Paintwork

Step 1 The body is rubbed down with 80 grit production paper and any obvious imperfections are filled	Step 1 Removing the 'shine' of the gel coat helps to identify low spots.	Step 1 Door, bonnet and boot gaps are set by sanding the edges and building up with filler where necessary.
Step 2 The body is guide coated with a mist of black aerosol paint and the all the paint is removed by sanding with 120 grit paper. The body is then sprayed with polyester spray filler (3 litres)	Step 2 Throughout this process pin holes and small imperfections are filled with acrylic putty.	Step 2 After catching my car a couple of times with the air hose I realised that I needed to create more space in my garage!
Step 3 More sanding! The spray filler is then rubbed down with 320 grit abrasive and two coats of high build primer are applied.	Step 3 I realised during this process that I had not cleaned my gun out properly after the last stage. This primer coat was awful so I decided to flat off with 320 grit again and give it another coat.	Step 3 Finished! I wish. Ready to flat off again with 400 grit. I don't wet sand; using water causes too many problems for my liking.
Step 4&5 After flatting with 400 grit paper I cleaned it off with spirit wipe and went over it with a tack rag. Then the serious bit; two coats of basecoat and two coats of clear.	Step 4&5 I got a couple of runs in the basecoat but managed to sand them out with 400 grade wet and dry before giving them another coat.	Steps 4&5 The clear went on much better than I had hoped although because I am not a pro. I am slow and had difficulty keeping a wet edge.
Steps 4&5 Greenie on the Spyderclub website recommended that for an even better finish I wet flat with 600 grit paper and shoot two more coats of clear.	Step 6 Two more coats of clear gave a much better gloss although I did get some runs.	Step 6 I will wait a few weeks before 'colour sanding' and compunding
Step 6	Step 6	Step 6 I shot the last two coats with the bonnet horizontal (it is hung vertically here to save space) this allowed me to put two 'good' coats on without fear of runs or sags.
Step 6 I am pleased with the finish. My months of work blocking and filling have paid off. Remember the first thing people see when they look at your car is the paint job; nothing makes your project look more like a 'kit' than poor paintwork!