Way The Heck Off Topic

Hey Guys:

Just got a call today for something pretty cool. Has absolutely nothing to do with woodworking - unless I leverage the fact that I'll be using my sawhorses on the project. So - apologies up front for those horribly offended by off topic posts.

Just got an order to fix a Chip Foose paint job on a fairly new Mustang today. Well, maybe it should be stated a little bit different than that, but I like the way that sounds, and in the absolute strictest sense of the phrase one could stretch it to be accurate. If one tries. A bit. Now ya gotta remember - I don't paint for a living, it's a side line for me. I paint a lot, but it's still just a side line.

It's not really fixing Foose's work - as if that needs to be done. It's damage repair, but I'm really quite surprised that the paint damage that resulted, ever happened. Still - it's pretty cool to have the opportunity to put my paint down on a car that has been this heavily invested in.

So - with just a little bit of mental effort on my part, I'm suddenly feeling like I'm up with the big boys. Wonder if this will turn into my own TV show...

This sure beats banging the dents out of a 1994 Toyota and blending in color to bring in a couple extra bucks.

Simple minds, simple pleasures I guess. Robert - where are ya? I want you to take something from this... Keep the faith brother - maybe someday you'll get the chance to paint a garage door that was originally mastered by the pro's on This Old House. Or... maybe someday you'll get the chance to do full body painting on Robin Hartl... Good things come to those who happen to be at the right place at the right time.

Ok - this is going too far...

Reply to
Mike Marlow
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And just your luck, I hear HD might have a sale on their 2400 PSI power paint sprayers this weekend!

Joking aside, it sounds like fun! Be sure to take pictures.

-Nathan

Mike Marlow wrote:

Reply to
N Hurst

Can I paint a moustache on her, can I, can I???

. . . . . I know, wrong Robert.

r
Reply to
Robatoy

Dambit!!! I was just down there picking up some nice new rollers for this job (nothing but the best for a Foose paint job), and I didn't see the advertised sale. Oh well, I got the really nice, soft rollers. Ought to be just perfect...

This one is definitely a picture job. Wonder if I should raise my prices after this...

Reply to
Mike Marlow

install some track lighting!

Reply to
bent

With or without a neutral?

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Let's just hope that crowd isn't reading, or at least read the OT subject line.

It sounds like SOMBODY'S skills have taken a quantum leap forward (or you just didn't know how good you were!).

I think that shows how much confidence they have in you.

And yet, a sense of humility. ;^) I LMAO when I read that. Bangin' out dents...

Not really... I do it for free!

Lots has gone on since you advised me so well with the newer spray guns in high pressure and HVLP. I have sprayed a few hundred (maybe a thousand) dollars worth of finishes to finally find a finish and delivery system I like. I have a book full of my formulas that spell out how to mix retarders, thinners, slow thinners, etc., based on humidity, temperature, etc. I bought a turbine powered HVLP system ($1400 well spent), and I use that for just about all my fine finishing now.

And thanks to your encouragement, I spray urethane with wild abandon whenever it is called for by the folks I am working for at the time. I have found that urethane works best out of high pressure, as does my heavy alkyd based enamels. So all the high pressure gear is still around. I still have those HF guns, and still use the snot out of them. The two models I have are great guns, but trying others was a mistake. Like so much at HF, this stuff is good and this stuff isn't.

In the end, I like the aspect of less mess with HVLP, but like to spray high pressure guns more as I like the actual atomization of the material in high pressure as opposed to learning formulas and checking layout times and patterns.

But check this out: I refinished some doors on site for a client. Stripped, sanded, and refinished. He liked the results a lot as I also repaired his jamb while I had the door off. He recommended me to someone, and I did some work for him. Word got back to another contractor friend of mine of what I was doing, and he gave my name to one of our oldest and most prestigious country clubs in the city.

I wound up refinishing their double hung solid mahogany doors to the members entry way. They liked that so much that they had me pull off the main door to the club ("the banquet entrance") and dye it, and then refinish it. It was an ancient old door, 4 feet wide and 7 feet tall. It took 4 of us to handle it as it is 2 1/4" thick!

After stripping and sanding, I spray dyed the door (this is neat stuff, this spray dye) a dark walnut as the door was probably Phillipine mahogany or something like it. Stripped and sanded, it was bright pink. Mixed up dark walnut with a little dark redwood, and dyed the door on site. Six coats of polyurethane conversion lacquer on each side later, and it looks like an old piece of fine furniture. They loved it! Better yet, the members loved it and the manager got a ton of compliments which made him look good, in turn making me look more attractive as a contractor of choice.

