Hello everyone!
I've been a member on here for around a year now, and a Z owner for a little over two years. Usually I tend to shy away from posting and typically just read and observe what others post. But I figured it was time to post up my car and contribute a little. lol

I bought my car with the knowledge that there were some previous "issues" with the car. But knowing this helped me get an extra $1500 off the cost of the car. The previous owner had several touch ups done over the life of the car. The car itself was a total of three different colors at the time I purchased it.

I've been trying to find the time to paint the car ever since I bought it two years ago. It seemed like there was always an issue of time, money, or some random event that kept it from happening. Finally last month during my spring break I was able to get everything taken care of. I've always loved the new Monterey blue that's available on the 370Z. So that's the color I decided to go with. The following pictures show the basics steps I went through during the painting process, and the final product. So far I've gotten everything from Love it, to hate it... my grandma being one of the "hate it" people. lol

This is what I started out with.


Paint!


Taking odds and ends off to keep everything clean.


Remember kids... keep it wrapped up! lol


I couldn't resist getting a peek at the botched bodywork that was under the paint.


Chip repair!



Figured I should get rid of the wiper while I was at it.




Sanded and ready for some spot primer.


Masked and ready to go!


We use colored sealers and primers around the shop. It allows for better coverage for topcoats.


Time to start cutting in the hatch and doors.



Sealer!



Base!




Clear




Hatch... Sealer, Base, and Clear




Time for the car itself.








Underside of the hood.... Just the finished product. I was running out of time and didn't take progress pictures.


Finished product!




I'm looking at a drop and new wheel in the future. But after putting in roughly 100 hours in 7 days I'm taking a break from working on the car for a while. All of the work was done by myself and the only help I had was my friend who helped me lift everything in and out of the booth. I hope this gives a little insight into the painting process and gives you an idea why paint jobs can run upwards of 5K. I was in a major rush towards the end and didn't take pictures of the bumpers, skirts, or the other small pieces I painted. In total you're probably looking at 1/10 of the work that went into painting the car.

Thanks for taking the time to look at my post... questions and comments welcome!

 

Did you ever think about going for an aftermarket kit with the paint since it's not a stock color it would look really unique. Great work

 

Looks beautiful!!!

GREAT WORK!!

Congrats

 

Props man... I'm helping a friend prep his evo for a near full color change, and its rough. I couldnt imagine doing the entire process alone.

It turned out really good!

 

Great work OP, looks good! Post more pics

 

Looks fuggin good.

 

good work. looks great! definitely get some wheels, lower, and i'd get a kit if i were you!

 

Great color OP!

Nice post

 

Ehh. Not feeling it now. Maybe with different wheels, blacked out lights, drop, and what not it would look better.

 

Not feeling your username

 

That looks great!
It looks much better than it previously did, I'd say the work paid off.

 

awesome!!

 

And let me be one of the people that loves it, needs new wheels though...

 

looks good br0, you gunna add wheels later on?

 

Amazing work

 

Gold rims should look good.

 

Man,you put in alot of hard work.The results show a job well done!
We all have our tastes in what looks "good" on a car.If that was'nt so,all cars
could be one color.The aftermarket guys would go out of business.For me,I'm
not a blue color guy(unless its dark-San Marino blue is fantastic).Also,trendy
colors will get old fast in my book.Again,the Z has such great lines,it needs no help with a "hot" color.
But thats just me.
Your car with that color screams out for a body kit to complete the custom look.
If you go the body kit route,I'd be careful on your plans to lower the car BEFORE you install the kit.Just do some good preplanning to see what the net height will be.
Black accents on your blue car just don't work for me.Especially the wheels.
A hot blue limits your choices on what will go with it.Since you have picked a new
shade of blue,I'd select an accent color for your wheels that looks cutting edge.
Gun metal wheels would look great.A wheel color such as gold would seem to match the blue.However,IMO...it will cheapen the look of your car and old fast.Again,if you go body kit,select a style that
compliments the look of the kit.You spent all that time&money on that paint job,
the OEM black painted rims just don't go with what you have done.

Props on your hard work!

 

Looks good dude.

 

Thanks for all the kind words everyone!

As stated in the original post... Wheels and a drop are on the way! But that's probably a few months down the road. The rims were actually chrome when I purchased the car, but they were starting to peel very badly! So I painted them with a carbon black color that GM uses on the Hummer.

I made sure to mix enough basecoat to paint a kit later on if I decided to do so. I agree with a few others that I need to add something to set it off. I've been thinking about going with a Veilside V1 front lip, nismo sides, and a Veilside V1 rear lip. I do a lot of custom painting and sometimes it's hard to find the time to work on my own car.

Keep the comments coming!

 

nice job. came out great.