Scott,
<<Your paint job looks good. What did you use and did you use the same on the inside?>>
PPG DBC base and DCU clear.
<<I want to paint mine inside now before final assembly. What did you use to mask off the plexi on the inside? (lots of tape?)>>
Masked with plastic sheet in several sections so the sections could be taped to the inside of the plexiglass and not drape. Plexi above the glareshield was all tape.
<<I'm also trying to figure out how to make the edge between the fiberglass and the plexiglass look finished and professional after painting.>>
I'm not totally happy with mine because I forgot a detail about metallic base. The fiberglass and K-36 edge was sanded to be flush with the surface of a tape line...a few thousanths thick. For the last mask I used 1/4" 3M Fineline and spaced it off the filler edge about 1/32". Sprayed base and clear, then peeled the fineline tape right quick while the clearcoat was still flowable. As expected, it flowed into a beautiful edge. What I forgot was how metallic flakes in a base coat highlight surface irregularities. Although your fingertips feel a perfect edge, if you look real close you can see the filler edge line in the metallic buried under the clear because of the way the flakes lay.....that 1/32" spacing back to haunt me. What I should have done was mask at the filller line, spray the metallic base, let it flash, then retape with the spacing and spray the clear. Oh well, live and learn.
The inside was done the same way (but no visible line in the metallic because of the acute angle at the joint.) Prior to the last coat of K36 I did tape the plexi edge and smear a tiny filet of neat epoxy into the joint between the fiberglass and the plexiglass, so no gap would show up in the finished product. There were a few spots along the glass edge not fully filled with squeeze-out from the plexiglass bonding step.
Have you thought about how to finish the glareshield area? I didn't spray it with metallic base and clear; too glossy. Thinking about flat black.
Postscript 6-6-08: Did some reading on LFV (light reflectance values), diffuse and specular reflection, etc....and went with the flat black. Sprayed it this AM, looks fine. We have a very small glareshield, so I'm not gonna worry too much about heating, and I may make a pad for it later when I do the carpet.
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