COM Sports Car Club

Hi Paul.Yea,I did take shots of the entire job.They are on the shop computer,so I'll post them tomorrow. That blue Miata in my parking lot (above) IS the finished paint job.(not wet sanded or buffed,though) You don't think Bill would sell me a car that shiny for $1k bucks!

Cool. I thought that was the fresh paint but wasn't 100% sure. - Paul G.

Step one was to repair rot holes in the exterior sheetmetal on both doglegs;

Step two is sand to the base and fill the dings/dents:

Step three is a full primer coat; (looks very sinister in flat black.. )

Step four is base coat/clear coat;

Ta-da!:


All in all,it took around 40hrs of labor time and $300 in materials to bring this Miata back to classy.Well worth it in my book...

Wow, it looks great. Is that the factory color or a navy blue you chose on your own? Interested in a similar winter project (similar but red and with hardtop) in about 8 months?

Fyi, not sure if you know or not, but you can get patch panels now for the lower rocker arms: http://btdtracing.com/gallery/v/Parts/rearquarters/

I did consider those patch panels,but did not really need 75% of the panel,and they are not inexpensive..considering their quality. If the rot had been more extensive,yes,a full patch panel is the way to go.
The color is not original,as it would have added about $300 to the cost of the paint job,and seeing as I was going to paint the entire car,I chose a generic color. Custom mixed paint is about $75/pint. I purchased an entire gallon of base color enamel urethane for the same $75 price.It is the same paint,just not a "factory" color. The color I chose,Sapphire Blue metallic is very close to the Montego blue(code M8).. so the jams look identical. Plus,in the sun,the Sapphire metallic really "pops"! We can discuss your car this year..

paultg wrote:Fyi, not sure if you know or not, but you can get patch panels now for the lower rocker arms: http://btdtracing.com/gallery/v/Parts/rearquarters/

For future reference, those prices are a ripoff.

The same exact panel from the same exact manufacturer can be had for about $70-80 locally.

"Same exact panel from the same exact manufacturer" ..all made from the same cheap Taiwan steel.Good thing they don't make cars! $80 bucks buys me a few nice large sheets of quality north american galvy sheet steel..enough to do many repairs...once..

WillM wrote:The same exact panel from the same exact manufacturer can be had for about $70-80 locally.

Care to elaborate? Inquiring minds want to know....




...like myself