I went through the public library's collection. I still paid someone to do things, but I knew how things were supposed to work, and could catch things before they were committed to welds. The work is nothing more than long long hours and some skills acquired during those hours. I chose to pay someone to do things because, though the Tomato is a big experiment for me, I don't want to experiment *all* over it. Car #2, if there is to be one, will serve that purpose.
The biggest thing I had in my favour is that I have spent a lot of time cleaning in my life, and know the value of prep work, and the skills required are pretty basic. I stripped and cleaned (and cut) metal ahead of welding work, ground welds after, and washed the car down before priming. These are mostly monkey-work jobs that mean the metal you cover is most ready to be covered, and you're not paying someone to do something you can do.
> what you are doing doesnt help when you are painting outside
> a paint booth. Selection of the correct thinner, emmaculate prep,
A booth makes a big difference, especially so in dryer climates. Plus, painting is a fairly intensive muscle-memory skill, especially so for a car with as many curves as an Alpine, so lots of practice on real cars (not just sheets of metal) means many fewer corrections.
--- J e r o m e Y u z y k | jerome(at)supernet.ab.ca - - BRIDGE Scientific Services | www.tgx.com/bridge - - Sunbeam Alpine Series II #9118636 | www.tgx.com/bridge/sunbeam - - I'm going to SUNI III... Are You? | www1.newsource.net/suni3 -