I'm Painting the 94 SC2 (again)
 

This looks as good as a place as any to Chronical getting the 22 year old car looking good again. These doggone coupes were good looking when they were new and some one just repainted a 96 a turquoise. And as long as pretty much what is left of the auto industry seems to think everyone wants to purchase a 4 door sedan I am not sure when another coupe will actually be built. So I guess I had better complete this (again). I came back from the paint store 2 days ago with $700.00 worth of paint and painting materials to re-do this and others, but this one in the 1995 Black Gold Paint color it was originally. So here it is in primer. A lot of sanding needs to be done before it gets it's color back and I need to "jam" it first but all it takes is time. And as long as the day time temperature is 115 degrees, it looks like early in the AM is where it gets done so far. I have a car cover to keep on it as I work on it so it will get done in stages, this of course represents 1st and 2nd stage.
The paint used will be single stage acrylic enamel. This time.
This is where I work on projects, early morning is a good time and the house gives me shade until about 10AM at which point the temperature rises exponentially. Specially when it is 115.

Looking good, Unc. Slow and steady wins the race. When you're done with it, can I have it? I promise to love it and cherish it.

An update for the time being,
Starting to process the primer. Keeping in mind the failure mode was the clear coat delaminating from the base coat as a 2 part function of waiting too long to apply it AND the sun destroying the clear coat via heat etc, it did some interesting damage. So the primer is being wet sanded using a 5 inch d/a with 220/240 paper and water and a soft pad on the D/A. This lets the D/A work around curves and up to edges. The "D/A is air operated so no chance of electrocuting yourself. The sander itself is a light unit purchased from HARBOR Freight and the pad on it is about 3/8 inch thick. In about 2 to 3 hours a significant portion of the primer was smoothed down as needed and is capable of being painted over. However as there are a multitude of area's of the body where a 5 inch pad can not get into, that will be handled by block sanding with wet/dry paper and some hand pads hat will allow getting into corners and up to edges. That will be a job for after church today. Depending on how that goes the next step will be to "Jam" the doors so when opened things will look nice. The next steps proposed will be to actually paint the body and then when that is done using rustoleum in black and with a spray can or doing the same thing with a cheap harbor freight air brush, paint out the fender wells to restore the "undercoating" black color in the wheel wells. All things considered I think this is coming along nicely so far. I think the end result will restore the appearance of the car which is the objective

Sorting out tools I have not used in 10 years and getting things orchestrated and repaired so they are useful was the primary objective of today, however about 3 hours after church were spent sanding and things are working out well. I stopped down to Starabucks to get a mocha this morning along with a doughnut and there sitting in front was a brand new 1995 coupe in Turquoise. At least it looked new, I have seen it before but the owner walked out, a young man who said his God Parents gave him the car. It is polished and shiny to a fare the well! He said he likes it and it has about 117,000 miles on it. I had forgotten how bloody sharp the S coups were, yes mine is in the driveway but the paint looked like heck for so long I envied the appearance of the thing. Oh Well, the sanding is on going and things are working well. I am satisfied with today progress. I'm tired and hot so on to tomorrow.

Unc,

Post us some more pix please so that the entire process may be captured all within this thread.

Thanks

Painting prep is continuing, I thought I would have some pictures to show process at this point in time, but have hit a wall on getting things accomplished.
The basic reason for the paint job is that the clear coat/base coat paint I applied a number of years back, delaminated the clear coat after about 3 years. It took me a while to determine the reason for that was that the clear coat should have been applied while the base coat was still wet or something like a maximum of 45 min. after the base coat was applied at 75 degrees.
And I missed that window by a few hours.
That window is there to allow a chemical bonding to take place when the whole shooting match dries and cures.
Oh Well.
I figured it has been eight years since I screwed up, how hard is it to color sand things down to eliminate potential damage areas, prime and repaint.
And it turned out harder than I thought.
The problem has become once the finish is sanded down which exposes the interface between the base and clear coat, the chemistry is still causing a problem. If I leave it sit a couple of days which is normal so to speak, that interface area gets bothered by the weather and ends up with a surface interface problem with the primer.
And I have ot been able to get it coated in time to call it good to go because if I paint primer over that material interface line it shows upin the primer and it will not block sand out.
I have to block sand and prime before the chemistry action takes place.
n some cases it has not been a problem, in others it is.
So I will try to accomplish this some time next week by masking the car and then using green scrubby pad material, tackle the damaged are so it is smooth, blow off the dust and hit it with High Build primer before the chemistry is bothered.
If that does not work, PPG has the primier it recommends using when you do not hit the application window to prime the base coat with before the clear coat is applied. I will purchase some of that and use it to prime the base coat before the high build primer is applied.
That will probably work but as money is getting tight the present material I have with out the need to spend more money and if it worksI am ok.
Pictures do not show that well.
So I don't have any.
But once I solve that problem I will get some more pictures of what is taking place.
I deal with one of the many automotive paint stores here in greater Phoenix which is nice because the latest in technical materials is available.
Masking door openings has always been a problem for me but I have gotten around them. I now have a budget material that looks like making tape on a rope (rather than soap on a roap) that you appliy to the edge of the opening and close the door on it. That action squishes the material so that it blocks the crack between the door and the door jam which keeps paint from entering and messing up the painting done to "Jam" the door opening. It is cost effective for a back yard painter like myself.
I have GREEN masking tape in widths ranging from 2" to 3/16" to make masking work out well. GREEN is the color to get for automotive painting. Blue for the house and yellow or cream or what ever for doing other things.
Those ads you get in the mail announcing something you can not live with out as long as you bring money, printed on light card board are perfetct for holding up around things to keep paint from getting to them.
And a cheap air brush is perfect for doing small items or small surface area's. I buy them from Harbor freght. They are cheap, they leak and the last for a while, but for certain jobs they are perfect and cheap enough to throw away when that job or two are done.
I'm getting used to my Dodge \Caravan, the only real complaint I have with it is that it is hard to see out of when backing. If I could get the head rests to lower that probably would solve it, but when I will worry about that later.
John

Uh-oh, better get Maaco! LMAO Just kidding Unc. I have all the confidence in the world that you'll get it done to your satisfaction, eventually. Hang in there with it.

I'm tired and my back hurts. I think being 74 has a lot to do with it. I just finished doing the repairs on the prime paint job and the feeling is I resolved the problems I was fighting. No pictures, I'll take those when I have something constructive to say! And I am less tired.
I'll get the tools out to block sand the body and "Jam" the doors. Like I said, I feel good about what took place today. But to tell the truth, the failure of the base coat clear coat to dry correctly sure screwed things up.

It's guys in their 70's like you, refusing to give up or stop doing a passionate activity (we all know it would be an insult to refer to this as your hobby) simply because their bodies are putting up a fight, that make guys reaching 50 want to consider even living to 74.

Your body wants to say no but you mentally overcome that on a daily basis to continue doing the things that bring you joy in this world.

Hats off, Unc.
Hats off.

Keep on movin'....straight ahead......(Jimi)

