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Time to paint
Ok, so now everything is scuffed, clean and masked. Now you need to remove any dust or lint particles. They sell sticky stuff for this, but I don't like the residue or problems it can cause. My hands are very dry, no oil, so I use them. Or some clean latex gloves would work. BTW, do this in a garage or on a calm day. I didn't have this choices so I used a piece of cardboard as a wind blocker and lucked out.
Now it's time to paint. Get at least 24 oz of your factory matched paint. Go light here and take your time. It's time to paint any areas that aren't body colored or if you have any scratches, which I did. Take care to do light coats so no runs. You got time here, so take it. Make sure to remove dust between coats waiting at least 5min, or I just kept going side to side in a big circle. It takes that long to get back around to start point. See pic's below of what it should look like painted, first four shots.
Now it's time to wait, at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour or so. Rain delayed me 4, so I had to really work at getting it lint free again. Yes, I painted mine during a rain storm. It was sunny when I started, and 0% chance... Ideally lower humidity is better for painting.
When your ready to clear, think again. If this is your first paint job, do one before this. Clearing is the hardest part of painting. Here in Vegas it dries so fast and you want it to have a smooth dimple free wet look when done painting. I'm talking it'll look when your done how it looks when painting. Do one semi-light base coat, ie not dripping wet or you WILL get runs. Then do one or two more wet coats, thick but again take care to not have runs. Hardest part is keeping it wet while clearing. I worked clockwise from driverside hood mounting point. Also work top top bottom, cause that's how gravity works. Clear flakes will mess your paint if don't go top to bottom.
More waiting, depending on paint, I used enamel cause lacquer is no longer offered at WM... Minimum 10 minutes between coats, more like 15. Can't use the same circle pattern, needs more time than base. Entire process takes an hour and I used 2 12oz cans. DO NOT use last 10% in cans, it's crap and I'm super cheap. 2 coats will work, 3 is fine and more is overkill.
Now its final wait time. Minimum 2 hours for any clear. This stuff takes a week to fully cure, so don't set things on it or lean against it. Time to re-assemble, reverse of earlier steps. Don't get excited here and scratch your new work. Really take care with wiring harnesses and fuse box. Other than my 4 hour rain delay I did this from 6am till 8pm in one day.
See next post for final pay off shots!!! Can't believe how great it turned out!!!
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