Ryan's Hennarot 318is (s54, slicktop conversion, MT2)

[HawaiianE30]

Damn good work! I got all the gear to shoot my own car a long time ago but never bit the bullet... any tips to do it now? Gun to use etc.? Also was it just practice that made the second time around better or a specific tip?

[Nick_S]

I always tell myself I don't really care that my dash is cracked till I see one that isn't...looks killer.

[rjmcdermott81]

In preparation for dropping the car off to get a headliner put in I finally dug the pristine dash out of the attic. I picked this up in Houston a couple years ago and I'm happy to see that it didn't get ruined sitting in the attic.

Super nasty old dash:


This thing really makes it start to look nice:

[rjmcdermott81]

Got the front bumper, new fogs, and valance on. Sanded through the clear in a small spot on the top of the bumper so I'll have to re-shoot it but that's for another day... It's not really noticeable.

[rjmcdermott81]

Shined up the lower quarters and the top of the rear bumper so I could get it on. I'm going to prioritize getting the car together and only polish the areas that will be hard to do when assembled. I'm worried if I don't do this...I'll end up rushing and screw something up. Need to get it in a good enough state to take it over for the new headliner.

I'm pretty happy with the modified mt2 bumper to fit the exhaust. Exhaust fills the hole up nicely.

[e30davie]

Dunno how i haven't come across this thread before, what a great project. love the kids getting involved.

Car painting is a hell of a lot of work in a home gamer environment, but it is very rewarding to say "hey i painted that shiny thing over there" when you are done.

[rjmcdermott81]

I meant to link to the video from Ammo NYC that helped me figure out the wet sanding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgCmrGMhvss

Did a little polishing for fun :):

[2mAn]

I put the car on ice for two reasons:
1. I had do the IMS, clutch, and RMS on my 996 to get it ready for sale. Unfortunately I had to do it in the driveway because my e30 has the garage space. .

You have your priorities in order.

[rjmcdermott81]

Alright alright...I've been slow but I'm now picking the pace back up. I put the car on ice for two reasons:
1. I had do the IMS, clutch, and RMS on my 996 to get it ready for sale. Unfortunately I had to do it in the driveway because my e30 has the garage space. Miserable days in the cold rain laying on that ground.


2. I've been a little afraid to progress. After sanding through the color last time and needing to repaint I was afraid of doing it again.

Luckily, I sold my IMS toolkit to a dude who repainted his porsche 924 and he turned me on to a whole new methodology for wetsanding using a DA. Basically, you flat the paint out with 1500 grit and a soft interface pad, then you finish it with 3M trizact 3000 grit on the DA. It seems like it would be more harsh on the paint than hand sanding but it is way easier and you can be much more cautious. I knocked out all the 1500 grit yesterday and finished with 3k today.

Here it is after 1500 grit:


And here it is after 3000 grit. I did some test polishing on the hood and it looks like it's going to work well.




Next I'll prioritize polishing near the body kit and bumpers so I can get them on. My garage is cramped with them sitting on boxes.

[TheRob]

Wow, that turned out great. I hope my hennarot car will look that impressive one day.

[saucers]

hell yes.

[rjmcdermott81]

Once I got the doors on I felt like the rest of the body was one shade darker. I had a feeling this might happen. When I painted the body the first time I only put 3 coats of color, afraid to pile too much material on. Because of that some spots looked slightly darker, and I decided to put 4 coats of color on everything else..

I have a great wife....over Thanksgiving I kept just staring at it in the driveway seeing the color shade difference between the doors and the fenders/quarters. I think I was the only one who could see it but she prodded me to just paint it again... So, I sanded the fenders/cowl/quarters with 400 grit in prep for more color and sanded the roof with 800 grit so I could re-clear it (because it's tied to the quarters I think this is the best way to do it based on my reading).

Lot of work but I've gotten better at painting so everything turned out much nicer than before. 4-5 coats of clear and it's really smooth so it won't require much wet sanding.

All prepped and taped:




Done (hood and doors are wetsanded and just need a buff in this pic):

[rjmcdermott81]

Looking good man!!

So what color you going to paint the garage walls when you're all done? lol

Maybe I'll see if Home Depot will color match the henna paint :)

[kid8]

Looking good man!!

So what color you going to paint the garage walls when you're all done? lol

[rjmcdermott81]

You should have seen me in this tight space trying to avoid bumping into the parts the whole time....not ideal at all.