Honolulu 818S Hana (work/build) Thread

[Aloha818]

Half is primed and some painting, more priming tomorrow, will post pics when base color is cleared, than decisions on rest might be awhile. Gotta build engine right now

Great! Looking forward to seeing. I have to tell you, I would prefer engine building! But the painting must be done too!

[Boog]

Some of the voids seem shockingly large but I have no basis for comparison. Is this pretty normal with commercial fiberglass? If I were to go online to a typical retailer and buy a new front fascia for a civic, WRX, GTI, etc..., should I expect to find similar hidden surprises lurking below the surface?

[carbon fiber]

Some of the voids seem shockingly large but I have no basis for comparison. Is this pretty normal with commercial fiberglass? If I were to go online to a typical retailer and buy a new front fascia for a civic, WRX, GTI, etc..., should I expect to find similar hidden surprises lurking below the surface?

Depends on who makes it for sure. that's a pretty nasty one there.

[Scargo]

... If I were to go online to a typical retailer and buy a new front fascia for a civic, WRX, GTI, etc..., should I expect to find similar hidden surprises lurking below the surface?

Yes, especially the cheaper stuff and knock-offs.

[Aloha818]

Some of the voids seem shockingly large but I have no basis for comparison. Is this pretty normal with commercial fiberglass? If I were to go online to a typical retailer and buy a new front fascia for a civic, WRX, GTI, etc..., should I expect to find similar hidden surprises lurking below the surface?

Depends on who makes it for sure. that's a pretty nasty one there.

Yes, especially the cheaper stuff and knock-offs.

Boog, I'll have to defer to others like carbon and Scargo as I have no prior experience.

As far as the FFR 818 panels go, I guess I have to agree that I am a little disappointed in the panels. I have really been trying to stay optimistic and supportive, but now that I have figured out that I have over 180 hours prepping the body, and that for sure it has to be painted (at least for a decent looking daily driver/street car). I know I am not a pro and probably taking too long, and that I might be pushing for to high of a result, but still.

[Aloha818]

So today I took the last of the body panels to the booth for primer.
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Here is a pic of the side sail that had a void and where I "moved" the body line to push the door inward. Other than a couple pin holes turned out pretty straight.
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Pics after 3 medium wet coats of 2k primer
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Pic of the rear bumper. I'm pretty happy with the look of my license plate mod. Still needs a little work, but I think adds a little character.
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Hopefully I can finish sanding panels this week and start final painting Saturday.

[Aloha818]

Sunday I put in about 4 hours prepping the first half of the panels that I primed. There is probably a faster way than I'm sanding/prepping, especially someone with power tools and experience. But as I don't trust myself with any power sanders it's all sanding blocks for me.

My process, for better or worse, is after 3 coats of primer/filler is to block (dry) with 320 grit with a 12" block as much as possible. Then finish with a smaller flexible block still with 320 (dry) and uncover any issues to repair/re-prime. Then after primer touch-up sand the whole panel with 600 (wet).

Since I already spent so much time with filler and block sanding before primer most of the issues I'm discovering are pinholes in both the primer and gelcoat. The large flat areas of the engine cover are going to need some more coats of primer/filler to get "flat". I've blocked into the gelcoat and filler and still have a low spot. Put in a good 8 hours today.

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But for the most part prepping the body well before primer is saving time now.

Depending on the pinhole I find I mostly use spot putty. Due to the voids in the gelcoat/fiberglass if I think the pinhole is not in filler I poke it with the point if my knife to see if there is any depth to it. Even after all the time I've spent trying to make sure I've found every possible void, I found another one today, that looked like a pinhole. I dug and dug. It ended up being a good inch or so long and up to 1/4" deep. Sorry I didn't find it before primer, but glad before paint!

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[indiana818]

I bought the same seats. I think they look cool in the car
kerry

[Aloha818]

I bought the same seats. I think they look cool in the car
kerry

Kerry, I think they are great seats, I think they will really compliment my black paint scheme. Good lunch with your build!

