Post by Halcyonate on Oct 23, 2005 6:19:26 GMT -5
-OR-
"Warhawk 12: The Krylon Carfighter"
Well, there's been talks of tutorials and the like here and there, and while I don't consider what I've done to be the best (or even a good) example, but someone told me 'every little bit helps'.
First, and of the utmost importance: I am not a professional, and my car is neither a collectors item nor of any great value. To anyone. I may even have damaged my vehicle in the process of painting it. If you love your car, or have access to professional painting, do it 'right'. Okay?
My journey started in 1999, junior year of high school. I got my first car.
I drove the hell out of it, let the Florida sun have its way with the finish, and overall took care of it like any guy halfway through high school takes care of a vehicle. Anyway, she's been good to me over the years. Somewhere in those years, I saw Red 5 in an issue of Star Wars Insider. Sometime later I followed a link from a friend about "some guy who's way too into Star Wars", which of course lead me to Shawn and the H-Wing. I thought it'd be neat to do something like that, but was far beyond my means.
But when the time came that I finally wanted to make a change and put a fresh coat of paint on my car, estimates around town tended to exceed the value of the automobile. After a week I stopped comparing prices and stopped at the ConglomoMart. About twenty dollars, zero planning, and nine hours later, I couldn't feel my fingers, but I had results.
The initial coat of primer went on right over the existing paint job. Most people with any idea what they're doing avoid that - sanding, cleaning, sealing, and masking first . I hit a lot of seals and rubber bits, which certain paints have a tendancy to dry up and corrode. Also not good. And I only masked off a section at a time, since I had no idea I'd get so far in one sleepless night. This lead to a fine mist of primer on the passenger side and rear window. So, one more time:
Doing the initial coat yourself=not a great idea.
Starting without any prep or planning=bordering on BAD idea.
Going with the overall design of a (Target Exclusive) Green Squadron A-Wing, I picked up some 'satin finish' green the next night. I later found out there were military/camo green spray paints available, which might have looked better than the 'lawn chair' green I used. I was a little dissatisfied, but the experience in masking and spraying for even coverage was useful.
Plastic snap-on spray can triggers made aiming and coverage harder, but eased the pain in my spray-fingers. I solved both problems by spreading the work out over a few days, doing small portions when nobody else's car was in the garage during the day. This is as far as I got before C3, my major motivator at that point.
The blast marks, as seems to be standard are a mix of ultra-flat and semi-gloss black, though I still intend to get another shade of grey involved eventually. The logos are stenciled on with posterboard, and while they don't look very clean up close, it's an imperfection that works for rather than against the overall look.
So, while I was getting good looks and bad looks and double-takes and questions every day, I wasn't satisifed (as if any of us ever will be), and I really grew to hate that green. So, this time, I planned. A little.
And I decided to join the majority of the 'fleet' with a red stripe. I spent almost an hour deliberating before picking 'cherry red' over 'maroon'. This time I got a glossy paint, but the condition of the body is so far gone that the cracks in the clearcoat just sucked up any chance of shiny. Oh well. I was literally spraying while packing for Dragon*Con.
The silver bits around the edges are aluminum applied to every corner and leading edge, masking tape torn basically at random, primer/color and blasts reapplied, and unmasked. Actually a little too shiny, that aluminum paint. When I go back to work on it, I'll get a camera of my own, and maybe get some close-up shots.
So here we are. Still no cannons, and I want aircraft-style warning stickers, but it has been deemed parade-worthy and enjoyed by the masses, after less than thirty dollars.
"Warhawk 12: The Krylon Carfighter"
Well, there's been talks of tutorials and the like here and there, and while I don't consider what I've done to be the best (or even a good) example, but someone told me 'every little bit helps'.
First, and of the utmost importance: I am not a professional, and my car is neither a collectors item nor of any great value. To anyone. I may even have damaged my vehicle in the process of painting it. If you love your car, or have access to professional painting, do it 'right'. Okay?
My journey started in 1999, junior year of high school. I got my first car.
I drove the hell out of it, let the Florida sun have its way with the finish, and overall took care of it like any guy halfway through high school takes care of a vehicle. Anyway, she's been good to me over the years. Somewhere in those years, I saw Red 5 in an issue of Star Wars Insider. Sometime later I followed a link from a friend about "some guy who's way too into Star Wars", which of course lead me to Shawn and the H-Wing. I thought it'd be neat to do something like that, but was far beyond my means.
But when the time came that I finally wanted to make a change and put a fresh coat of paint on my car, estimates around town tended to exceed the value of the automobile. After a week I stopped comparing prices and stopped at the ConglomoMart. About twenty dollars, zero planning, and nine hours later, I couldn't feel my fingers, but I had results.
The initial coat of primer went on right over the existing paint job. Most people with any idea what they're doing avoid that - sanding, cleaning, sealing, and masking first . I hit a lot of seals and rubber bits, which certain paints have a tendancy to dry up and corrode. Also not good. And I only masked off a section at a time, since I had no idea I'd get so far in one sleepless night. This lead to a fine mist of primer on the passenger side and rear window. So, one more time:
Doing the initial coat yourself=not a great idea.
Starting without any prep or planning=bordering on BAD idea.
Going with the overall design of a (Target Exclusive) Green Squadron A-Wing, I picked up some 'satin finish' green the next night. I later found out there were military/camo green spray paints available, which might have looked better than the 'lawn chair' green I used. I was a little dissatisfied, but the experience in masking and spraying for even coverage was useful.
Plastic snap-on spray can triggers made aiming and coverage harder, but eased the pain in my spray-fingers. I solved both problems by spreading the work out over a few days, doing small portions when nobody else's car was in the garage during the day. This is as far as I got before C3, my major motivator at that point.
The blast marks, as seems to be standard are a mix of ultra-flat and semi-gloss black, though I still intend to get another shade of grey involved eventually. The logos are stenciled on with posterboard, and while they don't look very clean up close, it's an imperfection that works for rather than against the overall look.
So, while I was getting good looks and bad looks and double-takes and questions every day, I wasn't satisifed (as if any of us ever will be), and I really grew to hate that green. So, this time, I planned. A little.
And I decided to join the majority of the 'fleet' with a red stripe. I spent almost an hour deliberating before picking 'cherry red' over 'maroon'. This time I got a glossy paint, but the condition of the body is so far gone that the cracks in the clearcoat just sucked up any chance of shiny. Oh well. I was literally spraying while packing for Dragon*Con.
The silver bits around the edges are aluminum applied to every corner and leading edge, masking tape torn basically at random, primer/color and blasts reapplied, and unmasked. Actually a little too shiny, that aluminum paint. When I go back to work on it, I'll get a camera of my own, and maybe get some close-up shots.
So here we are. Still no cannons, and I want aircraft-style warning stickers, but it has been deemed parade-worthy and enjoyed by the masses, after less than thirty dollars.