70]

New paint is the greatest. Mine came home back in June or so. Glad to hear you are happy with the paint. Looking forward to seeing pics of the car.