Back in the paint booth today, front fenders, front bumper, engine cover, and trunk getting final paint and clear today.

[Aloha818]

What a day. I hope I live through the night.

Someone else had the booth this morning and planned to be out by 11:00. So I made use of the time and kept pepping the side sails. Well it took the other guy till 12:30 to vacate the booth, so I kept sanding, and finished.

It took me about 2 hours to get all the parts secured/hung on saw horses, paper dust/overspray protection, cleaning all the panels with DuPont residue cleaner, and a quick run with a tack cloth.

I started spraying at 2:30, 3 coats of color, 2 coats of clear. Finished cleaning up around 6:30. I had started prepping at 7:00 am, no lunch, I'm dead.

I used more color than I needed, but achieved good coverage. I was pushing more toward wet, as apposed to medium wet as called for. Mistake, had to go 4 coats on a couple panels to get even look/sheen.

When I painted the hood last week it went well except the finish is more toward orange peel than flat, not quite to orange peel though.

So I spent some more time searching how to get the clear more "flat". It's fine line before you start to get runs. Basically I widened the fan, increased the paint flow, increased the pressure at the gun to 50psi, and sprayed with the tip of the gun about 6-8" from the panel. I made a couple passes around all the edges and recesses first, then a slow pace across the panels, 75% overlap. Man I was dumping some clear, thought for sure it would run. I started with the front fenders, was still a little hesitant on how much clear I was laying down, but should have gone for more. It seems like I couldn't get it to run.

I used a gallon of clear and a gallon of paint between the hood, engine cover, trunk lid, front fenders, side sails, and front bumper so far. Back to the paint store!

I would say the final finish is better than a production car paint finish, some areas way better, except for some dust. But that will come out with color sanding.

The priming and prep really paid off. 3 coats covered the sand marks (600grit) and reflections look about as straight as the panels are supposed to be. One of my co-workers stopped by, he thought the panels were metal and was shocked when I told him they were Fiberglas.

Here are some pics from the booth. BTW, the color is really cool.

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[BryceJ]

Wow, those are some great looking panels! I always look forward to your posts.

[metalmaker12]

What a day. I hope I live through the night.

Someone else had the booth this morning and planned to be out by 11:00. So I made use of the time and kept pepping the side sails. Well it took the other guy till 12:30 to vacate the booth, so I kept sanding, and finished.

It took me about 2 hours to get all the parts secured/hung on saw horses, paper dust/overspray protection, cleaning all the panels with DuPont residue cleaner, and a quick run with a tack cloth.

I started spraying at 2:30, 3 coats of color, 2 coats of clear. Finished cleaning up around 6:30. I had started prepping at 7:00 am, no lunch, I'm dead.

I used more color than I needed, but achieved good coverage. I was pushing more toward wet, as apposed to medium wet as called for. Mistake, had to go 4 coats on a couple panels to get even look/sheen.

When I painted the hood last week it went well except the finish is more toward orange peel than flat, not quite to orange peel though.

So I spent some more time searching how to get the clear more "flat". It's fine line before you start to get runs. Basically I widened the fan, increased the paint flow, increased the pressure at the gun to 50psi, and sprayed with the tip of the gun about 6-8" from the panel. I made a couple passes around all the edges and recesses first, then a slow pace across the panels, 75% overlap. Man I was dumping some clear, thought for sure it would run. I started with the front fenders, was still a little hesitant on how much clear I was laying down, but should have gone for more. It seems like I couldn't get it to run.

I used a gallon of clear and a gallon of paint between the hood, engine cover, trunk lid, front fenders, side sails, and front bumper so far. Back to the paint store!

I would say the final finish is better than a production car paint finish, some areas way better, except for some dust. But that will come out with color sanding.

The priming and prep really paid off. 3 coats covered the sand marks (600grit) and reflections look about as straight as the panels are supposed to be. One of my co-workers stopped by, he thought the panels were metal and was shocked when I told him they were Fiberglas.

