Q40 Larson Vendetta - Painting Numbers on Finished Racer
I decided it was time to get some numbers on the Vendetta Lyle Larson gave to me as a wedding present. Actually, I had decided awhile back just hadn't had the nerve to start sanding on the beauty.
Here's the steps I used and a couple photos. Steps courtesy of Lyle Larson.
1) Mask off area you intend to re-shoot with clear coat .
- The idea being to avoid having to reapply clear to the whole surface and adding unneeded weight. I laid the 1/8” fine line tape down to cover the white stripe between the black and orange out near the tip. I then masked everything except the orange.
2) I then wet sanded the area to remove the sheen with the Super Fine 3m pad which is close to 600 grit.
- Be careful here as it easy to sand through on the edges and corners, I speak from experience. The pic shows the 3m pad. These have worked very well for me and I'm sure can be picked up at your local paint shop. The pic is from painting my Bird of Preys.
3) Lay down your stencil and mask everything you don't want color on.
- Either send Jim Allen jamesea1@earthlink.net an e-mail or request Gerber mask from your stencil provider.
4) Shoot the color.
- I always first wipe the area down with wax and grease remover on a paper towel. Then mix the paint, load your gun through a paint strainer/filter, and finally wipe down with a tack rag right before you shoot. I used an airbrush with the material knob screwed down to minimize the paint. Always first shoot on a scrap to get the airbrush set up just how you want it. Again, I speak from experience.
5) Pull the mask and shoot the clear.
- Don't forget the wipe down steps here. I dust on a light coat of clear the first coat. Then wait till the clear gets sticky on the taped area when checked with your finger. Then shoot a wet coat. Shooting at night under a high intensity lamp is suppose to work great (Jim Allen). It has quickly become fall here with temps dropping into the 50's after the sun goes down so that was not an option for me. I found if you move your head closer to the part at an angle you can see the clear wetting out. This is kind of a feel thing and I think only practice can fully explain it. It has been for me. I'm using PPG DC3000 clear coat. It is dust free in 5 minutes, tack free within an hour, and can be sanded after about 2 hours depending on temperature. I shot mine Saturday night and didn't get back to sand until Sunday morning.
6) Color sand the clear to remove imperfections and smooth out ridges at edge of numbers.
- I always thought it was funny that Darrol www.darrolcady.com mentions bugs getting in his paint. Well, I had 2 gnats and one antennae to get rid of and don't think it's all that funny anymore. Darn bugs. Anyway, I again wet sanded with the Super Fine (~600 grit) pad till I had worked out all the bugs and ridges. I use a squirt bottle to apply water to the surface. Wipe down with a paper towel to check your progress frequently.
7) Shoot final clear coat
- I chose to shoot the second coat of clear in my garage hoping to avoid bugs. I covered everything I didn't want over spray on with some old sheets. I took a squirt bottle and shot down the work area with water to control any dust. I also cracked the garage door about a foot and made sure all vents and doors were closed to the house. This worked pretty well, no bugs and very little dust.
8) Remove all masking and smooth out the seam.
I smoothed out the seam with some 2000 grit sanding the edge of the clear. My local paint store gave me a couple 2000 grit wet or dry pads and they worked great.
After words, I used a $14 6" polisher from Harbor Freight Tools and some scratch remover from O'Reilly's auto parts. The sanded area smoothed out very well. Lyle uses a polishing compound called "Diamond Cut". I haven't found this yet, but will be sure to update this article when I do and have a chance to try it out.
Here's what the little polisher looks like.
Harbor Freight has it on their website also.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=90219
Here is the finished product.
   
These pictures can also be viewed in the TEAMseaholm Photo Album under the album titled Q40 Vendetta.
Published: 11.14.2004 |
