Primer / Sealer

[Bullseye]

master66 I am new to this.. just signed on and found the pictures of your cart. I am about to start build on a cart and want to paint it blue. What color is that on your cart?

[master66]

Welcome bullseye
That color is House of Kolor Cobalt blue candy over a silver base then clear. Basically it is a 3 stage paint.

[aacorp]

New wheels to go with the paint...

[master66]

Niiiiiice!!! Love the new wheels and the color of the ride.

[master66]

Well AACORP it is race weekend coming up and I am pretty **** excited about it. Just thought I would throw you a note and see how the kids are doing this season with the junior dragsters.

[aacorp]

Hey!

Well, with baseball, tournament baseball, swim team, softball, etc. you get the jist... We've only been out with the Jr Dragster 2x this year. But, we decided to hit the Jr Dragster Eastern Conference Finals at Bristol Dragway anyway, just for the fun of the event. A week from departure, Mom and the 2 younger siblings decided to come along, so that necessitated installing a back seat on the cart - what's another late night in the garage! Decided to add arm rests with cup holders as well. It was an overall hit - except I lost my tool box location.... oh well!

The week of racing went as typical, plenty of rain delays and cancellations, challenging weather changes and track conditions, but as the week went on we began to get it figured out. After going out in the early rounds of the buildup races, we shocked ourselves by going all the way to the final round of The Big Race! Amazing, over the course of 2 days, 750 kids simmers down to just 16 Finalists across the 8 age groups. To find ourselves there was a big enough surprise, to look into the other lane and see our friends from our home track was an even bigger surprise - these 2 boys have been racing each other since they were 8 years old. We came up a little short in the Final, but it was a good clean race, and the 2 boys were relaxing after the race, parade lap, interviews, trophy presentations, etc and just talking it over - just what racing is all about. So, a very proud Dad!

Have fun at your race, there's nothing like The Western Swing!!

Some pics:

Day 1, I guess these guys weren't running in Denver...



No boots this year....



Look familiar? Daughter is in the car, son has 'starter duties'. The controversy this year was on a run where Ansen lost, Dad lodged a complaint with the main office re a perceived starter man hiccup - they got a rerun...



Final Round:





Parade Lap and Interview:





Trophy and a big check (he gets the cash, I get to pay the taxes - hmmm....)





Racers / Friends, just after the Finals, shooting the breeze.... the way it should be.

[aacorp]

Oh, I'm pretty sure my 6 year old got the bug.... :D

He wanted this car:



Just chilling out in his big brother's car:

[aacorp]

So, it's been a little over a year and I thought it was time for a Jr Dragster update!

My older son turned 13, so he moved up to the fastest class - 7.90 seconds in the 1/8 mile, equates to about 85 mph! We traded in the 8.90 engine for a new 7.90 engine, and set the clutch up for the different power curve. We also had the shock / flex function of the chassis repaired so we could use the chassis to absorb some launch and prevent tire spin. This meant we had to move the ballast weight around, necessitating a custom weight tank that mounts underneath - which had to be painted, in February!

It was a busy Winter getting this Jr Dragster prepared:

Just replacing 6" of moly tubing created a ton of work!





I Used one of the glass bottles with propellant to shoot the PPG products, worked pretty well - I was surprised.







Painted the custom weight tank as well, tough to keep dirt out of the paint but once its installed - nobody will even notice!



In between baseball, and everything else, we finally get out to big race in May. Benjamin's #1 fan (little bro Danny) is watching from the golf cart as Ben puts it in the Winners Circle! What a shock, but .001 lights go a long way. :)







We were on a roll - Benjamin won something at several tracks this year:











It was a good year!

However, the paint on the golf cart is showing the use/abuse! So, I'll load up some pics in the next day or so to inquire about repairing some issues. :(

[master66]

Wow that does look like you guys had a good year. It is amazing how working on 6" of tubing can create so much work. Then when you get in to it you think "well since I am here I might as well do this or that". This is the time of year I get kind of bummed because racing is almost over. My wife and I are going to the Phoenix national event in February so at least we have something to look forward to. Just let me know about painting questions and have a good one.

[aacorp]

Thanks Master! I have some immediate paint questions, but not about the golf cart - yet.

So this kid got the bug last year, so I got him into a Jr Dragster at the end of the Summer for his licensing passes. He did great, and is definitely hooked!








All was well until several weeks later when Danny's Jr came loose in the trailer on the way home from Englishtown, and busted the nose all up. �� So, I reinforced the underside of the body, and then epoxied the topside, finishing it off with some filler. This is a very thin Fiberglas body, with what appears to be rattle can gray primer on it.

I'd like to paint this body a very bright white with PPG's Shop Line products.

- Do I need to remove all of the gray primer? It's been on there for at least 8 years.
- Do I need to mix the PPG differently due to painting Fiberglas?
- Should I spray thin coats because of the flex in the body?
- I'm assuming I should spray a DP white seal coat?
- Can I just spray the sealer over the sanded down body, or do I need to put high build on it?