UltimateSVT's black on black '97 SLOOOWWW progress thread

[UltimateSVT]

I'm dedicating this thread to the slow restoration process of my black 1997 Lincoln Mark VIII.

Bringing that car back to it's glory days is not too difficult of a task because the car is in great condition but it's not my financial priority therefore the progress will be slow. That being said...

Here's a quick recap of what's been done so far since I bought the car in June 2012:

The day I first layed eyes on the car & I chased down the owner into a gas station. There she was getting into her car.

The night I took her for a test drive

The night I brought her home

The day I swapped the front air struts for a set of Suncore struts & sanded the headlamps from their horrible hazy, sad yellow days.

2 weeks after purchased, thought of the idea of applying a nice gloss to the steering wheel & shift knob very similar to the wood on a CE.

Washed a very dirty engine bay & replaced the rear neon ballast

Painted the rear trim, trunk & bumper (trunk paint was sh!tty)

Painted the front bumper, headlamp trims & grill

Swapped Cobra R's from my '93 to my '97

Replaced the MLPS

So this happened completely out of the blue early this afternoon.

I'm at my mother's house when my stepfather come's in & says; "You have to paint that car. In fact, you are not leaving here today until we have at least painted the trunk!"

Well, the trunk progressed into the roof & the roof progressed onto the hood. My wife had to pick me up because we had to leave the car there.
I'm going back tomorrow to continue working on the car.

Here's a couple pics of my stepdad & his cousin going at it:

 

[SwedishMark]

Your stepfather sounds just as impulsive as my father can be!
That's awesome mate!
How serious are you gonna be on the painting? Because with little efforts you can make it really good. I for a matter of fact painted my Thunderbird in the garage and it's almost flawless (there's 3 pieces of dust in the paint I didn't get out, I'm the only one knowing about them).

You don't even need a garage for it, just paint it where you are. Go and buy some cheap plastic they use at building sites and surround the area with that building a tight box.
Then add some in and outlets in makes of fans with a sheet as filter.

Altough wetsanding the paint and polishing it takes a long time, but it's worth it
And if you're gonna paint the car like that, always do it on a rainy day

 

[ranger024x4]

looks like good progress so far! what did you do to prep and paint the chrome trim? id like to do that on mine

 

[UltimateSVT]

looks like good progress so far! what did you do to prep and paint the chrome trim? id like to do that on mine

I did what I've done in the past. Go to your local auto parts store, purchase good automotive paint to match your car. Make sure it's the EXACT match. Buy painter's tape (blue preferred), primer paint as well & fine sand paper (I use 400-600 grit). You need to be SUPER, SUPER careful when it comes to taping so that you end up covering all areas just like a professional. Take your time so that you don't end up painting something you didn't want painted. Lightly sand the clear coat on the surface so that it becomes porous. Once you have sanded the surface, wipe clean with a clean rag or paper towel w/alcohol or lacquer thinner. Apply the first coat of primer, wait 20 minutes, apply a 2nd coat of primer, wait 30 minutes, lightly sand the surface to even it out, wipe clean with alcohol, apply 3rd coat of primer, wait 20 minutes, apply 3 coats of paint waiting 20 min between each layer, wait a good hour before applying the first coat of clear. I lay on 5-7 coats of clear with 20 minute wait times in between. Once fully dry (usually the next day), I lightly sand the surface to smooth it out then shoot one last coat of clear. That last coat makes it look like a showroom finish. VOILA!

Your stepfather sounds just as impulsive as my father can be!
That's awesome mate!
How serious are you gonna be on the painting? Because with little efforts you can make it really good. I for a matter of fact painted my Thunderbird in the garage and it's almost flawless (there's 3 pieces of dust in the paint I didn't get out, I'm the only one knowing about them).

You don't even need a garage for it, just paint it where you are. Go and buy some cheap plastic they use at building sites and surround the area with that building a tight box.
Then add some in and outlets in makes of fans with a sheet as filter.

Altough wetsanding the paint and polishing it takes a long time, but it's worth it
And if you're gonna paint the car like that, always do it on a rainy day

This is just to show you that we have gotten very serious about painting cars in our back yard in the past. These are just 2 of the 4 cars we've done in the same exact spot. Granted, we've helped with the sanding & preping but the painting has been done by a professional that we know.

 

[DieselDan]

Alex, maybe I'll get you guys to repaint my car... It may need it soon...

 

[NoLimit95]

Alex, seriously?

You took it to have two bolts removed to swap out the MLPS? That's a 10 min job on the ground with a jack, socket and ratchet. Just askin...& sayin...

 

[chris2523]

that car is a baller on cobra r wheels.

 

[SwedishMark]

Wow that's serious paint jobs!
Well then you know what it's all about
I love it when people do those types of paint jobs and get it better than those in paint booths

 

[UltimateSVT]

Alex, seriously?

