NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2015
Can’t believe we’re at the year 2015 already. This past year has been a year of growth for The Paint Spot, as has every year that we’ve existed (no thanks to O’Bama).
Our average yearly growth since the beginning has been 33% per year. This year alone showed 21%. That is really good news, especially considering the fact that our overhead literally doubled with the addition of the Buda location…..twice as much inventory (if not more) and twice the “cost of doing business”, and we still grew 21%!
Northstar is number two in sales, but it’s the most profitable and closing in on Matrix.
SIA Abrasives is our number three largest selling line, and considering that’s only sand paper, it’s doing better than ALL the other abrasives we’ve ever carried COMBINED!
CPS Industrial coatings is our number four seller, and although it’s 4th, it’s very profitable.
Legacy XP, Slix Aqua Seal, Slix Candy Liner are all our own products and can only be purchased through The Paint Spot. Collectively they occupy the number five spot in sales.
Here’s for any of you “Dems” that still might be on the newsletter mailing list (not many, I hope) and any of the bozo’s out there that think I’m just some right wing idiot with a big mouth: I started this newsletter in June 2010. That’s literally half way through the year. Our largest percentage of growth from inception to date was 71%…..and it occurred between the years 2010 and 2011! IN YOUR FACE YOU LOSERS!
You can tell me all about your “peace love dove”, “why can’t we all just get along”, “income inequality”, “war on women”, “civil rights violator”, “health care”, “income redistribution”, “capitalists are criminals”, “everyone’s a winner”, “George Bush did it”, “global warming”, “don’t frack me man”, “solar and wind power”, “be a dreamer”, “apologize to the enemy”, “Islam is a religion of peace”, “America owes the world” bullshit you want, and I say (and have the supporting proof), that “Honesty”, “Integrity”, “Saying it like you see it”, a firm “Belief in God”, “Consequences for your actions”, “Respect”, an occasional good old fashioned “Ass whippin”, and being a staunch “Republican Conservative” is the only way to be!
We did all this while absorbing every other price increase, giving back to charity and the local community, demo’ing products free of charge, customer appreciation events, 10% off all merchandise month of May, donating project materials, donating paint and body work time, running all over hell’s half acre to far out customers (sometimes for very little invoice totals), forgiving bad debt, like the “fat bastard” in New Braunfels that can’t seem to pay for what he purchases ( BTW: he’s a prime candidate for the ass whippin comment I made earlier), rebuilding Matrix mixing systems by eliminating counterfeit toners and replacing them with real toners….on our dime, replacing Matrix materials in Buda for materials purchased in California by a jobber that had his head up his ass and refused to do the right thing, and generally doing “Whatever it Takes” despite the cost.
This is exactly what the old saying “don’t be penny wise and pound foolish” means. All too often “bean counters” micro manage things in such a way, that they lose sight of the overall picture. By highlighting just a few examples of things we’ve done here, and how much time and money was spent doing it, you can see how it all worked out in the year end figures.
Ok, we’ve got a list of people who want to go to this show started here at The Paint Spot. Regardless of whether or not you’ve already mentioned that you want to go, call in again so we’re certain. We will handle all the registration from here. All names must be in to us no later than February 6, 2015. In the February newsletter I will announce all those who qualified for a free ticket (those individuals will also be notified prior by phone).
We’re just trying to get a true and final tally of all that will be attending. I will personally be attending the entire event, and since I live in Canyon Lake, I have no need for a hotel. Prices vary down in “the land of plenty” (San Antonio), so if I were you, I’d check “priceline.com” and negotiate your rate.
The Paint Spot had lots of you submit photos of your projects for the calendar this year. Unfortunately, not all made the final cut. This was partially due to the quality of the photos and/or the files. Photos cannot have back ground clutter or colors that conflict with the vehicle. These are issues that need to be remembered for next years contest. All materials used must also be Matrix products.
Nick Haley for the 1937 Ford coupe that was painted by “SLIX”. His vehicle appears on the inside rear cover.
Craig Wood’s 1957 Chevy truck was painted completely by him at his shop in Bulverde Texas. Graphics were done at his shop by none other than Mr. “Pete Bush” of Canyon Lake Texas. Trust me, the pictures didn’t really do that project a lot of justice…..that truck is “TITS”!
Cheyenne Ciotti’s 1963 Chevy C-10 “Short Wide”. Ok, so I’ve received a bit of “flack” over this one. I don’t think it’s a real big secret that Cheyenne is my daughter. It’s also no big secret that “Shawn” is not only my son, but he is also the owner of “SLIX”. Here’s the part that some of you don’t know…..”Rick Ciotti” (me) was the actual painter.
I assure there was nothing “covert” about that truck making it into the September 2015 slot! I left my name out of the registration because I thought it could be frowned upon by the Matrix staff, since there was too many Ciotti’s getting involved, and because The Paint Spot is owned by me.
That Chevy pick up is one that I used to drive many years ago, and specifically when Cheyenne was growing up. I told each of the kids that they could have any car that I had when they got old enough to drive. Shawn picked the 1965 Oldsmobile 442 that I drove when I was pretty young, and Cheyenne picked the Chevy pick up. For Cheyenne, it was almost a toss up between the truck and a 1962 Chevy Impala SS (that’s another one we’ll be putting a complete 2011 Corvette chassis and running gear in this year).
The truck was in bad shape years ago when I bought it, and as time went by, it didn’t get any better. The cab was so rusted out that the roof actually blew off one day on the way to Austin! That’s when we parked it out back. I started working on it when Cheyenne was in 11th grade, and my intentions were to have it ready for her senior year in high school…..it didn’t happen I was so pissed off at myself for not finishing it that it almost drove me nuts. I had a lot of customizing that I wanted to do to it, and that just takes time. I was also hell bent on the truck still maintaining its original appearance, as much as possible. Couple that with the fact that I’m cheap, and was bound and determined to do the whole thing using junk and throw aways as opposed to new and aftermarket parts, and you can see why it took me so long. Fast forward to her first year in college, her brother Shawn pushing me to “get back into it”, my mom getting into the project, and the 2014 “Lonestar Round Up”, and all of the sudden I was off and running! I worked every night for at least 6 hours, and every Saturday and Sunday at least 14 hours a day until it was done! The passenger side door was made out of four other doors, the right bedside was made out of two other long beds, and the skin itself was cut off reworked and welded back on. Shawn welded in a functional cowl induction scoop off a newer GM truck hood that was hit in the front. All body panels that were seamed were welded up, as well as all the original molding holes. The chain style tail gate hooks were eliminated and holes welded up, in favor of an internal latching system. A fuel tank was put under the rear with a fold down license plate bracket from a junk Monte Carlo, and a gas neck from a junk Volvo. The bed floor was made out of red oak, and new stainless steel straps replaced to rusted ones. The straps have “hidden” fasteners that have nuts under the truck, for a smooth appearance inside the bed. The windows are all tempered and tinted glass. The back glass is mounted flush fit like a newer vehicle. This eliminated the need for the big bulky seal (that always dried out and leaked). Since the original cab was so rusted out, I used another one that was in our junk yard. The difference was, the donor cab was not a “Custom Cab”, and had the smaller glass. I cut the inner cab out of the original, welded into the donor, and then made the cut on the outer cab with a 1 1/4″ lip so the glass could mount with urethane adhesive. The chassis was modified pretty extensively. 2″ drop spindles, 4 wheel disc brakes, an adjustable cross member allowed us to set the pinion angle on the modified rear end (a 12 bolt posi with 3:73 gears) and put the traction to the pavement. A built 383 cu. in. stroker small block with two carters on a tunnel ram fit under Shawn’s scoopy hood, and we used a built 400 turbo hydro with a 4500 rpm stall converter……this thing will pass up everything except a gas station! Initially, we disconnected one of the carburetors until we thought Cheyenne could handle it.
