Paint - Undoing BAD Work - 07/23/2014

Some notes from the stripping process:

Since the last update we've decided that we definitely need to pull the rear glass for the work that needs to be done on the hatch. Among the work already scheduled, John talked to me earlier today recommending that he remove the "glue" the previous body shop used to fill my spoiler holes and weld the holes shut. I had noticed that the filled holes could be seen through the paint at the right angle and it was one of the things I mentioned when dropping off the car. Of course, I'm all about getting this done the right way and I know that filling the holes with metal will allow for seamless fill so I told John to go for it.

Today John ordered supplies so he can really get to work. By my count he's using 3 different primers. One is an epoxy primer that dries ultra hard and is more difficult to work with but he says its worth it as it doesn't shrink and helps battle sand scratches coming back after the paint cures. He also ordered high build primer as well as primer with a flex agent added for painting the bumpers. He also got a ton of sandpaper and a lot of masking supplies.

I've fully disclosed the few body issues my car has to John, including my hood drop on an allen key that was sticking out of my FPR, the mysterious Samberg hood gap, and the front of the doors slightly rubbing the back of my fenders when opening the doors. He's taking it in stride and feels like it's all something that can be set right.

John is also going to tint my car while he's got it. I'm going legal because I've had illegal tint in the past and it's just too big of a hassle with annual state inspections. One thing we're discussing is putting UV / Heat film on the front windshield (since it's going to be replaced anyway). Neither one of us have worked with this type of film before but we've both heard great things about it and considering the RX7 interior ages quickly I'll take any extra reduction in heat and UV I can get. Signed up!

We also talked and he's going to be repainting the underside of my hood and hatch to match the new paint. Additionally, he's going to repaint my door jambs. Partly because the paint we're going with is as jet black as we can find and most likely won't match the old paint but also because I suspect the jambs are going to peel just like the hood did simply because I've already had 2 or 3 spots peel already >:(

Finally, in addition to welding the hatch spoiler holes shut, John has a buddy that specializes in aluminum radiator repair and he's agreed to weld up my windshield wiper hole squirters in my hood! These were originally glued up by the painter here in Starkville and we were going to leave them as-is because of the aluminum hood, but it irked John so bad he called around until he got someone who was confident they could do it right