more progress...
Doors bolted back up and aligned.
This used to be an EVO 9 CF roof cap made by NRG but the previous owner thought it wise to ignore half the installation instructions and only used 3m tape to hold it on when it said the 3M tape is supposed to be used in conjunction with silicone... anyways, he learned his lesson, the roof flew off and was damaged beyond repair... one mans trash is another mans treasure... this worked out great for me since i didnt pay anything for this, i cut it up into 4 to use as samples for what comes next.
my CF hood and trunk being wetsanded/blocked/reshaped. damn outdated VIS molds leave a lot of uneven surfaces so we took the time to block it down smooth and at the same time as you see here, he is reshaping that side of the trunk because it used to rub against my tail light... not a fitment issue since the other side was perfect, its a manufacturing issue, the angle wasnt correct. he straightened it out.
before i go on, a quick explanation of the paint used throughout the process...
The body of the car is painted with PPG Envirobase paint (water based) but unfortunately, water based paints dont mix with clear... which is what i wanted done to "ghost" my CF pieces using the actual paint instead of using a (House of Kolor aka $$$ paint) Kandy paint and trying to blend it with non Kandy body. So just for the CF pieces, we switched to Valspar paint which is solvent based and DOES mix with clear. we kind of just guessed the ratio at 8ounces of clear to 1 ounce color and just layered it up multiple times to achieve the desired look. 2 medium coats of clear were sprayed on everything afterwards to mimic the final outcome.
should looks familair. just normal CF:
0 layers of paint, 2 layers of clear
2 layers of color, 2 layers of clear
4 layers of color, 2 layers of clear
6 layers of color, 2 layers of clear (My favorite)
Side by side comparison of all 4 pieces.
i have yet to see these in the sun since they were just sprayed today and it was cloudy/rainy. so once i see them in the sun, i'll make my final choice but im already leaning toward the 6 layer version because IMO it's the closest match to the full painted body and still allows me to see enough of the CF to make it noticeably tinted.