Every bit of this truck (inside & out) was coated with Matrix MP-200 primer over raw steel, and the body work done on top. The body work was done with Roberlo Maxilite and then primed with MP3-HS (mixed 4:1:1), guide coated with black lacquer (not that 3M powdered bullshit), and then hand blocked with SIA 150 dry. Since there was no need for high build on the final prime, I used MP-200 again, the wet blocked with SIA 600. Wiped everything down with MXW-9001 then wiped dry thoroughly. I then applied 5 coats of MT-50 “Sparkle Aluminum” (Andromeda silver just doesn’t do it for me) with MX-57 base coat hardener using my trusty Iwata LPH-400 (1.3). I then used UC-11 Candy Apple Red with MH-006 (it was cold enough for MH-005, but I like slower chemistry). I then finished with 2 full coats of MS-42 clear. I broke all the rules by painting the truck totally apart, and in doing so, had zero color variation because I used spray out cards and kept track of the coats.
The roof and tops of doors were done in MT-84 base coat white with MX-57 and FXB-743 “Brilliant Red” mixed in MPB-500, as a mid coat, then cleared with MS-42. This gave the white a red effect to tie in with the candy.
The wood was sanded and top coated with a subdued version of the UC-11 Candy mixed with Matrix AG-40 Clear. I am not a fan of that clear (it is way too thick for me) but I had some that I didn’t want to sell so I used it (every time I do, someone bitches). I then sanded and recleared four times until it stopped soaking into the wood. Actually, it was fish eyeing really bad and I didn’t realize that’s what was happening until it was too late, so if you ever attempt clear coating wood with automotive clear, use fisheye eliminator! I added some House of Kolor F20 Red mini flake (just a little) to give some sparkle on the last two coats, then sanded one more time and cleared with straight AG-40. The whole truck (including the oak floor) was then wet sanded with SIA 800 followed by SIA carat (diamond abrasive) 2000 grit, and buffed with our Legacy XP “Solo” using a 6″ wool pad on a Makita rotary buffer, and followed with a foam 6″ pad, Legacy XP “Mirror Finish” on a “Flex” D.A. Polisher (you don’t have swirl marks to take out if you don’t put them in). The “finishing” was done when the truck passed the “finger nail” test (when you can press a fingernail into the clear coat, and it doesn’t leave an impression).
The color is a throw back from the old days that just seems to be “timeless”. The truck is nothing spectacular, but the paint job is literally a “Show Stopper”! I could have filled Slix up with candy paint jobs for the next ten years over this paint job, but as I responded to every person….”I am not painting anything for anyone, but I will sell you the paint and show all of you how to do what I did”!
No body wants to do what I did because it’s always been too much of a liability. The cost for paint alone on that truck is enough to scare 99% of the painters away, and here’s why: You can be 10 to 15 coats into the job, get a little “gathering” (not even a full blown sag or run) and you have to start all over! That’s exactly what happened to me (and I’ve painted thousands of vehicles).
So here’s what I did: I eliminated the MS-42 as the “carrier” in the candy, and replaced it with MPB-500! I was told that the appearance won’t have the same effect…BULLSHIT! It’s identical! And to prove it, I painted that truck twice…..all except the tailgate and if you didn’t know what to look for, you can’t tell it apart (there’s a slight amount of gathering on the lower left side).
Here’s the up side: I found a company who was willing to make me an MPB-500 like product with “water clear” U.V. inhibitor added! U.V. Testing Is Currently In The Works!! (Matrix declined the need or the manufacturing of such a product)
What this means: No more huge cost and liability to doing a massive candy paint job!
I will keep you all informed of the progress of this new and exciting product, and in the mean time know that The Paint Spot really does…………….
A note about mom; although she was hospitalized the day before the debut of Cheyenne’s truck at The Lonstar Round Up, she did see pictures of it while she was conscious and responded “it’s beautiful, just like my grand daughter”!
Happy new year and I hope its a blessed one. I sure would like to see the truck now that its done.
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