You took it to have two bolts removed to swap out the MLPS? That's a 10 min job on the ground with a jack, socket and ratchet. Just askin...& sayin...

Dude, I agree but that was done when I was working 13-14 hour shifts with the job I just quit last month. I didn't have the time at all!

 

[Don Pfau]

Looks Good. I was wondering what Cobra-R's would look like on my Black 98 LSC but now I know it looks good. I just happen to have another set of Cobra-R's. Thanks

 

[UltimateSVT]

Looks Good. I was wondering what Cobra-R's would look like on my Black 98 LSC but now I know it looks good. I just happen to have another set of Cobra-R's. Thanks

Cobra R's IMO belong on a Gen 1 rather than a Gen 2 however I was not about to give up a rare wheel. Our bolt pattern is so damn retarded.

In my case this black '97 had silver 10 spokes & I didn't like 'em. I'd love to install some 18' or 19' bullitts. That's my goal.

 

[UltimateSVT]

Yesterday I had to remove all the primer we put on the car, especially the trunk. Had to sand it to bare metal because it didn't set right. At 7pm we sprayed a new coat of primer. Today we're rained out & we're going to be rained out until Monday so the sanding & re-priming is on hold.

 

[LSC HUNTER]

So etching primer was used?

 

[Stangman]

This thread makes me want to repaint my '93 panel by panel. Lol

 

[95MkViii]

This thread makes me want to repaint my '93 panel by panel. Lol

hahaha panel by panel = no good! hahaha just pick a weekend and paint it all

 

[Stangman]

hahaha panel by panel = no good! hahaha just pick a weekend and paint it all

Lol I know.... and especialy since my car is a metallic. Works well for a single color like Alex's.... since its just black. Hard to screw up black.

 

[UltimateSVT]

This thread makes me want to repaint my '93 panel by panel. Lol

Problem is the car's paint is very decent all around. Only main issues were on the trunk, roof & hood. Front bumper isn't good however I don't have the cash to buy a new front bumper right now. That front bumper needs to be replaced.

 

[mossbergman]

Problem is the car's paint is very decent all around. Only main issues were on the trunk, roof & hood. Front bumper isn't good however I don't have the cash to buy a new front bumper right now. That front bumper needs to be replaced.

You should throw a temple bumper on there

 

[UltimateSVT]

You should throw a temple bumper on there

It would be my dream. I just paid off 60% of my debt with half the money from the sale of my '93. I'm hanging on very tight to the rest of the money. Can't spend it.

I do however graciously accept donations!

oooooor I am willing to trade these w/tires included for the terminator bumper:

 

[chris2523]

i like how all the tires match...

 

[NoLimit95]

hahaha panel by panel = no good! hahaha just pick a weekend and paint it all

Panel by panel can be done. I was doing it in my garage with the black 94 I had. I prepped it with a lot of time invested and used Dupli-Color primer acrylic enamel and wet sanded it and had the whole car covered in plastic. I done the top. It was completely peeling off and was extremely ugly but it looked new again and was orange peel free when I was finished with it. I lost my blue Sony memory card that had all my pics on it but I do have some after pics. Just posting one pic because this is Alex's thread.

This is one "after" pic. That roof was splotchy with cancer in a bad way but this is how it turned out when I was finished. Under $30 for all of it.

 

[NoLimit95]

Problem is the car's paint is very decent all around. Only main issues were on the trunk, roof & hood. Front bumper isn't good however I don't have the cash to buy a new front bumper right now. That front bumper needs to be replaced.

What's wrong with the front bumper Alex?

 

[UltimateSVT]

i like how all the tires match...

When my stepfther got the car it had those tires already on. 2 are good, the other 2 have about 30% life left in 'em.

What's wrong with the front bumper Alex?

Here, take a look:

This is what it looked like before I painted the front bumper. It has a layer of what looks like bondo that's peeling off. I haven't taken off the bumper to really inspect it. This car had original paint except for both bumpers.

This is after I painted it. You can't see the damage on the picture but it's visible up close.

This is the bottom that's torn pretty badly. Once again, it's not too visible but it's torn.

Maybe it's me but I'm very picky with my cars when it comes to refurbishing them. I like it done right. So I either mend this crappy bumper or get another one when I can afford it.

 

[NoLimit95]

Now I see what you're talking about. It's not terribly bad but I know what you mean by being picky. Maybe a black one will pop up fairly cheap or any color that you can paint black.

 

[UltimateSVT]

Now I see what you're talking about. It's not terribly bad but I know what you mean by being picky. Maybe a black one will pop up fairly cheap or any color that you can paint black.

or maybe I can shave my ( ! ) so I can go prostitute myself so I can afford to buy the Temple bumper. :shifty: