The Houston 04 SE

[78F350]

I took a long way home from work and stopped at a ford for few pictures. Did I say few? ...I took over 100. It was a 'candid', unplanned stop. After seeing the pictures, I really want to go back and try different angles, lighting, depth, etc.

[78F350]

I finally got around to installing the correct muffler on the car. I've had it for months.



I also repaired the minor crack in the rear bumper cover while I had it off. Tomorrow I plan to repaint it before I put it back on. My painting skill is marginal; I tend to do a lot better at wet-sanding and polishing to correct the finish than I do at getting a proper prep. If I mess it up, I can always take it to a shop after.

[78F350]

The bumper and muffler are back on. I was a little concerned about the new paint not matching the 14 year old original paint, so i chose a line just below the bumperettes to blend the new with old. There's a nice sharp curve there to mask a slight change in tone.


I'm happy with the results. The color doesn't stand out as being any different unless you get close and look for it.


The biggest problem is that I didn't have the patience to properly feather the primer over the repaired area. If you look for it, you can see a slight ridge around the area. Some of that I may be able to correct with fine sanding and polish, but since it is under clear-coat, I expect it will still show on close examination.


In a few days, I'll work on it again to clean it up a little. I can also see a few spots where my clear-coat ends onto the original paint. I had about a 2" overlap of just clear, so I could blend it back. I really need to watch some more YouTube on this stuff... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYB4Yxeq_M8