APRIL
From here on out, things were honestly smooth sailing; the body is done, and as parts get finished, they're going on and no longer lingering about the shop.
When the overfenders finally went on, I couldn't stop smiling!
This was the home stretch
As you've noticed, my focus changes from different parts of the cars, so I actually got the passenger door jambed, painted, and installed before the overfenders were actually painted.
But each door got a coat of epoxy primer inside and out, body filler, 2 sessions of primer and blocking, and of course paint.
The initial step of black epoxy primer really helped highlight the dents:
When the last session of primer was put on, that's when I jambed the doors. That way, any overspray that lands on the outside will be sanded off before paint.
Thankfully Nissan still sells brand-new door hardware; I picked new strikers, door pins, weatherstrips, and sensor boots.
I'll be replacing the belt molding and door opening weatherstrip later down the line.
All that really remained for me to drive it again was to paint the door handles...
...YEAH RIGHT! I threw my plates on and took it to get some gas!
Of course, I did it while the door handles were flashing off before clear--they got painted that day:
My recommendation to anyone getting their door handles painted:
ABSOLUTELY GET CLEAR BENEATH THE HANDLE!
-
You have no idea how good it feels to open the door when it's silky smooth on the inside
MINIMIZE PAINT BUILD-UP AROUND THE KEY OPENING! (or carefully sand down)
-
When you reinstall the rubber piece, the clearance is so tight it can actually start to push the paint film out
But wait, where's the bumper??
I hate prepping bumpers, so it actually didn't get prepped until almost 2 weeks after I was already driving the car around lol
Overall it was in good condition so it didn't need any crazy prep.
Of course, I needed to add some pop:
Well would you look at that! Another thing no one will be able to see, LOL
Installed the bumper during my lunch break:
Yeah... The car got pretty nasty.
Technically you're not supposed to wash the car with any soap, wax, etc for a month while the paint is still "continuing to cure."
But a distilled water rinse is okay to do:
As of writing this post (7.6.2021), I have not yet cut and polished the paint--we're off the gun:
However, once the front end gets painted, that's when I'll get a cut and polish, and very likely ceramic coat and/or PPF
For now, I am too busy enjoying the car again, but the journey will continue!
