The Long Road Back

[—Bryan—]

I hope so. I'm nervous as all get out!

[— kung fu jesus —]

Is the car going straight into storage when completed?

[—Bryan—]

Unless the weather goes unseasonably warm, yep. Why?

[— kung fu jesus —]

Speak with the shop about hardening time of the fresh paint. Tell them you intend to store it and want to protect the soft paint in the interim. If you cover your car while stored, mention that and ask if it may damage the finish. A fitted cover may dig in around the bumper edge.

[—Bryan—]

Speak with the shop about hardening time of the fresh paint. Tell them you intend to store it and want to protect the soft paint in the interim. If you cover your car while stored, mention that and ask if it may damage the finish. A fitted cover may dig in around the bumper edge.

Mine sits in my garage, uncovered.

I've got an appointment on Monday, so I'll stop by the shop on the way home.

[—Bryan—]

Welp, here it is:












Good news: it looks amazing and didn't cost nearly as much as I'd expected it would. I wasn't even sure it was my car. Bad news: dome lights, OBD port, and radio are all dead at the moment. I suspect they shorted out the room fuse (didn't disconnect the battery).

[— kung fu jesus —]

[oldgrayleather]

A-a-a-a-a-a-m-m-m-m-m-a-a-a-a-a-a-z-z-z-z-i-i-i-i-n-n-n-n-g-g-g-g-g! This makes me so very happy for you Bryan, wow. Looks stunning!!

[HarryB]

Car looks fantastic; they did a nice work of blending everything as it seems like it was never painted (at least from the pics). Panel gaps are nice too, and the turnaround time was much shorter than what I would normally expect. Enjoy!

[— Agent☣Orange —]

Bee u tee ful! Look at that solid blue! It's perfect, congratulations.

[—Martin—]

It's The real Tick again! YAY!!!!

[—Bryan—]

I got some "nice" pics of it today. I'll get them uploaded tonight.

Also, here are two quick tips if you're getting paint work done:

1.) Replace every damn piece of weatherstripping on the car while the work is being done. Just plunk down the cash and do it. Don't argue with me. You will live to regret it if you don't.
2.) Make sure the body shop disconnects the battery while they're working if the doors come off. You'll save yourself a heart attack. AMHIK.

[— kung fu jesus —]

Good tip.

Replacing the weatherstrip helps the shop with tape lines and you get a cleaner result if you ever have to, say, replace a windshield.

Less chance of a premature failing finish too.

[—Bryan—]

This has been a long time coming. I honestly never thought I'd get to this point. I had spent so much time and energy in fixes, anxiety, dealing with shop issues, and trying to just enjoy The Tick for what it had become that actually getting the car painted became a whiff of smoke. People would ask and I'd only answer "eventually". I finally realized that I was just putting it off. It would never happen if I didn't just do it. I'm glad I did.


Now...this is, of course, not the end. The Tick is still far from perfect. The suspension creaks, there's a clunk in the steering I can't get rid of, and I'm not entirely sure this is the suspension the car will wear for the rest of its days, among other things. That said, looking at these pictures...this is where I always wanted the car to be. All of the basic I ever intended it to have from the very beginning are there. This car, for all its scrapes, scars, and flaws, is my interpretation of what a factory Roadster should and could be. I love it.

DSC_0012 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0014 (2) by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0016 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0017 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0019 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0020_LI by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0025 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0033 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr
DSC_0040 by Bryan Wyatt, on Flickr

[atlex]

Big approval. :-)