Hell or Highwater.
That was the operational objective today.
I started out by going to the paint supplier to pick up the paint that I had ordered yesterday. They "modified" a pint for me so that I could mix it w/ the remainder of the qt. I have left. By itself it looked more like the correct color to me,..but I was worried one pint was not gonna be enough to get the bumper completely painted,....so I mixed them together. ( Like it'll make a difference anyway,.....it ain't gonna match)
.
I had to make something to hold the bumper first,..o I cut up a couple of old 2 x 4's, nailed them into an "L" shape and then in turn nailed them to the floor joists. It looked like this:
Notice two things: The tarp is actually under the bumper this time, and the COBRA letters are no longer masked over. Matter of fact, they are gone.
Turns out that while prepping the bumper for paint,...I noticed that there was all kinds of funk surrounding each letter. Cleaning it required that I remove the masking tape,...and once I did that I just said f ck that,..I'll get rid of the black decals as well,...the mentally challenged P.O. didn't do that right and there were several bubbles under some of the letters anyway. So I peeled them b itches off.
I actually prefer the muted statement of having the letters body color,.....I don't feel the need to advertise that it's a Cobra,...most people don't know the difference between this car and every other new edge beater anyway....Having the big letters across the back bumper in black will only leave those same people wondering how a car named after a wild American horse is somehow changed into a venomous spitting snake from India.
So I begin:
I promptly get a paint reaction.
On the top edge where the repair is has wrinkled. Not alot,...but where the "fast" reducer is now too hot for the feathered edge of the old paint for some damn reason or another. I let it sit for 30 minutes,....scuff it smooth w/ 600 grit,....and apply a second coat.
It wrinkles.
This causes me to have another one of my mini strokes inside my respirator,...as I am getting tired of fixing what promply f cks up as soon as I point the paint gun at it.
I do this two more times.
By the 4th attempt,..I decide to just dab the un thinned paint into what are now two tiny little "rock chip" sized screw ups as a result of my constant battle w/ the wrinkle fairy. I put it out in the sun to dry,...30 minutes later I wet sand the blob smooth,...and decide to clear it before I lose the rest of my mind.
The clear seals the screw up,.......I know where it is,.....but you'd have to remove the drivers' side tail light to see it,...so all in all, ask me if I care that I have a screwed up little blob somewhere on the bumper.
It's actually fairly easy to make this stuff look great.
(see if you can find the Mike in the bumper)
AND.....
That damn broken assed impact is GONE.
Now,...tomorrow,...I'll bolt that thing back on the car after I detail that area,...and we'll all discuss how easy it is to see the mismatch.