Today has worked out well and shown up the fact I am getting older. Two subjects then, one good the other questionable.
The car is sitting on jack stands, two in front and one in the rear to get it high enough to be able to paint under the rocker panels. (I'm not sure how the pictures will work, may change this mid stream) that also helps the bad back from bending a lot. The damage caused by the failure of the clear coat has been largely successfully removed and then block sanded down with 240 wet dry paper, dry. and then painted over with 2K primer before it had a chance to be affected by the weather. (2,3) The material used was a urethane primer with a 4,1,1 ratio of product reducer and hardener. The car was masked as needed using green masking tape and newspapers. (4) The masking tape consisted of 4 different sized rolls of the 3/8 in, 3/4 inch, 1 and 2 inch. Each has a purpose and having those sizes made it easier to deal with masking(5) in addition an exato knife or two, scissors and a 1/4 in round phenolic rod with ends sanded to a wedge shape all helped to get the masking tape laid down in tight corners when needed. While I do not claim to be a good painter, this is not my first rodeo when it comes to painting cars so I am comfortable at it. I paint out side on a cement slab behind my garage protected from the wind somewhat by the house and the back door of the garage on the west side of the house. Days like today I start at sunrise about 4:30 or so and must accomplish my goals by 10AM which is when the sun goes past the roof of the house and the temperature sky rockets, today to 110 degrees. (6,7) I have a bottom line commercial compressor purchased new some 20 years ago and a gravity feed package of spray guns from harbor freight one of which has the large nozzle for primer the other a small gun for jams and such. I use bits and pieces of mailed hard paper or plastic flyers to shield for over spray while spraying in tight quarters and also have an expensive spray gun for good quality paint work.
I also use a cheap harbor freight air brush for small detail work if needed.
The primer will be color sanded prior to painting per work sheets supplied with the paint and the final coats will be single stage acrylic enamel simply because it will work well with the base of the car in it's present state. When this is done the next car is my wagon.
(8) and with that lets see if they will up loadAttachment 1302

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Hmm, I think I did something right
Well not exactly right but some of the pictures seem to have came out correct and can be deciphered from the text.
If there are any questions I guess they can be addressed too.

This is the first time I have had to try to deal with the pictures on this forum. The format is different. I did not know they could be dealt with via a batch system. There were 6 displayed. But I down loaded 8 so not sure where they went. Nor did I know you could klick on them and the size of the changed and they were then treated as a side show. Kool. I'll do some color sanding but the next step is to jam the doors, trunk and hood opening. That will essentially be prepared by cleaning and then scuffing the existing paint with a green scrubby pad, masking and then squirting the paint out of the small Jam gun which is part of the paint gun set from Harbor freight. And if needed I will also use the inexpensive air brush set. Why? Size! It is small. It leaks so it needs to be held wrapped with a paper towel and eventually it will leak bad enough to be thrown away and another purchased. I am on my 4th one now. They are no good at all but they work for my purposes.

Ruby
I have used MAACO. Their was and maybe still is one a bit North of town off of I17 advertised working on street rods and such. I was working on my Spirit and had to leave town and decided to let them finish painting it. The thing had been prepped and jammed so all that was needed to be masked and shot with finish coat. Their "Best" paint job gave the option of selecting the proper color you wanted and a good grade paint so I decided the car was going to live parked out side and I needed it done in a time frame so I dealt witjh them to have it done and left down.
Big mistake. The masking and bagging was done poorly, over spray was every where and it took me over a year to clean up the mess that I was left with.
But, and there is a but. It cost me at the time about $3500 vs closer to $7000 I would have spent to make it right. And once cleaned up the car looked nice and has won prises at local, regional and national shows with minor daily maintenance issues. But the appearance never "popped" due to the quality of paint used, I eventually got what I paid for so it worked. But it ticked me off how poorly it was masked.

Today the temperature had dropped to below 100 degrees and the wind was light so I prepped the body of the Saturn by sanding with 220 weight sand paper and a couple of choices of soft and/or flexible rubber sanding blocks along with hand and fingers for small tight places. I started using a light weigh D/A compressed air sander with a thick soft pad but there are so many body characteristics that required hand sanding to deal with them with out burning painted areas I ended up using a hand sanding method, dry!. I was able to see surface problems if caused by the damage the clear coat of the previous paint job deteriorated caused and I found that the method I used along with the 2K primer pretty much dealt with that sort of problem.
I had a few areas I had to spot putty and re-prime but I think on the hole everything will come out good. It would have been nice to totally remove major body panels and deal with them individually but it is not something that is dealable at this point in time.
I have too many unfinished projects and too little time to do it that way.
The next nice day (soon) I will mask or bag the doors, trunk and hood and will "jam" the openings and when dry I will then try to get a coat of paint on the body.
Is there any particular pictures any one wants to see?
I actually enjoy painting a car. I would like to think I am good at it, but I do not really think I am, but I do enjoy it.

