Prepping

Once all the pieces have been fitted and the mounting holes are drilled the next step is to prepare the surface area to be painted.  Sanding prepares the gel coat on the outside of the fiber glass to receive paint, it is a process that creates a rough surface for the primer to grab on to.  We used 400 grit wet sand paper to sand the areas to be painted.   Be caution not to take off too much material while sanding.Wet sanding.

After all the surface area have been wet sanded you will need to wash the parts and set it out to dry in the sun.

Since the primer paint does not have any filling particles to fill large holes or grooves on the fiber glass parts, putty must be used in those area to fill in the imperfections on the fiber glass parts.  Be aware of the amount of hardener you use when mixing the putty mix, the rule is to use the equal proportional amount of hardener and putty.  So if you pour out 1/4 can of putty from the can of putty, you will only need use 1/4 amount of hardener from the hardener tube.  Otherwise the putty will harden before you even have a chance to spread it over the parts.  After the putty dries you will need to wet sand the area that was putty up to a smooth finish.

Once all the parts and pieces are ready you want to lay them out so they can receive primer paint all at the same time.  You want to spray a even light coats of primer and spray at least 5 coats of it on all the pieces.  Depends on the temperature of the day, usually the thinner and the primer paint is a 1:1 mix, but you can vary that ratio depend on the weather condition.  Also make sure you are painting them in a well ventilated place and that you are wearing a ventilation mask.  It is also important that the correct paint gun is used for this job, I will not go into details on how to select the paint gun to use, there are books that talks about that. Here is the paint gun I used.  (An air compressor with adjustable pressure regulator is also required) 

After the primer dries, you will need to wet sand all the parts with 600 grit sand paper, this process is very critical to the overall painting process because if the surface is not flat or smooth it will show through the final color coat.  After all the parts have been wet sanded, wash the parts and let it dry.

   Now all the parts are ready for final color paint.
 

Click on the below links to see the steps :

• Start / Intro
• How to remove the motorized tail mechanism
• Fitting the tail to the deck lid
• Fitting the front splitter
• Prepping the pieces for paint
• Painting
• Completed Car