Well,...that Wasn't Fun.

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.

95BlueStallion said:

Looks great, and Im looking forward to seeing how you attempt to paint the rest of the car to match!

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I've already had my "Come to Jesus" moment. I will accept the mismatch as the lesser of two evils. Like JRichker said,..by the time the sun has beat on it a little while, and after I give the car the first buff and wax it's probably had in 10 years....it'll catch up.

I'm actually past that anyway,....I potentially could drive this car tomorrow.

91TwighlightGT said:

I was always under impression that the urethane paints do a number on your liver.

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No,.....it's the alcohol that does a number on your liver. Seems like every painter I've ever known is a drunk.

hoopty5.0 said:

For a split second I had to wonder what the black specks were before I realized it was something on my screen instead.

Anywho, looks great! I'm sure in a couple months it'll be fine as mentioned earlier.



I am eyeballing an OW '03 right now, but just can't bring myself to sell my truck... Guess Im stuck with the remnants of the 87 in the garage.

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Thanks,...and you just got rid of a supercharged new edge car........( trust me,...they all look the same)

RacEoHolic330 said:

I really do love that shade of yellow. Or, should I say shades of yellow

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Yeah,........I guess I just didn't have an extra 3 months to have it sit in the paint shop. Or,....should I say paint shops?

OK,....some more of who cares.

The bumper is done. Does it match? hell no. Do I care? Hell no again.

Well,...... you look. Tell me if I'm whacking out over nothing.


The shadow side isn't so bad.



The rear fascia: Done on purpose to hide the mismatch. ( besides,.....now that it's done I really like the yellow/black/yellow /black layer cake effect, even if it matched)



Put it in the sun and it's a different story. The original color has faded to a blase' version of what it was 10 years ago. If this wasn't my future DD,...I might consider tearing it apart to repaint the whole thing,...but that isn't the case,....so it is what it is.

Grand scheme of things,...I got nothing to be ashamed of.

hoopty5.0 said:

The black on the deck lid looks great!

Are you still gonna buff/polish/wax the rest of the car to try and brighten it up a bit?

And whatever the case, you still have a termi for waaaay cheaper than market cost.

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I did that to the rear before I bolted the bumper back on. It's a lost cause. The yellow has faded under the clear coat, there is no way to get to that to brighten it up. The only thing I was able to do was get it clean enough to put wax on it.