DING!!! It's Done!!!!!

So I walk into the shop and am greated by this sight! YEEEEAAAAHHH!!! FREAKIN' YEAH! The paint and repairs are completed. The car is all lined up for towing. And I have this earie feeling in my fingertips... like my hands are screaming to grab onto the wheel and drive! The paintjob is not perfect but better than basic. Maaco or 1 Day wanted about 1500 buck for a basic single stage paint in one color. This is what I got for a little over 1800! The base paint is called gunmetal gray metallic. It is a Saab paint that was available from 1999-2002. It contains black, white, silver metallic, violet, and blue. The stripes are a plain black. The clear was laid over everything so it feels seamless. The paint brand was called Matrix. Never heard of it... but they're giving me 3 years warranty on the paint and lifetime on workmanship. I'm quite happy for a last minute color change with limited time to choose.

Minutes Before Coming Home

So here she is at Vegas Customz while waiting to be placed on the flatbed tow truck. All fixed up, wet sanded, and polished. No cracks about the body gaps! I haven't finished tweeking them yet! Not a bad job for under 2 grand! As I had stated earlier, I had intended to paint it black. I had spent a little time blocking it but not a ton. I asked them to block it but didn't want to pay for extreme perfection... I just can't afford it. So the day I was leaving on a road trip they call me and tell me that they recommended against black. LAST MINUTE! I did a quick swing by the place on my way out of town and chose these colors in 20 minutes! Nerve Wracking!!!! A decision that I'll live with for years made on the spur of the moment... in minutes! I'm glad I went with their professional opinion. They did the best they could for the time and money and were very honest with me about it. They recommended a lighter paint color... a metallic. This is what I chose. I'm quite happy with it. When in doubt... listen to the pro doing the job. The camaro is quite impressive up close. Thanks guys for the good job.

The Blue Tones

I was quite surprised at how much blue and violet come out given some types of light. This is under a combination of daylight and halogen lights. This gunmetal gray changes all over the place. Oh... and this is also a partial view of the paintjob and finishing touches I did to the dash. It looks almost brand new. I couldn't be happier. Three years of slow knuckle busting torture through blazing summers and freezing winters! It's all coming together at the end so very fast! Finally some huge visual progress.

Love The Stripes

The painter didn't use a template. It made me nervous like you wouldn't believe! I gave him a copy of my 67 camaro assembly and installation manual. It had some pics with dimensions. I'm freakin' thrilled beyond belief! They came out great! And they're under the clearcoat making a beautiful seamless finish.

Correct Color in Light

This is a DANG good example of what the car looks like in direct light. It turns silvery.

Wheels Look OK

Well... I had chosen these wheels for 2 reasons... 1) they were cheap. 2) I thought they would look good with a black car. I'm glad they still look ok with the gunmetal gray. I'm still hoping that the rear end sinks a little after some useage... the hotchkis kit left it a bit tall.

Shiny!!!!

As I uploaded this pic my daughter looked over my shoulder and said.... OOOOOHHH... Shiny! She's right! Not bad for an $1800 paint job.

Z-28 Stripes Without Rear Spoiler

So I wasn't sure if I wanted to go the whole Z28 stripe thing without having a rear spoiler. I mean... they kinda go hand and hand. So talk about departing from the "norm". But I gotta say... It doesn't bug me as much as I feared. Actually, I think the car might of looked really plain/boring in gray without them. Oh... and there's no friggin' WAY I'm gonna drill holes into a stock trunk lid to add one. No... way...

Sandy Brown Tone?

So... the color has silvers, blacks, whites, even blues and violets. So where the heck does the sandy brown highlights come from?

What an Angle!

I'm not really sure what it is about this angle but I love it! This is a good example of what the color actually looks like in shade. At night it looks like charcoal (darn right near black)

NOOOOOOOO!!! WHY GOD?!!! WHY?!!!!!

These pics were taken on Friday with the cell. These are sneak peeks for what was supposed to be today's delivery of the car. Unfortunately they scraped up the lower front valence panel while getting it up on the truck. So back it went into the shop for repainting. Guess I wont be seeing it for another few days! Patience... give me patience!