You need an apprentice to teach all about painting, Unc. That way, some day when you're gone, your legacy of proper prep and paint will live on.

Painting actually is a lot of basic work, taking time to mask off that which you do not want painted is tedious and time consuming. The body has been primed and block sanded fairly well so the next step is actually to start painting and I have done so by painting the roof first as once it is done the rest of the car can be addressed for masking. I painted the roof the other day and I am quite satisfied how it came out. It so refreshing to see body color where it belonged with out seeing it damaged. It will now be easier to mask off the car from the window line up in preparation of doing the rest of the painting.
The car has a moon roof in it that opens, but as time has passed not only have the gaskets gone bad but the plastic material that housed the switches and the switches them selves have failed and there are nor replacement parts for those in this area. The sun destroys plastic pieces and Saturn's are known for being plastic. I will be satisfied to be able to look through the clear roof to see the sky, but opening it I think is a function I will no longer be able to do. I know I can no longer locate the switches and I am not sure I find the gaskets to re-fit everything with and they need replacing.
Once masked I will make a quick pass of the body with a Green Scrubby like material and wipe it down with a clean cloth and some acetone and then go after it with the paint gun.

This morning after spending a lot of time sanding, cleaning and masking I painted the body after many a long day and years after I wish I had done it earlier. At the moment it looks like it came out o.k., Painting or having a car painted can be quite expensive and on an older car it can be worth more to have it done than the car is worth. The nice thing about doing it yourself it keeps you busy and off the streets but the expense is not out of sight. And when done if it is not letter perfect or as the say "Show" caliber it is a driver after all.
Right now after spending the last 25 years of it's life parked out side the car is less then perfect. I would like I think to put new rugs in it, that would be about $300.00 in rugs and I have done it myself so it does not intimidate me but at the moment? It looks like the end result will be quite satisfactory.
It is amazing the damage caused by the clear coat coming off. I could have I think block sanded the trunk better, it had a lot of problems, far more than the hood but all in all, it is nothing to be ashamed of and if I let it set up for a month and go after it with some 2000 grit sand paper wet sanded and then buffed out I have a feeling it will come out quite nice. The paint used is IMCO single stage acrylic enamel in the color it was painted in the first place, 1995 Black gold. I think I m pleased with the final out come.
Later

I down loaded some pictures and they disappeared into LIMBO or something. Here is one showing the end result. Now to clean up the wheels and install them. I have a set of 20 inch that I can install on pretty nice wheels, but I need adapters and some way to incur the wrath of Valerie, so I'll pass. The car is showing its age and has a number of minor glitches at the present, but time to do an oil change and start driving it again.

Congratulations, it sure feels nice to finish a long project. Hopefully you can now enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Nice Job, Unc. You never cease to amaze me with your inner drive to cross the finish line---no matter how much work or time it takes.

You mat not move at the speed of a 30 year old, but you have the work ethic of 4 of them.

How bout some pics, sir? (please)

I have to install the wheels yet
 

and do an oil change, but this is where things are at.
The car was repainted in 2008 and 2 years later the clear coat started strip off when that happened I found that I had not followed the rules correctly on using base coat/clear coat. That took a bit of time to discover. This is single stage acrylic enamel in the original color, a 1995 Black Gold. The clear coat cause a lot of damage when it removed itself and I have it repair fair. But it looks nice. I found a product that can be seen on the doors, that when the door jams are done this foam tube with adhesive is applied to the door opening and the door is closed on it, keeping over spray from screwing up the door opening. It can be used on the trunk and hood too. However I will let things dry for a month or so and the buff it out. Now to clean up the wheels and tires, change the oil. I will use Mobil 1 15W50 and make sure the tune is o.k. and the A/C works. The moon roof I will leave alone for a while. It needs new gaskets and such and I need to find the parts and the switch's are iffy as is the housing. The plastic bits and pieces have deteriorated. I don't need to cause my self more repairs at the moment.
Anyway here are some pictures.

