Despite the winter weather,...
Despite the winter weather, we had to see what this paint looked like out in the sunlight after buffing and polishing. Here is the result--a brilliant shine, eye-popping color, and sparkling metallics. It was a ton of work, but the results are impressive.
Hand-Polishing Procedure
* 3M Imperial Hand Glaze # 05990 was applied by hand with a soft cotton cloth. (Cloth diapers are the best--not the disposable kind.)
Doin' It The Hard Way
What follows are photos and a brief description of how the graphics were applied for the first paint job. You can use this info to help you, or the shop that will paint your car, decide which method is more efficient.
| HOUSE OF KOLOR MATERIALS LIST |
| BODY PRODUCTS USED |
| PART # | ITEM | AMOUNT | PRICE | PER |
| KU-151 | Exempt Catalyst | 1 quart | $76.36 | gallon |
| KV-150 | Exempt Catalyst | 4 quarts | $76.36 | quart |
| KC-20 | Post Sanding Cleaner | 1 gallon | $36.89 | gallon |
| KS-12 | Ko-Seal II Metallic Primer | 3 quarts | $190.92 | gallon |
| SG-100 | Intercoat Clear | 2 quarts | $117.94 | gallon |
| UFC-35 | Kosmic Urethane Flo-Klear | 1 gallon | $149.01 | gallon |
| RU-311 | Medium Reducer | 5 gallons | $58.70 | gallon |
| KC-10 | Wax and Grease Remover | 1 gallon | $34.04 | gallon |
| BC-12 | Zenith Gold | 2 quarts | $45.51 | quart |
| MBC-01 | Pale Gold Metallic | 3 quarts | $160.25 | quart |
| UK-08 | Tangerine Kandy | 2 quarts | $64.76 | quart |
| KP-2CFA | Kwikure Epoxy Primer | 3 quarts | $147.41 | gallon |
| KP-2CFA | Kwikure Epoxy Activator | 3 quarts | $130.14 | gallon |
| | $2,182.94 | |
Welcome to the Great Graphics...
Welcome to the Great Graphics Debate. Here are the finished "second design" graphics......and this is the first design that ultimately led to the repaint. Which do you like better? We already have Melvin's answer.
| GRAPHICS PRODUCTS USED |
| U00-P02 | Pin Stripe Reducer | ½ pint | $19.97 | pint |
| U03-B06 | Red Striping Enamel | 1 pint | $15.61 | bottle |
| PBC-44 | Snowhite Pearl | 1 quart | $90.55 | quart |
| BC-26 | White Basecoat | ½ gallon | $181.01 | gallon |
| KS-10 | White Ko-Seal II Primer | 1 pint | $108.24 | pint |
| $415.38 | |
| TOTAL COST |
| Blocking labor prior to paint (50 hours at $70 per/hr) | $3,500.00 |
| Materials (paint and so on) | $2,598.32 |
| Paint labor (15 hours at $70 per/hr) | $1,050.00 |
| Wet-sand, buff, and polish (40 hours at $70 per/hr) | $2,800.00 |
| $9,948.32 |
 |  For our subject Firebird,...  For our subject Firebird, a variable speed, 7-inch polisher was used. It's adjustable for 1,000-3,000 rpm and was set to about 1,500 rpm. |  |
 Martin Zamora Jr. goes about...  Martin Zamora Jr. goes about the arduous task of wet-sanding the Bird after the Intercoat clear was dry and before Patrick tapes for the graphics. Using the other method depicted in the main story, Patrick didn't use the Intercoat clear. |  When applying the graphics...  When applying the graphics after the body is painted, the entire car has to be masked and taped again, leaving only the graphics area exposed. Using the other method, only the graphics area must be taped off to paint the rest of the car, which is quicker and easier. |  Patrick applies the Snowhite...  Patrick applies the Snowhite over the wet-sanded Intercoat clear. |
 To apply the red stripe, most...  To apply the red stripe, most of the car needs to be masked and taped again, unlike the other method that only requires the white graphics' side to be taped since the body is not painted yet. After applying three coats, there was an issue with the red pinstripe paint on the first design graphics. The red bled into the Snowhite. A House of Kolor tech said he's seen this before, but very rarely. According to Jon Kosmoski, "The red bled because there was either too little dry time between coats or too slow a reducer was used, which can cause the striping to move." | | |