Well after waiting a year and a lot of newsgroup reading.
I bought one 2 weeks ago! I had to go 300mi away to get the one I wanted, none of the dealers had and Awd EX NBP instock.

So as soon as I got back I took it all apart to start on painting the panels wich took me a week to do in my garage. thanks to those on the board for the tips! Here are some pictures of the final product! Enjoy!!!!!
-Alex


http://groups.msn.com/AlexGerst/theelement.msnw?Page=1

Very tasteful - the grill, wheels and painted panels all go together nicely. You should be proud!

Jim

MR. E congrats and wow you have done alot.. looks like a whole 'nother vehicle.. I am gonna post a couple pix of your vehicle here..
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RAANAxkT*2vUoK3Py7xQMdiQwLDY1lEoAENcUvPUyc5f459!J habVdggyih!nA9eNXiLYmH4dMq45Tq2LKxcwumoNDESeSJ*cvO TjfZC6gM/DSC00058.JPG?dc=4675467680840274873
http://groups.msn.com/_Secure/0RAANA3oTOoHUoK3Py7xQMeRL0fNFcj93*hutjvasCfHqJdUV8 Hj7zPdadlGVbcfQG!wCwf9enmERKZ3PcQ9I3DI7ilbcmA6hjz8 GgSTxb0A/DSC00059.jpg?dc=4675467680846213062

[quote:80fb5ff344=" "]Very tasteful - the grill, wheels and painted panels all go
together nicely. You should be proud![/quote:80fb5ff344]

Yeah, very nice.

For some reason it made me remember this thought I had the other day: if EMPIRE ever got a cabana, it would be in a black cloakish material... :)

-brendan

Thank you all for the kind words. I have put in a lot of work in to it and it it nice to share with others that will apprecate all of my hard work.
-Alex :D

[quote:f4643b71fe=" "]Thank you all for the kind words. I have put in a lot of work in to it and it it nice to share with others that will apprecate all of my hard work.
-Alex :D[/quote:f4643b71fe]

Nice job. Tell us more about the details. Did you sand the panels first (no texture) or just prep them (degrease) for prime and paint. What did you use for primer? Finish coat? How many coats? Wet sanding? What equipment did you use? Huh? Huh? Huh?

OK, Here we go...
First off I washed all the panels with soap and water..
Then I dry sanded them with 320 grit to get them semi smooth. Everything
was hand sanded. Next I wet sanded them with 600 grit and then I started with my base coat of primer.

All the paint I used is Sherwin willams Ultra 7000 polyurathne base coat clear coat paint. The primer was Sherwin Wllams 2 part Primer filler.

After the first primer coat was dry I wet sanded with 320 untill smooth. then shoot again with primer at this point the panels are gettin pretty smooth.
Wet sand again with 320 and then a final wet sand with 600.
On some panels I had to prime and sand 3 times, the roof parts only needed 2 times of primer and sanding.

Then I started with the base coat with the flex agent , 2 medium coats. let dry for an hour.
Next I start with the clear coat 2 medium coats then let them sit for 48 hrs.

After 2 days of drying/harding I wet sanded all of the newly painted peices.
Now they look like what I started off with in the first place!
Next comes the buffing...

I have 2, 3M buffing compounds I use with my
buffer. Step 1 is the buffing compound that gets the paint back to a dull gloss. After that I use the finishing glaze with the buffer and that takes out the swirls and reallly shines things up. And for the final step I use a polish called Race glaze with a towel and that really give it a great shine.

Thats about it, If you all have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them for you.
-Alex

[quote:e873d1a1f7=" "]Thats about it, If you all have any other questions I'll be happy to answer them for you.[/quote:e873d1a1f7]

Uhhh...just a mailing address so I can ship you MY panels.

Funny you should say that, I actually thought about offering a service to Element onwers to paint their panels. But I don't know..... Its alota work to do them right..

Without starting a(nother :D ) color discussion, I can't get over how nice that looks! Great job! Perhaps even the ultimate solution for those who bemoan the scratches and scrapes on their unpainted panels...
Well done! 8)

Edison is right. Painting the panels does take away all those scratches that magically appear. LOL I am actually have my SMM painted as we speak with body colors on the panel. My E's panels were actually scratched at the dealership but intead of working it out with the dealership on getting it fixed, I went ahead and painted them since I wanted them painted the moment I got my E. Cannot wait to get it back.

Offering a service for E owners who want to paint their panels would be an excellent idea! :D Great photos!!

[quote:c6a2dd285e=" "]Funny you should say that, I actually thought about offering a service to Element onwers to paint their panels. But I don't know..... Its alota work to do them right..[/quote:c6a2dd285e]

For sure...in addition to the prep and painting, there's the panel removal and replacement process. How easy/difficult is that?

The end result is outstanding, but I also wonder how well it will hold up over time. Would hate to have to keep repainting the panels. Post an update in a year.