Very nice job, Unc. Congratulations! I have actually reached a point in my life where I don't give a crap how my cars look anymore. As long as I keep them in good mechanical shape and they get me from point A to B and back to A again, I'm good. I just spent 5 hours yesterday changing out a leaking rack and pinion in my PT Cruiser and hope to God I never have to do that again. That was a first for me and hopefully the last. I had to take the subframe loose from one side and off the other, just to get it out!

It's been a hobby Ruby most of my life. In high school I dreamed of making it an avocation and I probably was not all that good at identifying goals and then figuring out how to achieve them. Fast forward to today and I am probably reliving something to satisfy a lost dream.
Anyway
It is obvious today that most vehicles are not made to be repaired. But few ever were. The one that might actually represent that, the Ford Maverick is shadowed with the performance in accidents.
Anyway it is Valeries car and I made a promise to keep it up and in good shape. She is unable to drive the car and has been actually since before the first time I painted it. I've kept my promise and if seeing it helps her recover from the lung transplant it will have been worth it.
I have to get it out in the driveway now and make a point of using it. The head lights have stopped coming up from their rest position and I know I have bits and pieces that may be needed, you sent them to me and they are in my parts stash. I'll look deeper into that problem in a short bit. Thanks for the compliment and the parts.

You're quite welcome, Unc. I don't have access to the Nashville Pull-A-Part anymore, but tooter does as well as another one. If you need some obscure parts, by all means, let me know and I'll see what I can do at the few places I've found here.

Now that the car looks nice again, it gets driven a little more than it did. Sitting around has not helped the various switches and things, specifically the turn signal stalk controlled whatevers. To day on a run to the west side I got the head lights to actually turn on. The stalk is working iffy but I heard a rumor Rock Auto has them, so I think I will go check.
The thing remains, a darn nice little car!

A can of CRC Electrical Contact Cleaner can do wonders for sticky switches, Unc.

The turn signal stalk disappears inside the steering column housing, how do you get the spray pattern down inside for it to do any good? The Saturn being designed in 1992 was an early proponent of all the steering wheel based controls, you ought to see what goes on with my 2016 Dodge I still haven't figured out how to turn on the dang windshield wipers but half the time I want to turn or change lanes something new takes place.

Hmmm, I guess you'd have to take the damn thing apart, Unc. I don't have a Saturn anymore to go look at and have forgotten how they even look.

I have a 1st gen Saturn Chilton Manual (91 to 93). if you can look the part up on Rockauto and confirm 93 and 94 are the same design for the multi function switch, I'll look in there.

Don't know how much removing the lower shroud below the steering wheel will expose........
Pretty sure you have to pull the steering wheel to replace the multi function switch,so likely the same would be true for getting at the guts of the switch-----as in removing the switch from the car and disassembling as necessary.

Aha! Good news! The head lights started working. I was hoping that just driving the car and occasionally rotating the switch would cause what ever oxidation had built up on it would wear back off.
And now for the bad news, I stopped by the Local Chevy Dealer to check on some parts and after fending off the new breed of sales that becomes offensive if you do not show some enthusiasm over riding around in a golf cart looking at inventory I staggered into the parts department only to discover that the parts for the sun roof have been deleted from inventory.
Wasn't there some aftermarket company that dealt with parts for it?
Valerie wanted me to get it working but so far she has accepted that I won't work on it with out being able to get parts. We both liked the feature but it was for ever a problem.

Unc,

I take it you already have the GM part #s for what you need.

Please post with the official GM part name.

Derf;
No, the parts counter rep printed out from their reader two pages apparently or portions there of from a parts manual showing the individual pieces that make up the sun roof and there was a bunch. But there were numbers that represented the parts and the number look up on another page gave part numbers of the pieces. So no GM part numbers.
I would imagine though that if I went back and asked for them I could get them, or at lest some of them so it would not appear to be a back breaking of a project.
I accumulated a micro fishe reader years ago and a set of AMC microfishe thinking I would be able to read others if done on the same format, but never ran across others. I wonder if Saturn fishe are floating around some where.

Try here

SUNROOF for 1994 Saturn SC1