Photo time.
It came out amazing.
However it was soooo tempting to clear coat over this.
I absolutely love the rat-rod paint look.
I'm also going to be waiting a few days before wet sanding it, and then using cutting compound. I want the parts to have a few good days of cure time before I make sure everything is smooth for the final time.
How did I do it? Well.. there will be a video coming out for it soon.
To start off, I got my how to do it from a really good friend. He manages a bodyshop, and has been for 5 + years now. He started in bodywork when he was fresh out of high school and has been doing it since. He was slowly promoted from with in... so it isn't as if he's a Walmart manager who moves into a repair shop and thinks he knows what he's doing. The shop is well known for the great work that they do...
So, I brought him the stuff wanting him to paint it, and he gave me the cold shoulder saying how I should do it myself.. and yada yada. So he didn't paint in. Instead he gave me instructions.
He said, sand with 600, primer over 600 sanded. Sand primer with 600, then 800, then 1600. Paint base coat over 1600. Then paint clear on. Wait a few days and wet sand + cutting compound. He said if I couldn't get 1600, 1200 would work.
So.. I did everything except I didn't use 800, and I substituted 1600 for 1500 since Sherwin Williams in my area didn't have what I needed. It was too nice and warm outside to waste the opportunity... it was the best it is going to be for the next month.
I went to advanced auto and got the primer, base coat and clear coat from duplicator. Worked great.
Took me 1 day of prep, and 2 days of part time painting.
The worst part is I spent $20 on wax and grease remover from sherwin Williams. They promised me it was paint safe, plastic safe.. everything. They instructed me to use it before primer, and before base coat. It wasn't, and ended up melting the paint on the tank. I had to wait for it to cure, and then resand and contour everything. I was mad.