having been around paint and material since 1968, i know how much HARD WORK it takes to produce a superior finished job that makes people marvel at it's quality.
over time, the materials have changed drastically in composition and cost, especially in the last few years.
this is NOT taking into consideration the MASSIVE amount of time and effort to do CORRECT work on the body itself before the first whiff of paint fumes can even be considered.
it takes a true ARTISTE to achieve a quality job, usually requiring years of experience to pull off.
however, first timers can do this as good as the pros, providing they research, study, and possess the discipline needed to apply what is learned, and be willing to fix mistakes when they happen instead of tiring out and saying "that's good enough".........
you sir, have proven you have all the talent the pros have, and are to be congratulated on a job WELL done !

Thank you Moparx.

I'd rather not make mistakes at all but I'm getting better at fixing them, and am making fewer of them.

I'm way too slow to be in the same league as a production type of professional, but can do some casual/no hurry side restoration kind of piecework since...well, that's what it already is.

In hindsight, given the amount of dirt and insects, several coats of clear was definitely a good idea.
Production style 2-coat clear is great when you can keep everything perfectly clean but because I lack that capability, there's no other way to compensate that I know of.

Even the best booths still get something in the paint somewhere.

I've watched numerous paint video's on Youtube as well as watching a few vehicles being painted in person and have to wonder if the last couple feet of the air hose right behind the gun is not a source for junk in the paint? The hose gets drug across the floor, rolled up with dirty hands after blowing off sanding primer dust etc. all before painting, and yet it seems like nobody pays much attention to it?

I had helped my brother paint my car 2 times now , I know there is a lot of insight needed along this journey . I would not even attempt trying this by myself . Kudos to your great achievement & great looking result . Yes there are small issues here & there but , wow . That turned out great . Gary

Nice work Rich ! Looking good !

Mark

The hose is a huge source of dirt.

I was taught by an old school painter on one of the forums (that I actually don't even belong to, but learned from greatly):

Before you shoot all your horizontals (these are areas you have to lean over the car), grab a rag soaked with thinner and pull the last 6 to 8 feet of hose through the rag, maybe a couple times.
Shoot your horizontals, then shoot your verticals.
Then on the next coat before you do horizontals again, soak the rag with thinner and pull the hose through it.
Do this on every coat, make it the routine, and it will come as near to eliminating the problem as anything.

Life was a little more complex for me, because I insisted on laying on the floor and looking directly at the underside of the rockers when I shot them
to ensure full coverage. So I spent alot of time wiping off the hose and myself as well as I could. A rotisserie fixes that.

Another good rule to create is, buy or make a hook, then don't ever consciously let the last 6-8' of hose touch the floor during the whole job (but it will anyway, which is why you wipe it before every coat).
Every time you disconnect the gun, hang the hose on the hook.
Make that the routine also.

I also once saw a younger guy experimenting, he wrapped the last 6' of hose in masking plastic and taped it up.

To try to prevent issues, I started the job with a brand new hose, a nice sublime green knockoff of the flexzilla. By the time it was painted, the hose looked like it had been through a war lol.

Also used the classic motoguard filters (aka garage painters best friend) in the air line. Both the orange bulb at the end and the so-called toilet paper filter.
I drained the tank often, and didn't feel I needed to get too fancy with filtration.

Thank you very much. Sometimes I can't believe it's mine. This will take some getting used to!

Thanks Mark!

I really wanted the body lines to pop and spent a lot of time sanding to achieve it.
It’s finally paying off.

I’ve found a lot of half truths out there about color sanding, but found my own way.
A lighter touch is definitely called for, if you dig in you can see it.

Dirt and bugs only: 800/1000 on hard block, feather out w/1000 flex block,
Then flex block whole panel 1500/2000/2500, M100 on wool pad, M110 on foam da polisher.
Areas with only some texture start at 1500 and continue on from there.
It leaves a barely perceptible texture that I like+extra material on the vehicle for wear and tear.

I bought a polish and fine foam disc but don’t feel like I need it, these cutting compounds finish so well
On the lighter color, the polish can wait until later.

I circle every mistake or oversight with black grease pencil, then go back and fix them.

3 pictures of the same panel, and looks like 3 different colors:
The color flop is the game with A4, it’s all part of the fun

Glad you went with the factory color now Rich?

Yes sir.
Not just yes, but hell yes!

The "feeling of accomplishment" brain chemicals have kicked in for sure.
That and imagining how it will look all together and functioning keeps me going.

But I def haven't forgotten how miserable the basecoat was.
I worked really hard to get it right on my test panel long before going anywhere near the car.
Come time to put it in the car, the horizontals lay down perfect.....but the verticals had a mind of their own.
Alot of unhappiness.

All was forgiven after the first coat of clear.

It's extra effort but worth it if someone wants that appearance.

Great job Rich!

Harvesting the fruits of your labor can be very enjoyable, some times
Your doing a really good job on this

True...sometimes when it doesn't work out, time to step off, walk away and re think.

Here's a link to a short progress video.

This stuff is supposed to be a hobby, and fun. When it's not fun, why do it?

Keep plugging away Rich, nice work so far!!!

Thanks!

Enjoying the trip, taking my time/not rushing and really just trying to do a good job.

A short video, Fakebook

Another short video, Fakebook.

Usually I'll get a panel buffed almost all the way out, then stop and take the black grease pencil,and mark all the mistakes and oversights,
then go back over those. Twice over is usually enough but sometimes other errors are found/marked/gone over again.

Sand scratches are really not easy to see on this lighter color so that has been a small struggle.
I am sure I will find more of them once I get it outdoors, and am looking forward to that later on.

Though I have done this kind of work before, it was over 30 years ago on this car and the materials were totally different
back then, so it's been a learning process. I also didn't have the right tools for the job in the past but that has changed.

Still have only used cutting compounds and no polishes. Definitely Don't want to go near it with any kind of glaze/want to avoid fillers and refine the surface
to the point it doesn't need anything added.

Way back when I detailed cars for the local GM dealer the florescent shop lights tended to magnify super fine scratches like those you find around door handles on used vehicles, for example. Once it was outside in the sunlight a lot of the little things that I was sweating over inside became much harder to find, or all but went away. Silver should be pretty forgiving in the sun compared to the darker colors anyways.

It's true...Looking very close at body/paint on vehicles at the mopar nationals this past weekend, I had to
just about put my face 1" from panels to be able to see texture and scratches.

This is a good thing!

Silver does hide alot of sins. if only it wasn't so horrible to spray........

Though I haven't had it out in the sun yet I'm sure looking forward to it.

To see what would happen, stepped up to a polish on the trunklid and rearmost tops of quarters (nothing fancy, the newer Meguairs M210 on a fine yellow foam pad/DA polisher). The shine is coming up pretty nicely, will probably do the whole car with it once the dirt and insects are all corrected, but want to experiment with a medium pad as I think I might like that better.

Currently refining the dirt and insects out of the roof.

One of the better social media origin pics,