Integrated Clear Coat

Almost Everything Helps Break World Land Speed Record

It's official, the 1958 Volkswagen Bug that Almost Everything Autobody repaired & painted for the San Francisco Bay Area "Beaver Geezers" has broken the World Land Speed Record for stock Volkswagens with 36 horsepower. The Beaver Geazers smashed the previous 36 HP Challenge Record with a blistering speed of 73.492 mph on the Bonneville Salt Flats on Sept. 18, 2009.


The Beaver Geezers are Dan Durie, Al Leggett & Glenn Patterson. When they brought the car to Almost Everything Autobody, the roof looked like someone had jumped on it repeatedly. The hood, fenders, deck lid & doors were a mess of dents, rust & holes. This was the car they wanted to take to Bonneville?!! Oh, and it was several shades of mint green & gray primer.



The car was silky smooth aerodynamically (at least as far as you can go on a "stone stock" 1958 VW) on race day and screamed for fans to take notice with its specially formulated Beaver Geezer Orange racing livery. The guys even asked to put a Almost Everything decal on the car for the record attempt but they were the first folks to ever ask us for one so we didn't have any!

We love everything about this story. Thanks & congratulations guys. You are our heros and welcome at the shop any time!















Photos of the car--before & after:

 

Links:
http://www.saltflats.com/36_HP.html

http://www.cal-look.com/blogs/36-hp-challenge-land-speed-records-2009/

Using Wikipedia as an auto body & collision repair reference

We use Wikipedia all the time to get specific information about car models & the years they were made. Check it out. There are usually photos of each different version of a particular model. Makes it easier to find alternate parts if the part you need for a particular year is not available.

All of the photos below were taken from Wikipedia's public domain images collection.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Mustang

Three-Stage Paint

Solids, Metallics & Pearls

Single-Stage Paint

What do people mean by single-stage, two-stage & three-stage paint? It's pretty simple. They are different types of auto painting processes. Each "stage" is a step in the process. Think of the stages like the layers of rock in the photo below. Each "stage" is like one of the different color bands in the formation. It is a layer of material:

Single-Stage:  It can also be called one-stage or 1-stage. Only one type of paint is used to paint the car. The color is uniform in the paint.  So in relation to the rock formation, single-stage paint is equivalent to a single color band of rock.

Single-stage paint is the type used on cars before 1987. After 1987 all manufacturers switched to 2-stage paint. Consider that virtually any house paint, or almost any other type of paint, is a single-stage paint. The single-stage paints available for automotive purposes can be very good stuff. The technology is mature and well understood. Single-stage polyurethanes are available that survive very well against sunlight, acid rain, bird droppings and all of the other environmental hazards that your car gets exposed to every day. Single-stage does NOT mean only one coat of paint. Any reputable shop will apply 2-3 coats of paint to your vehicle. Note that there are also some extremely cheap paints out there--any of single-stage, two-stage or three-stage can be painted with poor materials that produce lousy results and don't last long. Single-stage paints are generally less expensive than 2- or 3-stage paints and can be a great choice for vehicles that you only plan to keep for 1-3 years.

There are some things to consider with single-stage paints. We will be posting additional articles that deal with color matching, gloss, texture and "orange peel," wet sanding or color sanding, solids, metallics, pearls. Feel free to drop by our shop if you are near to us and we will be happy to discuss with you.

One note of caution: color match is more difficult with some golds, silvers and champagne colors in single-stage paints and in general, these colors are not as vibrant as with 2-stage paint. We've seen this issue on vehicles painted with any of the top quality paint manufacturers (DuPont, PPG, Sherwin-Williams). That is a big reason why 2- and 3-stage paints were developed.

Color Matching

Almost Everything Auto Body can match virtually any factory color. Auto manufacturers have been marking their vehicles with a "color code" since the 1940's & 1950's. Our paint formula database goes back decades. If you want to change colors and have seen something you like, we can match that too. We can look-up colors by year, make, model & color name. So if you have a 2006 Mustang in "Screaming Yellow" but 2010 Rolls Royce "Darkest Tungsten" is what really moves you, we can match it.

Some caveats--we have formulas for almost any color BUT auto manufacturers are not as consistent as you might think. Every batch of factory paint can be slightly different. So, for example, if you park a "Magnetic Grey" Toyota made on Monday next to a "Magnetic Grey" Toyota made on Wednesday you might notice a slight color difference. Often bumpers and plastic parts on brand new cars do not match perfectly because they were painted in different parts of the factory. Fading and age can also cause the color on one part of car to be different than other parts. Matching paint on a car is not easy.