Here are some pics from the booth. BTW, the color is really cool.

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Nice job!!! With the base I hit the edges two- three times misting the rest of the panel and than give it three medium wet coats with flash time and tack between.Yeah clear is all about the first coat really. I tend to put the first coat on wet as possable without running it. I also use a sata jet for clear that has a very wide fan and adondizes the paint perfectly. But why am I telling you,,, your doing it right man. Like the black, remember black is not a color it is a job," a good job you have done. And I have painted hundreds of cars so maybe I know at least a little. I am painting half my parts the week of July 7. Shop/Booth has very been busy with backed up work from the crazy winter crash season. I have the other parts almost all ready, but you know how that goes with these panels.

[Erik W. Treves]

very nice!!!!

[metalmaker12]

All glassed and filled, it should draw in plenty of air with the fans I am installing and the R windscreen image.jpg

[wallace18]

Wow! what a great job!

[Aloha818]

Nice job!!! With the base I hit the edges two- three times misting the rest of the panel and than give it three medium wet coats with flash time and tack between.Yeah clear is all about the first coat really. I tend to put the first coat on wet as possable without running it. I also use a sata jet for clear that has a very wide fan and adondizes the paint perfectly. But why am I telling you,,, your doing it right man. Like the black, remember black is not a color it is a job," a good job you have done. And I have painted hundreds of cars so maybe I know at least a little. I am painting half my parts the week of July 7. Shop/Booth has very been busy with backed up work from the crazy winter crash season. I have the other parts almost all ready, but you know how that goes with these panels.

All glassed and filled, it should draw in plenty of air with the fans I am installing and the R windscreen image.jpg

Thanks for the info and positive comments. I'm using a Sata gun also, need to check which model. The engine cover was the hardest panel to paint for me, inside the humps. In hindsight I should decreased the air pressure, I think too much blowing back, not sure.

It's cool how with the same "kit" everyone can still make it their own. I closed my trunk lid vent, you opened up your engine cover for a vent. Looking good!

[Aloha818]

very nice!!!!

Erik, Thanks!

[Aloha818]

Wow! what a great job!

Thanks Wallace! I think I'm going to love the look of this black on the 818. With the faint gold metallic I think it will really highlight the body lines on the street.

Although, doesn't have the same attention grabbing pop of your orange!

[metalmaker12]

Thanks for the info and positive comments. I'm using a Sata gun also, need to check which model. The engine cover was the hardest panel to paint for me, inside the humps. In hindsight I should decreased the air pressure, I think too much blowing back, not sure.

It's cool how with the same "kit" everyone can still make it their own. I closed my trunk lid vent, you opened up your engine cover for a vent. Looking good!

Sata jet 3000 hvlp with a 1.4/1.5for base and 1.3/1.4clear. When clearing tight spots, lower pressure considerably and pull back on fan width. Hit edges light a few times to build up the finish, but be careful not to dump it in one spot, stay moving. Than set back to normal and quickly clear it all up so it all flows together. It looks good in the pics, so you are doing this or a similar style. I like how we both cut out the front!!

[Aloha818]

Sata jet 3000 hvlp with a 1.4/1.5for base and 1.3/1.4clear. When clearing tight spots, lower pressure considerably and pull back on fan width. Hit edges light a few times to build up the finish, but be careful not to dump it in one spot, stay moving. Than set back to normal and quickly clear it all up so it all flows together. It looks good in the pics, so you are doing this or a similar style. I like how we both cut out the front!!

Good info. By the time I got to the clear my energy was low, I was hungry, and my brain a little slow (did wear a respirator though) so I didn't think about lowering the pressure till this morning. The area is not bad, just not as good as the rest. But nothing a little more sanding won't fix. Good thing I had written out all my pressures and gun settings before I started!

Now I need to glass in some on the doors and backside of my license plate mod on the rear bumper.

