Day 19-20

Well, some good news and a minor speed bump that has already been overcome!

First, after my last post and some more drying I came out to the garage to find some pretty bad blistering/pock marks in the paint.  I found it around 11pm and had trouble sleeping.  Especially considering I had to be up at 5am the next day!

I went to bed thinking I screwed up the paint job, chose the wrong paint, and would have to re-blast it.  I emailed the customer support guy at Master Series, he was very helpful.  I also got some great insight on TheSamba about what may have happened.

Here is what I summarized in an email to a few people:

From the Associated Bug Press (ABP) -----  ABP is reporting that due to heavy handedness and light-headed induced stupor, a Bug lover recently painted the bottom of his pan only to find several hours later some blistering had occurred.  After some research, the painter feels like a real doofus.

Contributing factors included the seasonal high temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Farenheit, the fact that because of that heat the overhead fan was on causing a skin to develop on top of the paint, the possibility of some "solvent pop" from the wax and grease remover, and the fact that the paint is highly aromatic made the user feel euphoric and "groovy man".

Solutions include, elbow grease and some sand paper, waking up earlier to avoid the Las Vegas heat, and taking your time especially to enjoy the high.

That's all for now.

Basically, I applied the paint too thick.  Live and learn.  Sanded off the high spots and flipped over the pan to finish the painting of the top this morning.  I woke up at 5am again to make sure I avoided the heat.

Looks great.

The pan is now sealed from rust, which means I can relax.  I left the areas to be welded unpainted and will get them sealed ASAP after the repairs.

Also purchased a Lincoln Electric Handy MIG yesterday.  In a bit of a cash crunch this month, so progress may slow only for the reason that I don't want to get into too much debt too early in the project.  I'll be eating PB&J this month!

Still looking for parts, may have sourced a few but waiting to see about prices.