GMballistic

Yep exactly. Really pleased to see it's being enjoyed & appreciated by someone but just gutted it isn't me anymore, ...like an old girlfriend you still love. Cheers for posting it MrChow. @samu23 ~ if you can point (Jack) the new owners this way then I'm sure they'd be interested in taking a look at my old build thread to see how the Zed got to be as it is today.

I know exactly what you mean, ...some of the antics me & my friends got up to in our first cars you'd never dream of doing with the nicer cars we have today. "Car Sumo" for starters is out!

That's such a coincidence as just last week I learnt of the death of a great uncle of mine from Uganda. Apparently he was a king or something and as such has 589,000,890,054 Ugandan Shillings in a holding account just waiting to be transferred to my current account. I've already sent the lawyers the £5000 negotiation/holding fees funds so I should see the money any day now.

I haven't seen it on here yet so I don't think it's a repost. Awesome machine.

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Great stuff.

Ahh right, I thought for a second maybe you'd been one of those guys with a BMW 318i as his first car. Your old Corsa 16V would have thrashed my Micra though, ..it only had 4 forward gears & maybe 50BHp. Did get "off the clock" in it going down hill with the wind behind me once though (circa 100mph ~ on a "private test track of course") .

Yes but what was your first car? ...also there are so many other variables with insurance that will put the premiums up or down. My first car, a 1988 Nissan Micra GSX MK1 998cc cost around £750 to insure third party back in 1997. I bought the car for £1300 odd so it was a lot of money really back then especially as my wage was only £2.50 per hour (I think it was) in the pub kitchens I worked in at the time.

...or give Emperor Tuning a PM. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/232-emperor-tuning/

I don't think using the same make/brand of primer, base coat & lacquer is necessarily necessary but if you suspect the base coat paint is reacting with your primer then it can't hurt to try the same brand. Although if you're spraying in your shed reactions could be down to temps/humidity or even oils in the air itself from contaminates in the shed maybe. If you can spray the parts in the shed and then bring them into the house over night to dry it maybe more beneficial as it will get cold in the shed over night slowing any primer/paint/lacquer curing. Do not try to move the parts into the house straight after painting though as it will still be wet/soft etc and you will undoubtedly get your part covered with debris (like hair, dust, dirt particles etc). If you can spray them in the morning and then leave them in the shed until early evening before moving that would probably work best. Remember to think ahead though about how you're going to support your part whilst painting and how you're going to pick the part up once it's painted. Personally I like to build up small boxes (usually made from match boxes, cardboard or small cereal boxes etc) which help to lift the part off the ground/table surface firstly and also give me something good to hold onto whilst painting or place the part on to dry when done. You can fix something like that to the underside of the switch panel easily enough then using masking tape or similar and then it'll be easy to hold whilst spraying, carry into the house with & place down onto a table for drying indoors.

I would have thought 24 hours should have been long enough for the lacquer to harden. Was it from a rattle can or did you use a 2 pack mix in a spray gun? I'm guessing though it was from a rattle can as you say you are a beginner. The only thing I can think of with that is that maybe the conditions you left it in to dry weren't right for it to harden correctly. E.g. Too moist/damp conditions, too cold etc. Preparation is the key to getting a good paint finish. If I remember correctly the switch panels have a "soft touch" type paint finish from the factory so you will need to ensure all of that is removed. Rough grade wet & dry paper (120, 320 etc) gradually working your way up to a smoother grade paper (800, 1000 etc) should do it although getting into all the little corners will be tough. Once you've removed all of the old paint finish you will need to wash the switch panels, then dry & then use a panel wipe ideally for best results before spraying (make sure you're wearing some latex/nitrile gloves at this point as you do not want to contaminate your cleaned part) with a plastics primer (I use "Hycote" products but others available as below). Link: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AUTOTEK-AEROSOL-PLASTIC-PRIMER-GREY-500ML-SPRAY-PAINT-BODYWORK-MAINTENANCE-/111507773504?hash=item19f6619840:g:HZcAAOSwPe1ULsCP Once your plastic primer has dried completely & you're happy with the surface finish then you will want to panel wipe the part again before beginning to spray paint it with your base coat. Should also mention that when you're spraying do not try to put too much on at once, the key is to build up the layers slowly to help avoid runs. When I'm spraying using a gravity fed spray gun in work I tend to lay down a "dry coat" firstly followed by a "wet coat" although this technique does take some practice not to over do it. As long as you've got a good even coverage on the part, then just leave it to dry for say 10-15 mins before laying down another layer so that you're building it up slowly. Once you're happy with the paint coverage on your part then leave it to dry for at least 24 hours before covering with your chosen lacquer (clear coat). When applying the clear coat again build it up slowly in layers as if you put it on to thick it will run & need rubbing back. Try to allow each layer of clear to "tack off" slightly before applying the next layer and keep repeating this process until you're happy you've got enough clear coat on your part. Once you're done make sure you leave it to dry properly, if you're unsure if it's dry then just leave it even longer to dry as you've discovered otherwise you will leave finger prints on it. Hope that helps and hopefully I haven't missed anything out. If I have I'm sure someone will spot it & add a comment though.

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Happy Birthday Amy.

Nothing wrong with that as it looks very good imo too. Your Zed will never be identical to that one especially with your built motor so I wouldn't worry about getting inspiration or copying a few bits from others. My own 350Z took some inspiration from Scott_f91's Zed as I loved the way his looked.

Still up now, ...just reported it as well ZEUS.

You weren't wrong. I've had a fair few "Dirt" games before though & Codemasters titles so I thought it would be good. The cars (so far) & vehicle handling is superb imo. Graphics are ace too with loads of attention to detail on each stage/Country. I bought "The Legends" version of the game too so got a "Colin McCrae" DVD included as well as 2 bonus cars for the game (pretty good for an extra £5). There are however a couple of things I already dislike: firstly, most of the scenery is realistic so if you hit a flag pole etc you just knock it down and continue. However I did hit a parked car on one stage at around 80mph ~ unfortunately it was like hitting a solid wall. Obviously my car was damaged (as expected) but the vehicle I hit showed no damage and tbh I'd have liked it to at least move a little when hit. The only other thing I dislike so far is the position that the "stage time splits" pops up on screen as it's right in your line of sight. Can't believe nobody who did the "BETA" version didn't flag this up to the developers as it's very off putting. Overall though a fantastic game that I'd definitely recommend.

Not my cup of tea but if you like them Rob then go for it as it's your Zed. Welcome aboard btw.

Think I've just found my favourite looking modded 370 on the forum. Very nice James.

Cheers both.

I know.

Yes but why does it need to land on the sea? ...or was that just proof of the most difficult scenario in which to land?, ...so landing on terra firma would be a doddle.

^^ Glad it's all sorted though.