[Aloha818]

Had a little time this morning to start putting the panels back on the car. I left the panels in the booth over Sunday and brought them back to my "shop" early today. I will say it goes back together a lot faster after once assembled! One thing I had learned from watching car shows was before you take everything back apart for painting, to drill 1/8" holes in strategic places, then put the bit back through the holes before you tighten up that area. Works like a charm!

I have the side sails on with some of the 1/4-20 bolts and cleco's, but the front fenders, lights, and front bumper are complete. I slid the hood into place but have not attached the front brackets that lock the front between the bumper yet in this pic.

I am very happy with the prep, the paint, and the mods so far. What a different look than where I started. Seeing all the crisp rounded edges and even gaps looks fantastic. As typical, for my experience anyway, I have a few specks of dust and some patches here and there that is a little orangepeelish that will need to be sanded and polished to look good. But I will sand and polish all to look great!

I will say the 818 looks great in Black! So what do you guys think?

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[GhibliCup]

Looks fantastic! You must be really proud of how it is coming together.

[RM1SepEx]

the specs in the paint really POP

[tango68ss]

Damn sexy!! Can't wait to see it out in the light!

[AZPete]

Wow, the black is beautiful! Both of you must be very proud.

[Boog]

Freaking awesome! Those gaps and body lines around where the hood meets the nose turned out shockingly well. How did the trunk fitment end up?

[metalmaker12]

Had a little time this morning to start putting the panels back on the car. I left the panels in the booth over Sunday and brought them back to my "shop" early today. I will say it goes back together a lot faster after once assembled! One thing I had learned from watching car shows was before you take everything back apart for painting, to drill 1/8" holes in strategic places, then put the bit back through the holes before you tighten up that area. Works like a charm!

I have the side sails on with some of the 1/4-20 bolts and cleco's, but the front fenders, lights, and front bumper are complete. I slid the hood into place but have not attached the front brackets that lock the front between the bumper yet in this pic.

I am very happy with the prep, the paint, and the mods so far. What a different look than where I started. Seeing all the crisp rounded edges and even gaps looks fantastic. As typical, for my experience anyway, I have a few specks of dust and some patches here and there that is a little orangepeelish that will need to be sanded and polished to look good. But I will sand and polish all to look great!

I will say the 818 looks great in Black! So what do you guys think?

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Nice!!! Be careful assembling, take care with this beast!! Happy for you man!!

[Aloha818]

Thanks all for the comments! As you can tell I'm (and hula girl ) excited on how it's coming together and looking forward to seeing more 818's get to this stage.

Looks fantastic! You must be really proud of how it is coming together.

the specs in the paint really POP

Damn sexy!! Can't wait to see it out in the light!

Wow, the black is beautiful! Both of you must be very proud.

Freaking awesome! Those gaps and body lines around where the hood meets the nose turned out shockingly well. How did the trunk fitment end up?

I still have the bumper, doors, hoops, and windshield frame to complete and paint, so final assembly on the trunk is held up. But before I pulled the panels off I had the covers gapped with a paint stick to the side sail, about 3/16" gap between the engine cover and trunk, and trunk to rear bumper. Since the trunk lid opens I wanted a little more room. The bumper does curve out about 1/16-1/8" wider in the middle, but when I fab the trunk holding area I will rein in.

Nice!!! Be careful assembling, take care with this beast!! Happy for you man!!

I need to pick up some protective tape when I get ready to work on the doors for sure. It was nice spending the day away from paint prep and see some real movement forward. Now back to glass work.

I'm thinking about removing the plastic trim piece that goes between the two halves of the windshield frame and glassing together/over, any reason why this would not be a good idea? I am getting rid the angle cut at the bottom and setting an even 1/4" gap between the top of the door and the bottom of windshield frame. I believe FFR designed this area to give room for the side mirrors, but I'm using different mirrors.

[ehansen007]

Man, that license plate is so good. Makes it look OEM for sure. you're doing a great job.

[wleehendrick]

I've never owned or wanted a black car because of all the work to make/keep it looking good... but damn that's sexy!

