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Well, I've finished my test piece, the tailgate for my '79 Ford F100 Custom Explorer. All in all, I'm quite satisfied. And additionally, it was one of the most beat up, rusty, and plain difficult pieces on the truck.




As you can tell, my bodywork is poor at best. Even knowing that every scratch would show, and doing what at the time seemed like a good job sanding them out, I am surprised at how bumpy the body is after the paint is on. I'm not particularly worried- the rest of the body is smoother, and the tailgate has too many planes and curves to show too badly. Plus, the white seems to hide the imperfections.

Some people wanted to see lettering/striping, and here's your chance. Letters are difficult. It took a good 90 minutes to tape it off and very carefully cut the curves. Very carefully. It didn't come out perfect, as you can see. They have a rough edge. But from 3 feet away, it's not noticeable unless you're looking for it. I'm thinking that my Explorer striping will actually go better, in that it will be long, straight edges on smooth metal instead of wild curves on stamped letters. I bet it'll be easier to get a smooth line.








Oh, and here's the before:

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