In Progress - Tamiya 300ZX convertible

[Eli Arts]

I did some research so check it out maybe it would help:
http://www.homepages.hetnet.nl/~brianpostma/motor.html
and modell but I think nice wired(I was doing my wiring by this picture)
http://www.h3.dion.ne.jp/~mokei/e-gallery-z04.htm

[mickbench]

Well, I've now cleaned up all the parts, and I've just washed the lot in soapy water. Waiting for it all to dry then gray primer for the lot.



Body will be white primer on top of the gray provided all lines etc are gone, as I'm nipping to Halfords tomorrow to get a can of Nissan Cherry Red Pearl..

Should I just get a can of clear from Halfords as well, or shall I use Tamiya TS-13 to clear it, as the pearl will not polish unless I put a clear coat on.

[rsxse240]

I'd suggest sticking with one type of paint so as not to "craze" it if the paints don't react well together.

man, I need to get mine out of the closet and build it!!!!

[mickbench]

Applied the first coat of gray primer to the body. All the time I spent sanding this down has really paid off. I even sanded the clear hood to give the primer something to bite into... The panel lines have really popped out, and flash and mold lines are now gone..!! Wait for it to dry and then apply a coat of white primer as the colour is going to be cherry pearl red.

[mickbench]

I’ve now painted the body, used automotive paints. Nissan Cherry Pearl Red, clear coated with the same brand clear. Had no idea what I was doing. I just sprayed automotive gray plastic primer, then white primer and then applied a mist of red, a heavy mist of red and sanded the orange peal out with 1500. Applied another mist after the body was dry and then after 30 minutes applied a slightly wet coat to give coverage.

I then applied 3 mist of clear 15 mins apart and then a really wet coat of clear after 30 mins. Hope this is right, as it’s done now.

And my hood went wrong. Got some sort of bad reaction with the paint, and a pin hole appeared. Tried to fix it, but the mark always showed through. Now in a DOT 4 bath, and I just hope I can match the colour when I re-paint it..

Some pics, does seem to have a bit of texture to the paint, hopefully when I flat it back, and polish with compound this will go.





Still lots to do yet..

[HellsDRifteR]

nice Z, i prefer the ttop 300's better but still sweet. I like the color choice

[ImolaEK]

Ouch, that sounds horrible man. I dont know about the paint that your using since they don't sell them here, but usually with my Dupli Color Lacquer paints i wait for atleast a week to apply clear coat so it could completely cure. Maybe this is different for that kind of paint and it takes less to cure? Good luck,

[blackf40]

Ooh, i love the colour! Can't wait for the engine.

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by ImolaEK

Ouch, that sounds horrible man. I dont know about the paint that your using since they don't sell them here, but usually with my Dupli Color Lacquer paints i wait for atleast a week to apply clear coat so it could completely cure. Maybe this is different for that kind of paint and it takes less to cure? Good luck,

Yikes..!! I don't know, the paint was totally dry before I applied the clear, as it dried really fast. So I applied light mist of clear. Body is fine, but the hood went funny before I applied the clear. Have I done this wrong?

Looked this morning, and it hasn't gone funny or anything.. In fact looks very good, and I can see my face in it.

[klutz_100]

uh oh - nearly missed this.
Interesting car. Nice paint job. That cherry red sure is "cherry" - should look cool

[Captain Mark]

Looking good so far! Guess I'm too late to put in my bid for a silver Z huh... hehe

If you need the odd reference pic, I own a 1:1 Z (not convertible, and yes it's silver), so give me a yell if you're after some pics/info, happy to help.

Keep the updates coming, I'm enjoying this build!

[g00eY]

very nice color.

[mickbench]

Originally Posted by Captain Mark

Looking good so far! Guess I'm too late to put in my bid for a silver Z huh... hehe

If you need the odd reference pic, I own a 1:1 Z (not convertible, and yes it's silver), so give me a yell if you're after some pics/info, happy to help.

Keep the updates coming, I'm enjoying this build!

You wouldn't by any chance have a photo of you engine bay, also do you know if the fuel tank is black, or body colour? My build guide asks for body colour, but I'm sure that is incorrect.

Many thanks.. I did consider silver, but the cherry red just edged forward, as many colours were on the board.. White, Maroon, Graphite, and cherry red were also all considered..

[Captain Mark]

Well now that I've fixed up most of the exterior and interior of my Z, I'm starting on the engine bay - but at the moment it's pretty shabby and a pic might not do you much good.

So I've found a pic of the engine bay of one of my mates who also owns a 300ZX... check it out...



It's not the best shot, but might give you some ideas. Not sure if I'll be able to get any more pics of this particular engine, as I haven't seen my mate in some time.
If you're looking for some major details let me know and I'll snap off a few closeups of my engine bay. It's not terrible by any means, but it's not up to the standard of the above pic yet.


I'll check out the colour of the fuel tank as soon as works permits me to! Damn late nights... to be honest I've got no idea what colour it is. Hopefully I can figure it out tonight, which may be a problem given how low the car is. Will keep you posted.

Cheers,
M

[Captain Mark]

Mickbench:

Just remembered... on the pic above the throttle cable cover isn't on (normall positioned in the centre of the engine on top of the plenum [shiney thing in the middle] ). The cover on my engine is a sort of gold/brass kind of colour, with red stripe down the centre. I believe most covers are factory coloured this way, and I'd recommend Humbrol "Brass" as being the closest I've found to the colour of my cover.

The fuel tank - well, I jammed my head under the car with a torch, and to be honest couldn't see too much of anything. Now I 'think' the tank is a matt black like virtually everything else under the car (not body colour), but I did see a lighter colour under there as well - could have been silver like my car's exterior. It's just too difficult to see in the dark though, all twisted up under the mufflers. I'll take another look tomorrow in the daylight.

Cheers,
M