I'm just gonna warn you in advance,......I feel particularly "wordy" today.
That said,......Here goes.
I've said it before. I'm critical of other people's stuff because I'm critical of what I do myself. I guess you'd say I'm the type of leader that wont send a guy into the swamp unless I'm walking in first.
Before anybody gets to thinking I'm some nit picky perfectionist, I'm here to tell you I'm not. I judge myself to what I consider an 80% standard ofperfect. I'll stop finessing a thing if I think it's at, or I can get it to 80% of what ever "perfect" supposedly is.
It's no secret that I've been working on those stupid hoods for weeks now. The actual "calendar" time frame is closer to a couple of months, but since I can only work on junk on my days off,......that becomes weeks. Nonetheless,......I'm at the point where I think I can get it to 80% after some blocking and maybe additional priming.
I'm down to what is in effect literally a whole bunch of long nights, and a day and a half before my painter arrives in Bham. Since I'm writing this, I'm confident that I'll be able to hit my deadline, even if it's by the skin of my teeth.
** We pause now for a brief pictoral interlude,..after which the commentary will resume:
The hood from hell.
Fenders waiting on time to dry.
Passenger side door. Already blocked,....done.
Driver's door. Waiting to dry and blocking.
And the trunk w/ it's Gila fin.
The pics typically help me to see what I can't when I stand there looking at it but they don't lie. The center rib has lost it's definition between the scoops, and the left scoop needs blocking more to level out the bulge at the rear-most part of the thing. These pics are after three coats of fresh primer, so at this time it's still too fresh to hit with a sanding block and some #320 paper. What I'm hoping for here is that the blocking regimen will add back some of the lost detail that happened as a result of having to fill the damn hood to get rid of the wavies. I said it last time,...the irony of the whole damn thing is that this hood looks like the original that was at this stage two months ago.
Is it 80%? Hardly. Can I get it there? More than likely......(maybe a 60%) . I'm just done. As in,.......wiped. It seems everything I do to try and make it better adds tons more work, as I make a bigger mess everytime I touch the damn thing.
Save for the blocking and priming,.....that's all I'm gonna do to this bastard.
Hoods are the lesser evil. We'll paint this pig, and it'll be ok for now. Then I'll start to dislike it,....Then I'll just hate it. Then I'll start all over again. Only I've finally learned my lesson.
* What Mike learned this year:
I'm no bodyman. I just got lucky with the rest of the things I've done to the car. When a real test comes along, (as in,...these last three hoods) my lack of skill shines like an idiot beacon. If there is a G hood v4.0, there'll be some sort of fiberglass hood scoop BOLTED on,....and that will be that.
Schools out.
But enough p issing and moaning.... Lets talk about what good I was able to do.
The doors fenders, and trunk are pretty damn good. All that remain with them is a couple of hours spent in Karate kid mode "Sand-a-da- floor" and them bi tches are done. I laid some liberal dosage of 2k around the G fin on the trunk deck so I can get a sharp line at the fin break, but that's it. I'm officially out of my second gallon of 2k primer.
So,....what's left then before D day then?
I'm glad you asked.
We're painting the car right where it sits. Part of what I gotta do to facilitate that is mega clean the garage. I intend to make the garage "itself" the paint booth. Air is gonna be forced in through three furnace filters right here,.....
When we paint, I'm gonna have a "door" with two box fans that'll blow in. I'll just open the door you see, and close my fan/filter door from inside the garage. Conditioned air from the house will be the source for Mike's paint booth.
At the back of the garage will be a wall covered in clear plastic that spans the entire two car garage door. When paint time comes, the O/H garage door comes up, and exposes that wall. At the bottom of that wall will be three additional fans pulling air through three filters.
It'll be "back there".
I'll make a "Man door" so we can get outside into the fresh air through that partition. It's really about 10 studs, cut and screwed together, then screwed into the frame that surrounds the garage door from the outside. Should be easy-peasy. It'll be this Sundays' work goal.
So then,.....those few that have paid attention should be thinking,......"I thought he was painting it in a real booth". And you'd be right to think that.
But the truth of the matter is the guy that was gonna let us use it got a little........surly.
He didn't like the fact that we were spraying SS acrylic urethane. ( Said it was gonna clog his filters).
Said that he was gonna correct my painter if he thought he was doing something the wrong way, and that until he saw the proof that he was capable and knew what he was doing,.... He was "not too impressed"
Ummmm........No said the finger,
.....he ain't gonna do none of that.
Said that we were not gonna be able to get in till after 4:30 on Friday,...all depending on customer cars,......all while the monster sits on an open trailer maybe in the sun,.....maybe in the rain.
That left a bad taste in my mouth. Too many "ifs" all while having a car on a trailer sitting in the lot waiting one the "go" from ol crotchedy.
So I chose to go with what I know. And that leaves the monster snugly sleeping in his garage,....waiting on the "day".
And that wraps up today's progress save for two things....
#1. I've neglected to post pics of the newest member of my family,......the little guy just followed me home last week.......I didn't have the heart to send him back.
Mike's Mini. A John Cooper Works edition. 218HP, 228 TQ. ( Has a little blue-tooth push button that opens up the second exhaust pipe and makes it a straight farty-pipe)
And,......lest I forget.
#2.This evening's beverage.
Tastes like Heineken. Only from China.
It's a Chinee Heiny.
Even the beer I drink is Chinese,....I drive a German car, built in England, Have a project car with junk from all over the world on it,......Uhh.........
