Sorry I don't have any pictures of the spray day for my GTX. It was 2001 and cameras were the last thing on my mind that day. My car was basically done apart for the main body, and then together for the final outer base and clear.
Underneath was already shot with Wurth Body Shutz stone-chip protector, and then "Matt clear coated" to seal the look and make cleaning underneath the car much easier. The areas with the Body Shutz that needed colour were also shot that way - with a Matt Clear coat on top. may sound unconventional, but it suited the purpose, and it was a great end result.
Next, the interior floor pan and inside of trunk area & inners of the front fenders were base and matt clear coated - right up to the back seat area, and under the dash etc.
Once that was all cured, the car went back into the booth for another round of base coats. This time all the door jamb areas, trunk finish panel and engine bay, inside of the doors, front valance panel, trunk lid and hood - all base coated and finished with a Two-pack clear coat. This meant that we had a gun finish with no need for buffing or sanding afterwards. It also allowed for those areas to stay clean for many years after.
Final stage was to hang the doors, trunk lid and hood, valance panel...basically all bolted together as a complete car, and then it was masked up - including back-masking of the finish lines up to the previously done clear coat lines. Then we spent an entire day spraying the base and Dulon clear coats in the booth. A long day, but well worth the effort. next day, the car was removed from the oven, and unmasked. Honestly, you couldn't tell where the Dulon and Two-pack clears met up. The definition was great.
After approximately 5 months, the sanding, cutting & polishing took place on the Dulon clear coat. It already looked great, but after my painter Rodney had worked his magic....the car was unbelievable. You could read a newspaper in the reflections from 5 feet away.
Needless to say, the car was awarded Best Paint at the Muscle car show not long after in 2002, and again in 2005, and again in 2008. I stopped entering the car shows after that to give others a chance.
The first outing for the freshly finished car was in Feb 2002, where it took out 3rd in the Masters Class at the Concours D'Elegance here. A feat never before achieved by anything American or Muscle. Started a trend in following years....
That show I scored one point less than the highest paint score given in the day - and that car was a Brand new Porsche Boxster that had a big branch of a tree fall on it earlier in the judging rounds....so a bullshit call really. The Concours Judges were brutal on my GTX, and were determined to find faults. I basically lost the win by 13 points.....and all of those were 'age' points.
To this day, the paint on that GTX is still like it was done yesterday, thanks to my friend Rodney and his experience and skill.
Photo courtesy NZV8 magazine 2002....
Taken late last year.....
