Builds COS80's 1997 LX 450 Build Thread (14 Viewers)

[COS80]

Tonight I sprayed the new primer, which went well.

Now for tonight's one liner in this comedy of f**king errors... the new can of 2k paint exploded out the activator button and emptied itself all over the place.

 

[COS80]

Almost done.

I got everything put back together today, except remounting the roof rack. Windshield reinstallation is scheduled for Monday. We got the rack off with two people, but it's going to take four to get it back on.

Today's fail is buffer burning the new paint on the a-pillar.

Here are my new cushions for the rear wing-thing. I used stainless rivnuts and plenty of sealant. You can also see here the matte/fine texture.

This is the insulation on the roof. Between this, the new, white roof, and full tint (inc. windshield), it'll be interesting to see what difference it makes in interior temps.

 

[COS80]

All done but the windshield. I really like how subtle it is now that the roof rack is hiding most of it. From the sun's perspective, it's all white, but not from a person's.

 

[COS80]

Since we'll apparently never see the sun again, in CO, here are detail photos under better fluorescent lighting (I'll still add some pictures in the sun, someday). Now that it's back together, and the roof rack and windshield are hiding some of the flaws, I must say that love the result! I nailed the matte finish.

I can't say I enjoyed this project. I can't stand fumbling my way through a series of failures like this! It was worth the hassle, though.

I think I might actually go a bit coarser (medium,perhaps) for the rest of the body, as that seems appropriate for where there will be constant sticks and what not dragging along long swaths.

Most of what you can see on the roof in that wide shot, is dirt from mounting the rack (which was a giant pain in the ass). Most of my flaws are now mostly invisible.

Here are notes on the job. Remember, I've never done any of this before, so these are mostly aimed at people who, like me, are contemplating their first Raptor job. Also keep in mind that there was actually another job - fixing windshield rust - that was actually the primary job.

• Prep
  • Clean-sand-clean per instructions. Have at least 2Q of acetone on hand.
  • I treated rust pitting with EvapoRust after sanding and wire brushing. It turns any remaining rust black.
• Primer
  • I used U-Pol acid etch primer on “localized rub-throughs” (size of a quarter or smaller) and their epoxy primer on anything bigger)
  • The 2k epoxy primer has an activator/hardener inside an inner capsule that has to be released with an included button. PRESS HARD until it clicks! The instructions are astonishingly unclear about this.
  • Both primers have a rough finish. I wouldn’t use either again under anything but Raptor.
• DO NOT use a tack cloth over this primer unless you’ve sanded it smooth!
• Spray gun: I used the cheap, purple HVLP gun from Harbor Freight, with the tip drilled to 1.6mm (1/16”; the bottom of the “fine” range).
  • I did not just leave it at 1.4mm, because that would have required additional reducer, and I found a note somewhere on the U-Pol site that said >15% might weaken the finish.
  • Gun settings
    • Gun’s regulator = 29psi (spraying)
    • ~3/4 of the way to full-fan
    • fluid knob set to ~8 threads showing
    • Air knob wide open
  • This gun has a sticky trigger (maybe my fault for drilling it)
  • It “sputters” like a spray can. Maybe I had something adjusted wrong?
• Material: I used a Custom Shop 2 qt. kit off of Amazon. It comes with 3 oz. of appropriate paint/tint per qt., and costs significantly less than Raptor’s tint pouches.
  • Mixing – just follow the instructions.
    • I used 150g of reducer in the first coat (15%); 175 in the 2nd (I wanted to be sure it would stretch – probably wasn’t necessary)
    • No more than 150g of reducer will fit in the bottle, so for the second coat, I had to pour out a third of the mix, then split the reducer between the cup and the bottle
  • For the roof, a quart is the right quantity for one coat – so you need two quarts. It might not be a bad idea to do a 3rd coat – I can still see some thin spots.
• Matte finish: the “drop coat” is the key. You can actually see the shine disappear as you apply it. There’s a video worth watching here.
  • Basically you just spray from 3 ft away and swirl the gun, with reduced air pressure (I dropped to about 23psi) and reduced fluid flow (I turned it in two threads).
  • You’ll need a high ceiling and a tall ladder (ideally, three ladders – I must’ve spent two hours over the duration of this job just moving my ladder!).
  • I ensured that I had half of the second quart reserved for the drop coat. I just kept going around the roof in circles until I ran out.
• General notes
  • This respirator was worth every penny. Almost completely unrestricted breathing and only once did I get a whiff of paint fumes (and that’s surely because I have a beard).
  • If you’re new to this, like me, budget 3X the time you think it’ll take. Now double that.
  • Read a bunch of TDS files from U-Pol. They seem to have slight differences between black, tintable, quart, gallon, spray can, etc. Whoever writes their TDSs ought to be choked.
  • I’m not convinced custom spray paint rattle cans are worth the hassle. I had one explode on me (through the bottom seal), and lost a day of work time. On top of that, I burnt the paint with an orbital buffer. I think I’d have been better off buying a pint and all the materials to spray through the HVLP gun and shelve the leftovers.
  • Never underestimate the raw power of The B.O.S.S.
  • With the windshield out, it’s amazing how much worse the wind blast is with the windows down. Like 10X worse, at least. Leave them up!
  • Here’s some more links I found helpful:
    • RAPTOR Textures - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruA8yxgbync
    • FAQ - Raptortough - https://raptorcoatings.com/about-us/faq/
    • https://raptorcoatings.com/wp-content/uploads/28202-US-Wall-Chart_36in-x-24in_PRINT-1.pdf

I'm happy to entertain any questions anyone may have.