So, the next project on my list with them is to refinish their large main conference table. It is a beauty, probably about 40 years or so old, and it is veneered with straight mahogany, and has a 6 inch band of curly maply around the top surrounding the mahogany on the the top surface (as opposed to the edge.) The replacement cost of on the table was about $52,000, so they decided to refinish. And it has to be done in place in the conference room as they built walls around it when they did some light remodeling, and the table is trapped inside the conference room. So... hurray for small tipped HVLP! No problem with it.

So I kinda know what you mean. It is pretty damn cool to be in a more elite group. As a trade carpenter, it is hard for me to believe how much of my work is now finishing and refinishing. It all started years ago when I was tired of my painters and decided to do as much as I could myself with a helper. And here I am now spraying finishes that are advanced enough that my commercial rep isn't even up to date on them.

And country club guys are telling me that they hae a lot more work for me, work they don't want anyone else to touch. I have to confess I have a real advantage here - they have been screwed hard by several contractors that have taken a shot at their work, and that has caused them to quit calling anyone else at this point. They don't like paying for repairs to previous repairs one bit. I really like repairing the doors, repairing the jambs, installing or rebuilding the hardware, then refinishing.

Although, I must say that I am much more impressed with being asked to work on Foose's work (did HE actually paint it?) than I am working out at the country club.

But now Robin would be something else altogether, wouldn't she? I am thinking about painting her like the blue lady in X men... "paint only". Hah!

Well enjoy, sir. And I do hope you take some pics and put 'em up on photobucket or flickr.

Love to see them.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

That's some pretty impressive stuff Robert. It's always good to read the successes of other guys in this group. I'm really glad to see your work taking off.

I don't know if Chip actually did any of the work on this car. I'm guessing not, just owing to what you see on TV. I wouldn't be more impressed by my opportunity though. Your work at the country club is exactly the same thing. It's all a matter of trust in your workmanship that is really the big factor. For me, and I bet for you too, opportunities like this are all about our chance to do our work in these very prestigious, or very guarded environments. For both of us, it was word of mouth that lead to the bigger things we're currently engaged in, and that is a reflection of us at our personal level.

Think a little more creatively Robert. Think about what would be involved in a more detailed work. Remember, sometimes you have to get down close to do that detail work. And of course, there is a great deal to be said for "getting in touch" with your work...

Swingman - I need a little help here. Seems you might be just the guy to jump in here and give Robert a little of the coaching that he needs.

I'll be putting some pictures up somewhere for sure. This is one of those rare opportunities that deserves being documented.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

"If" you are painting the whole car, no big deal. Since you are fixing the paint, ona Foose car, a lot bigger deal. Mixing and matching color, temperature, humidity, spray pressure, NO PRESSURE. ;~)

Reply to
Leon

That's the neat part about this opportunity, in my mind. Both color match and quality match are paramount on this job. Foose turns out paint jobs that are as smooth as glass and I have to match that. The owner has the paint codes from Foose so getting the right color match is fairly easy in the can, and the rest lies in the application. I'm not feeling a lot of pressure, more excitement over being able to do the work.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

None at all, none at all.

Pictures, damnit! We want pictures. Especially if it is one of his custom rods.

After all, if I ever get to body paint Robin, I will gladly post pictures.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

None at all, none at all.

Pictures, damnit! We want pictures. Especially if it is one of his custom rods.

After all, if I ever get to body paint Robin, I will gladly post pictures.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

| After all, if I ever get to body paint Robin, I will gladly post | pictures.

We're all rooting for you!

-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA

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Reply to
Morris Dovey

Well, I'd expect that you'd also remember the guy who invested so much into your painting endeavors here at the wreck, and perhaps even consider that you might need some in-person coaching for a deal like that. I wouldn't touch - just watch... honest...

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Man, that got him so excited, he's stuttering (double-post)

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough +--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Reply to
Mark & Juanita

Well, without touching the "surface" I dunno how useful you would be. Seems to me that fine finishing is as much a tactile experience as visual. *ahem*

Here it comes...

How would you know the surface was properly prepared if you didn't run your hands over the whole thing to check?

Yowsa.

Robert

Reply to
nailshooter41

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