That said,......Here goes.
I've said it before. I'm critical of other people's stuff because I'm critical of what I do myself. I guess you'd say I'm the type of leader that wont send a guy into the swamp unless I'm walking in first.
Before anybody gets to thinking I'm some nit picky perfectionist, I'm here to tell you I'm not. I judge myself to what I consider an 80% standard ofperfect. I'll stop finessing a thing if I think it's at, or I can get it to 80% of what ever "perfect" supposedly is.
It's no secret that I've been working on those stupid hoods for weeks now. The actual "calendar" time frame is closer to a couple of months, but since I can only work on junk on my days off,......that becomes weeks. Nonetheless,......I'm at the point where I think I can get it to 80% after some blocking and maybe additional priming.
I'm down to what is in effect literally a whole bunch of long nights, and a day and a half before my painter arrives in Bham. Since I'm writing this, I'm confident that I'll be able to hit my deadline, even if it's by the skin of my teeth.
** We pause now for a brief pictoral interlude,..after which the commentary will resume:
The hood from hell.
Fenders waiting on time to dry.
Passenger side door. Already blocked,....done.
Driver's door. Waiting to dry and blocking.
And the trunk w/ it's Gila fin.
The pics typically help me to see what I can't when I stand there looking at it but they don't lie. The center rib has lost it's definition between the scoops, and the left scoop needs blocking more to level out the bulge at the rear-most part of the thing. These pics are after three coats of fresh primer, so at this time it's still too fresh to hit with a sanding block and some #320 paper. What I'm hoping for here is that the blocking regimen will add back some of the lost detail that happened as a result of having to fill the damn hood to get rid of the wavies. I said it last time,...the irony of the whole damn thing is that this hood looks like the original that was at this stage two months ago.
Is it 80%? Hardly. Can I get it there? More than likely......(maybe a 60%) . I'm just done. As in,.......wiped. It seems everything I do to try and make it better adds tons more work, as I make a bigger mess everytime I touch the damn thing.
Save for the blocking and priming,.....that's all I'm gonna do to this bastard.
Hoods are the lesser evil. We'll paint this pig, and it'll be ok for now. Then I'll start to dislike it,....Then I'll just hate it. Then I'll start all over again. Only I've finally learned my lesson.
* What Mike learned this year:
I'm no bodyman. I just got lucky with the rest of the things I've done to the car. When a real test comes along, (as in,...these last three hoods) my lack of skill shines like an idiot beacon. If there is a G hood v4.0, there'll be some sort of fiberglass hood scoop BOLTED on,....and that will be that.
Schools out.
But enough p issing and moaning.... Lets talk about what good I was able to do.
The doors fenders, and trunk are pretty damn good. All that remain with them is a couple of hours spent in Karate kid mode "Sand-a-da- floor" and them bi tches are done. I laid some liberal dosage of 2k around the G fin on the trunk deck so I can get a sharp line at the fin break, but that's it. I'm officially out of my second gallon of 2k primer.
So,....what's left then before D day then?
I'm glad you asked.
We're painting the car right where it sits. Part of what I gotta do to facilitate that is mega clean the garage. I intend to make the garage "itself" the paint booth. Air is gonna be forced in through three furnace filters right here,.....
When we paint, I'm gonna have a "door" with two box fans that'll blow in. I'll just open the door you see, and close my fan/filter door from inside the garage. Conditioned air from the house will be the source for Mike's paint booth.
At the back of the garage will be a wall covered in clear plastic that spans the entire two car garage door. When paint time comes, the O/H garage door comes up, and exposes that wall. At the bottom of that wall will be three additional fans pulling air through three filters.
It'll be "back there".
I'll make a "Man door" so we can get outside into the fresh air through that partition. It's really about 10 studs, cut and screwed together, then screwed into the frame that surrounds the garage door from the outside. Should be easy-peasy. It'll be this Sundays' work goal.
So then,.....those few that have paid attention should be thinking,......"I thought he was painting it in a real booth". And you'd be right to think that.
But the truth of the matter is the guy that was gonna let us use it got a little........surly.
He didn't like the fact that we were spraying SS acrylic urethane. ( Said it was gonna clog his filters).
Said that he was gonna correct my painter if he thought he was doing something the wrong way, and that until he saw the proof that he was capable and knew what he was doing,.... He was "not too impressed"
Ummmm........No said the finger,
.....he ain't gonna do none of that.Said that we were not gonna be able to get in till after 4:30 on Friday,...all depending on customer cars,......all while the monster sits on an open trailer maybe in the sun,.....maybe in the rain.
That left a bad taste in my mouth. Too many "ifs" all while having a car on a trailer sitting in the lot waiting one the "go" from ol crotchedy.
So I chose to go with what I know. And that leaves the monster snugly sleeping in his garage,....waiting on the "day".
And that wraps up today's progress save for two things....
#1. I've neglected to post pics of the newest member of my family,......the little guy just followed me home last week.......I didn't have the heart to send him back.
Mike's Mini. A John Cooper Works edition. 218HP, 228 TQ. ( Has a little blue-tooth push button that opens up the second exhaust pipe and makes it a straight farty-pipe)
And,......lest I forget.
#2.This evening's beverage.
Tastes like Heineken. Only from China.
It's a Chinee Heiny.
Even the beer I drink is Chinese,....I drive a German car, built in England, Have a project car with junk from all over the world on it,......Uhh.........
