I don't think it is for a top-notch job...that's a lot of prep, and a lot of paint to lay down.

 

There in lies the problem, my ignorance. I know the shop came highly recommended but I dont know enough about the the process to ask intelligent questions. I know there are better paints, better clear coat products, that use latest technology, but any help on what to look out for or ask would be appreciated.

 

I would certainly want to see some of the shop's work and talk to some of their customers before laying out that kind of cash.

 

 

i don't know!

 

I've got my front wheels off this morning, checking pads and locking hubs. Trying to get it back together before it gets too hot.

 

Gonna grease the needle bearings?

 

Mornin SoCal! Well, will it rain today? Looks like it outside from the dark clouds starting to form.......

 

Clear as a bell down here.

Maybe you're going to get one of those gentle afternoon thunderstorms

 

No, I suppose I should, but I don't feel like taking it that far apart in my driveway.

 

morning socal.

 

Just a quick hello to all you folks here. Be back soon.

 

A good friend of mine decided that he thought it was ridiculous how much shops charged for a good paint job... so he bought some tools and did it himself. After some trial and error (read... sanding the 1/2 panel back down and starting over two or three times) he finally got the hang of it... and the whole care actually turned out pretty well. Since the car spends most of it's time in the garage (it's his baby.... he's got a daily driver)... it doesn't fade... so when he makes changes it's not too bad for him to do his own paint work on individual parts... but even he admitted that if he had to paint the whole thing again, he'd have it done.

The prep work takes an amazing amount of time. (The shops I've been two usually had two or three guys doing prep... and one on paint). The cost of a good paint job is split pretty evenly between good supplies, good prep work (time and labor) and a talented painter operating the spray gun. If you're cheap with any one of these.... it won't be right when it's done. Certain colors are harder to work with than others, which affects the cost... with metallic and pearl finishes being more difficult. Candy finishes actually require a base metallic silver or gold coat.... with a perfectly layered color coat just heavy enough to let the under coat shine through. It's an amazing amount of work, and requires a truly talented painter.

(It's part of the reason you see so many flat black, flat grey, etc.. trail rigs. Especially amongst the jeep guys. They're planning on messing it up... and would like to be able to fix it with a can of Krylon.)

Incidentally, it's also one of the reason that a really well done restoration on a classic car is so expensive. While it wasn't necessarily my style... the low rider that looked like a metallic red Christmas ornament was impressive.

For anyone who's seen the matte finishes on some of the recent crop of supercars (lotus, aston martin, a few others) the matte finish is usually a decal overlay covering the whole car - with the exception of (i'll have to double check this) the new Aston - that they won't even sell to someone unless they sign a contract promising to never wax the car - because it will ruin the finish - and only ever have it serviced at an authorized dealer because it's such a difficult finish to maintain.

I realize this is off on a tangent - but it amused me.


Hey bill, get the truck back together? :-)

 

Oh yeah, I was almost done when I posted. But all I did was inspection. My rotors are in great shape, so I won't be changing those, but I'm undecided on the brake pads. So all youse guys give me your opinion on these. Do these need to be changed now? I'm not sure how thick new pads are on Superduties. These have about 1/4" of pad left, and no rivets are showing yet. I don't see any kind of wear indicator on these pads. The wear was very even on all 4 sets.

 

You're getting to the place where I would start looking to purchase the new ones to have on hand when the time comes.

Do this again in 3000 miles and see what the wear rate is.

I try not to let them get too close, as the pads don't always wear evenly.

Too early has different ramifications as too late. :-)

Pop