I think you need to change your "OEM" mantra... very few production cars have that level of finish!

[Aloha818]

Man, that license plate is so good. Makes it look OEM for sure. you're doing a great job.

Thanks, I appreciate the compliments! I'm really happy with how the license plate recess looks now in primer, should look even better in real paint.

I've never owned or wanted a black car because of all the work to make/keep it looking good... but damn that's sexy!

I think you need to change your "OEM" mantra... very few production cars have that level of finish!

Thanks and thanks for commenting!

I've had a few dark blue and black cars, have one now also, they are a pain to keep clean and hotter in the summer sun. But cleaned and waxed its a hard color to beat! Since my cars pretty much are always parked in a parking garage it's not quite as bad to keep clean.

And as far as OEM look I'm trying to keep, remember this is a "kit" car, I have to "over succeed" every place I can!

I'm hoping to at least get the bumper ready for paint Saturday. Then I can have most of the body mounted and lights, etc installed. The door mods are going to take a little more time.

[bil1024]

Awesome, great job !

[sponaugle]

Agreed... Fantastic look... and now I know what to look forward to when the time comes to work on my 818 body panels!
Jeff

[WIS89]

Holy cow, that paint really looks terrific! All of the effort you put into panel alignment and gaps really shows with that paint job.

You did a fantastic job with the paint, and I really like the black on the 818; frankly, I am a little surprised at how much a like it! Black is a tough color, but it really looks awesome!

I look forward to seeing the paint out in the light. Really just an awesome job!! I have enjoyed following your build, and really appreciate the updates. Your hard work really shows in the great results you are achieving!

Regards,

Steve

[Aloha818]

Awesome, great job !

Agreed... Fantastic look... and now I know what to look forward to when the time comes to work on my 818 body panels!
Jeff

Holy cow, that paint really looks terrific! All of the effort you put into panel alignment and gaps really shows with that paint job.

You did a fantastic job with the paint, and I really like the black on the 818; frankly, I am a little surprised at how much a like it! Black is a tough color, but it really looks awesome!

I look forward to seeing the paint out in the light. Really just an awesome job!! I have enjoyed following your build, and really appreciate the updates. Your hard work really shows in the great results you are achieving!

Regards,

Steve

Thanks again guys! Hula Girl and I are both smiling.

Knowing I was painting black I knew everything had to be as perfect as within my ability. Others could have done better and faster for sure, but I'm happy non the less. I've been working on such tiny details for so long, when I look back at my pics and of other 818 body details I can't believe how far I've come. Major improvement. Thanks for you guys noticing and commenting.

I stopped by the paint store today to pick up more clear and color, close to $1600 so far in prep, paint, clear, sandpaper, supplies, FYI.

Been busy at work this week, so no progress yet. Tomorrow morning I'll finish prepping the rear bumper and spray out on Saturday. Then I can get the 818 back off the jack stands and into the sun! I myself can't wait to see how it all looks in real sunlight.

I'll also try and get started on the doors. Besides fixing where FFR cut too much off the front of the passenger side, I'm going to be pushing the interior door panels forward about 1 1/2" so that the door mounted strike plate clears. This requires me to fab up fiberglass returns on the back edge do the exterior door panels. This is a more OEM way to finish off this area. Look at any OEM car door and the latching/locking mechanism is always beyond the interior door panel with the exterior side of the door going beyond and covering the mechanism on the outside. To me there is no good way to put a slot in the interior door panel to allow the strike to pass through. I will also be setting this up to receive a soft rubber bumper to take the slop out of the Subaru latching system.

[RM1SepEx]

wow, adding an extended edge to the rear of the doors, so you can have a slot and hidden latch! Can't wait to see it...

just waded through latest rev of the manual, noticed page 420 where they have a shot of the hood pin on the right side coming up through the hood... My hood fits exactly like that, the hood sits up on top of the windshield surround and won't seat itself on the fender lip.