Some colors require more complex and expensive paint processes. Pearl White Pearl and Candy Apple Red are examples of 3-stage paints. See 3-Stage, Candy or Tri-Coat Paints for a discussion of this technology.

COMPLETE CAR PAINTING: If you want to paint your whole car, color matching becomes less critical. Almost Everything offers non-factory paints that look similar to factory but do not match exactly. These paints ONLY work when painting the entire car. We do not offer non-factory paint for individual panels or spot repairs because the human eye can detect the variations in color, texture, depth, metallics & pearls, luminosity, etc. In fact, even when we repair vehicles with single-stage paints we usually use higher grade paints that allow us to do more fine tuning of colors . Almost Everything recommends 2-stage paint for silver, gold, champagne and bronze colors. Differences in the technology can make these colors appear less vibrant & luminous in single-stage instead of 2-stage. We are happy to show samples of the differences between 1-stage & 2-stage paints so that you can decide which works best for your budget and desired vehicle appearance.

Color Sanding & Buffing

Ugliest Cars of All Time

In no particular order. We are sorry if we offend anyone with this list. We will be the first to admit that it is better to own an ugly car than a boring one. Some of the cars on this list are some of the greatest cars ever made. . . they just didn't look so great. But they are still remembered and, at least in some cases, loved.

Manufacturer, Model, Years

GM (Chevrolet), Monte Carlo, 2000-2005

GM (Pontiac), Aztec, 2000-2005

Ford, Anglia, 1959-1967

Lancia, Ypsilon (worst of entirely ugly line of vehicles), 2003-2009+?

Ford (Edsel), Citation, 1958-1959

AMC, Gremlin, 1970-1978

Fiat, Multipla, 1998-2003

Nissan (Datson), Silvia/200SX, 1975-1979

Suzuki, X90, 1996-1998

Subaru, Baja, 

GM (Chevrolet), Avalanche, 2002-2006

BMW, 6-Series, 2003-2009+?

Reliant, Regal, 1951-1972

Renault, Megane, 

Ferrari, 512 TR Testarossa, 1984-1991

Mercedes Benz, SLR McLaren, 2003-2009+?

Studebaker, Lark, 1959-1966

Ferrari, Enzo, 

Chrysler, , 1947-1948

Chrysler, , 1961

Subaru, B7 Tribeca, 

BMW, 7-Series, 2002-2008

Chrysler (Jeep), Compass, 2007-2009+?

Rolls Royce, Phantom, 2003-2009+?

GM (Chevrolet), Malibu, 2004-2005

Citroen, Ami, 1961-1978

Toyota (Lexus), Soarer/SC430, 2001-2009+?

Nissan, Murano, 2009-?

Nissan, Quest, 

Lancia, Y, 1996-2003

Ssangyong, , 

GM (Chevrolet), Impala, 1959

Ford, Mercury 54,  58,  Monterey,  Montclair,  Park Lane,  Turnpike Cruise, 1958

GM, Buick, 1958

Chrysler, 300F, 1960

Ford, Lincoln Continental, 1958-1960

GM, Oldsmobile, 1958

Chrysler, Dodge, 1958

Rambler, Rebel & Ambassador, 1958

Chrysler, Dodge, 1959

Ford, 1959

Color Change Considerations

Snake Charming - 2000 Dodge Viper - Auto Body Repair & Paint

The mirrors on a 2000 Dodge Viper RT10 look similar to mirrors you'd find on other cars. They're not. An eighteen wheeler threw a hunk of tire tread at this Viper, damaging the carbon fiber on the hood & fender (all one piece actually) and smashing the mirror. For such a low volume car, the $300 cost for a new mirror from Dodge really wasn't that bad. Dodge made up for it with the $260 "Viper RT/10" decals that go on either side of the hood.

Making repairs to the carbon fiber

Cleaning up.

All better.

Car of the Day - 1994 Lotus Esprit S4 - Car Paint

One of my favorite cars in world came in the shop this week for some minor repairs and an overall paint job. IMHO this is the most beautiful version of the Lotus Esprit. It's a 1994 S4, one of the last Esprits with the turbocharged 4 cylinder (it doesn't sound or drive like a 4!) I wish we'd taken some pictures of it while the spoiler was still off. It looked so clean that way. I've been salivating over it all week. Many of the guys in the shop didn't even know what it was. Check-out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Esprit for details on this supercar that would still look modern if produced today--the design dates to the early 1970s!