How cool! The biggest shift as far as switching from nitrocellulose to urethane is really just following recoat windows and making sure you have adequate ventilation and PPE. Looking forward to seeing your projects - welcome 😎

Wow! That looks like a fun project! Looks great so far, good luck with everything 😎

You're on the right track! The important part here is to have side lights. Most of the problems come around when you only have overhead lights and thus the sides of the project are shadowed and you can't see well as you work. I'd start with what you have planned, and then adjust as needed. You might find that what you've ordered is perfect!

Welcome! 🙌 And what a great first project to cut your teeth on. Taking on a full color change to silver is no joke, so seriously, respect for diving in and not giving up. First off, you're doing exactly the right thing by working on test panels before you commit to the car. That's how I learned to do it, and it's going to save you so much paint and frustration. You're already on the right path. At first glance, that rough sandpapery base sounds like your reducer might be flashing too fast. When that happens, the metallic flakes basically dry in the air before they hit the panel and they "stand up" instead of laying down flat, so you get that dry, gritty texture instead of a smooth silky finish. Of course, that assumes your substrate is sanded nice and smooth with P400 and sealed with a quality 2k urethane sealer before the base goes down. Slowing your reducer down a grade (or going to a slower temp reducer for your conditions) will let the metallic settle down the way it should. Getting your air pressure and mix dialed in will help too, like you already suspected. Definitely go check out the basecoat module in the course, there are a ton of great tips in there specifically for getting metallics to lay down right. It'll click fast once you see it. Keep posting your test panels, let's get this Caddy looking awesome 🔥

That looks spot on (at least from the photos)! I'd start with painting the front end parts, and then bolt it all together and see if it matches. Face and flop are tricky to get right with silvers like that, especially with a silver that leans more towards the blue side of the spectrum. If it doesn't match perfectly you may need to do a basecoat blend on the doors to make it perfect, but from what I see, it's very close. Great job!

Great question! Most booths aren't built with drains since exhaust systems run under negative or positive pressure, and having that constantly pulling or pushing on a line connected to a sanitary sewer isn't a great idea. (Plus most places won't let you send paint-laden rinse water down a sewer anyway, at least where I'm at) There are basically two schools of thought for downdraft booths: basement or grade designs. Basement means the floor is raised on a truss system. You drive up a ramp to load in, and air flows through a chamber underneath the vehicle. Grade means all the ductwork is under the slab, so no ramp is needed to enter the space. Both have pros and cons. Most notably, a business in my area didn't have proper drainage on their lot, and during heavy rain, groundwater would migrate into the exhaust ductwork under the booth and fill it with water. Needless to say, that setup caused a lot of problems. If you go the grade route, get your site drainage sorted before anything else. I personally haven't seen a water pit or drain integrated into a design. They may exist, but my booth is fully sealed. I just spend the day pressure washing and cleaning up the mess with a shop vac. Time consuming, but it works fairly well. If you want to cut that down, a peelable booth coating and changing exhaust filters early keeps most of the mess from ever reaching the sub-floor.