Hi guys! Not sure how I stumbled on to this thread but I like it. I have been following since the 19th page and actually started preping my car myself That same day I went to Maccos after work and arrived at 5pm... and they were just leaving so I couldnt get an estimate.. I got an estimate before for 1700$+ .. which I was ready to spend 2k easy... and 3k if I had to :-s

Blah.. so that is my story.. been following you guys through the ups- like Exit's first test and the downs- like Exit's "scratch tests" - and then the ups again.. I figure I will just join now so my name gets here so I dont seem like a quick flash of news when I finish my car.

I have an '89 Camaro IROC Z28. I sanded it down. The paint was bad.. very bad. Rust, oxidization, peeling clearcoat, chips, etc. I also had dents in the metal and cracks in my lights and plastics and fiberglass.

Got 95% of it fixed. I need a few more "touch ups" before I will be satisfied enough to paint. I primed it yesterday because I had a lot of bare metal after sanding it down to get a smooth surface.

I haven't done this stuff before but it is a fun experience. Like I said I have been working on my car since page 19 and DAMN is it so much work!! Just removing the ground fx and stuff was a pain!!

I spent way more than 50$.. maybe around 200 at least. That is because I had to buy tools Seems like everytime I would buy a socket set the next bolt I would need to take off would need a different type of socket not in my set -_-

I have been listing to the mantra that "prep work is everything".. so I have been putting a lot of effort into the prep work. My car is pretty much smooth as glass right now.

I went and got my paint mixed at homedepot today. I got the "Gardenia" color- since they don't color match It is a close match to my original paint but not perfect. It is close enough for me though.

I have one more bondo fix on my car before I paint it and some light sanding to smooth things out a little more- Then I can paint.

I am doing everything outside in an apartment complex parking lot and that has been problematic but surprisingly a lot of people stop and chat with me and say good things. No one has complained to me yet.... it really suprises me because whoever parks next to me gets their car looking like a powder sugar covered donut after I am done sanding. ... but I do wipe down their cars.. and if I make it too messy I'll pay for a carwash for 'em. Anyway- just waiting for good weather before I can paint. I dont want to paint in the parkinglot though. There is a covered garage at the HD and the bottom level isn't really used. I Primed my car there. I think I will go hide there and paint when the time
comes Priming a car with spraypaint cans is easier to explain than rolling a car with can of paint

Ok, Cheers.. I have TONS of pictures of before and current progress- and have 1TB of webspace and 2TB of BW.. so if any videos need to be hosted I can do it.

-Serpent