mopowers, thanks for stopping in! I was naturally concerned about dust and dirt. I did everything that I could possibly think of to mitigate the impact. As you are probably well aware, this project has been in the body work phase for a long time. That means that there has been a lot of dust that has accumulated in all the nooks and crannies over this time.
- I blew the body out several times over a several day period to try to remove most of what was trapped in the body.
- When I masked off the body, I tried to completely seal off the inside. I taped over all the openings from the inside to the outside in the firewall and floor. I sealed off the trunk and top of the engine compartment with masking film. I draped the masking paper to about an inch from the floor.
- When I built the booth, I layered the seams for the poly so as to minimize the places for dust to get trapped and I used tempered hardboard for the lathe stripes because it is a very smooth surface.
- I mopped the floor with a generous amount of water.
- After rolling the car into the booth and closing it in, I blew it off with air again. The exhaust system was running at this time as well.
- I wiped the entire exterior surface with window cleaner and lint free wipes. Then I wiped it down again with wax and grease remover. Then I tacked it just before starting to spray.
- I wore a tyvek bunny suit when I sprayed.
It's not dirt free by any means, but all of the nibs that I have seen so far are all very small. I applied four coats because my intention from the beginning was to wet sand and buff the final product. I don't believe that I will have any trouble getting rid of the trapped dust through the cut and buff process. I won't be doing that now until the Spring, so I guess I will have to wait and see if I'm right!
Jim