Your's is I'm guessing 1/4 inch farther forward... perhaps this is why your passenger side door is coming up short? It shouldn't be an issue when you send the entire door forward to build your rear lip except now the angled portion of the door is farther forward, won't that cause problems opening the door?

My doors open a different amt on each side... the door stop doesn't come to play with my right hinges, on the left there is only 18 inches of door opening.

[Aloha818]

wow, adding an extended edge to the rear of the doors, so you can have a slot and hidden latch! Can't wait to see it...

just waded through latest rev of the manual, noticed page 420 where they have a shot of the hood pin on the right side coming up through the hood... My hood fits exactly like that, the hood sits up on top of the windshield surround and won't seat itself on the fender lip.

Your's is I'm guessing 1/4 inch farther forward... perhaps this is why your passenger side door is coming up short? It shouldn't be an issue when you send the entire door forward to build your rear lip except now the angled portion of the door is farther forward, won't that cause problems opening the door?

My doors open a different amt on each side... the door stop doesn't come to play with my right hinges, on the left there is only 18 inches of door opening.

Happy 4th!

Sorry I didn't explain my planned door mod very well. I have fitted both doors as per FFR direction and gapped as I like (paint stick gap). My planned mod is with the interior side of the door and door card. I will slide the door cards forward about 2" so that the latching mechanism does not require the FFR detailed slot. I will cut about a 1/2" off of the rear side and make a return to the back end of the door card. For me this cleans up several issues The slot in the door card, delete the plastic trim between the edge of the door and door card and give a place for a door bumper, not hitting the door card.

I made a template of the drivers door panel, which works ok, look at the difference on the passenger side;
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Spent about 7 hours today working on the rear bumper. In primer I saw a couple issues with my license plate mod, a couple lines needed straightening and some pin holes needed filled. Wet sanded to 400 and then a little touch up with primer. In the morning I have the booth so I'll wet sand to 600 and spray the bumper out in color/clear.
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[RM1SepEx]

I did the same paper trick on my doors, they are within 1/32 in of the same...

Latch, striker etc

FFR way: door skin .127 spaced from body, all around (measured several paint sticks, ave = .127)
FFR aluminum plate .040 in This reduces the space to 0.087 not much clearance for the door to close. They cut a slot into the door for the "hoop" of the striker but not for the base plate of the striker that is sitting on top of the body's fiberglass in the door opening.
The Striker's base is .227 in thick, if it is screwed on the surface there is no way that a gap less than about .300 inches can be used. Eliminate the aluminum cover plate and you are now in the .260 range and .033 isn't much for a door swinging through an arc into the opening

Wayne, GRM etc, eliminated the aluminum plate and cut out a rectangular portion of the door to clear the striker's base.

Options:

Increase the gap at the rear of the door, I'm not sure what the practical minimum using the FFR instructions so that it doesn't scrape, leaves a slotted door edge, gap over .300

Delete the Aluminum plate from outside the door skin, close the gap an additional .040, leaves a slotted door edge, gaps sub .300

Use Wayne's solution, leaving the open rectangle, wide enough to clearance the striker. it is easiest to implement, consistent gap possible

Inset the striker into the body, position the bracket and have it just sitting behind the fiberglass, slot at door edge, consistent gaps

so much work to do, slot looks better, I'd like gaps to be "close" to even....

UGH

[Wayne Presley]

My way is the easiest and I have very narrow door gaps.

[RM1SepEx]

I agree, as noted above, I just don't like the way it looks unfinished when the door is open, more than likely it is what I'll do.

My frustration is that the FFR way is impossible yet that method has not changed in their documentation, documentation written after you did your modification. You found it didn't work and came up with a simple solution on the very first customer car. When we get there, we follow the manual, work through the interference and search to find out how other's did it... It keeps happening over and over.

While it does reinforce this online community, it creates a ton of extra time delay and frustration for the other builders. You have done this multiple times and know many of the answers from experience with out kit builds, we are new at this and keep reinventing the wheel. Why doesn't FFR update their documents?