72 Hours of Sugar, Caffeine and Isocyanates

[Jacob McCrea]

I left the office at about 4 p.m. last Friday and 72 hours later, living on nothing but pastries and espresso drinks from the hipster coffee shop up the street from my shop, had the following the show for my efforts:

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We've got SPI epoxy reduced at 50% for sealer, the white base is PPG's DBC in GM Arctic White, the red is Ford Vermillion Red, and the clear is 3 coats of SPI Universal Clear.

There's a little more dust than I'd like, and a few little bugs, or parts thereof, are permanently entombed in the clear. There are a few little runs and few spots that aren't quite as wet as I'd like on the body (not an easy thing to paint at all), but nothing that shouldn't sand buff out nicely.

I'd sprayed a fair amount of the old DBU base, but this was the first time spraying DBC, which seemed a bit thicker than a recall DBU being. Both SPI products seem very good, for the money or otherwise. The quarter panels and the roof could be just a little straighter, and there is a little dip in the hood, by the radiator opening, that just didn't come out in the block sanding, but I really don't care. Overall it's about what you'd expect from someone who was pretty good at this 19 years ago, but now lacks that last 10-15% of time, skill and motivation to make it as perfect as possible.

[mburger]

I recognized the Ford Vermillion Red! (my Cobra)
Looks great!

[Straversi]

Beautiful color and I’m a sucker for the gum balls. Now, go get some sleep.
-Steve

[John Dol]

Wow Jacob that looks great. Congrats on a job well done!!!
You must be exhausted, but the effort was well worth it.

John

[first time builder]

Wow Jacob that looks great. Congrats on a job well done!!!
You must be exhausted, but the effort was well worth it.

John
Dont put yourself down it looks great !

[GoDadGo]

Looks Fantastic!
That must be my problem with procrastination.
I never realized that Hipster Coffee could turn me into the Energizer Bunny.
Now Have A Couple Of Shots Of Your Favorite Scotch, Tequila, Whiskey, Gin Or Rum To Chill Out!

[Jetfuel]

That looks amazing....don't worry about the little imperfections they will come out
One thing I've been taught and learned the hard way is that I never paint when I'm tired

jet

[jwhit]

looking good

[Hankl]

Jake,

Really happy to see new progress on your coupe!!

[Jacob McCrea]

Thanks for all the compliments; they are really appreciated. Frankly I was pretty intimidated by spraying this, and by taping the stripes, which took far longer than I expected to lay out. I hadn't painted stripes since I sprayed a cab-over semi in maybe 1997 - a cool old machine with a Detroit Diesel and a complex 3-color, backwards "Z" stripe scheme. Being able to do the body work and shoot this is one of two unexpected benefits that have come from working in that body shop in high school and some of college.

As for the Vermillion red, I never thought about that color until 2 weeks ago, despite owning a Vermillion F350 since new in 2004. I wasted time looking up codes for Ducati red, Jeep's new red, Honda's new red, Chevy's new red, etc., looking for a red that was a little dark and would contrast nicely with the white. I was too dense to see that Vermillion is exactly that because the F350 always has a layer of shop dust or cover on it. I looked in the door jamb one day and realized it was pretty much what I wanted. I felt like a moron, but not for the first time on this project.

And yes, painting when tired is just asking for problems, especially combined with 2 decades of no practice. I thought I'd have all the time in the world, but the window of time to top coat the base just disappears when you're struggling to remember how to do, and do, something you last did two decades ago.

Stripe dimensions are 7" at each end, tapered to 7.75" at the top and bottom of the windshield, with a 20" roundel on the hood. Sanding, buffing and reassembly will begin in earnest next week or so, with the goal of bringing it out to the London Cobra Show next year. I'll post progress pics here as they happen, however slowly that may be.

[j.miller]

A. Well done son. 2. Love the Vermillion (Blue and Bloody)is what we call it. D. The "roundel" looks great. (just did 4 of those suckers on a roadster 2 weeks ago and I'm still waiting for my eyes to uncross.)………………………..bottom line, YA DONE GOOD...Da Bat

[smithtlw]

Looks awesome Jacob! The defects that only you see will certainly disappear once you get it outside.