Good Morning Thread

[chevynut]

Busterwivel, thank you for contributing to the state if Kalifornia and helping them continue to stay one step ahead of bankruptcy. Gas costs the same everywhere....the difference is in taxes and they want you to help pay for their ridiculous social programs. I'm sure the illegals and homeless druggies are grateful for your contribution.

I still haven't finished our taxes and decided to take a break from them for a day or two. I'm probably going to work on them a little this morning and this may be the first time we've finished them before the deadline. .

It's already 40 today and we have a "Fire Weather Warning" as it warms up. We've had an extremely dry winter and things are starting to green up here. I even ordered a new John Deere lawn tractor with a bagger this past weekend after using the same old Montgomery Wards riding mower I bought used almost 30 years ago.

Yesterday I blocked out my passenger fender again and I'm still not happy with it. I blocked lightly and tried to let the sandpaper do the work and the low spot I had is pretty much gone. However, after blocking I can look down the fender at a low angle towards a light and I can still see some waviness in it. I don't know what to do about it but it's not where I want it to be. I'm going to re-shoot that area with K36 and use some new 320 sandpaper and see if I can get it straighter. I might try using a solid sanding block I have instead of the semi-rigid K-blocks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I flipped the fenders over and didn't like the looks of the fender lips so I sanded them and did some filling with Dolphin Glaze. Both fenders had some factory marks there in about the same areas. Today I'll sand them and shoot what little K36 I have left on them.

I texted my painter yesterday and asked him to call me when he had time. He replied via text that he'd call but I haven't heard from him yet. I need to have him tell me how much more paint material I need so I can get it ordered.

[chevynut]

We are meeting with our investment advisor today to probably make some changes since I am now retired.

Beware that what these guys do is put you in "safe" investments since you're retired. They make the same amount of money regardless of what you make, so they put you in bond funds (a huge mistake in a rising interest rate environment) and dividend funds. The market has been soaring the past few years and "safe" investments have missed out on the gains. The reason they do this is because they lose nothing, and they don't have to listen to their clients complain when they lose money. I always managed my own funds, but when I retired I let a guy manage a big chunk of my retirement. In 4 years he made less than half of the market gains for me while the part I managed did much better. So now I manage all of my own funds and do my own investing. By being "safe" he lost several "six figures" in potential gains I missed out on. But he made tens of thousands off of me for "managing" my money.

[NickP]

Beware that what these guys do is put you in "safe" investments since you're retired. They make the same amount of money regardless of what you make, so they put you in bond funds (a huge mistake in a rising interest rate environment) and dividend funds. The market has been soaring the past few years and "safe" investments have missed out on the gains. The reason they do this is because they lose nothing, and they don't have to listen to their clients complain when they lose money. I always managed my own funds, but when I retired I let a guy manage a big chunk of my retirement. In 4 years he made less than half of the market gains for me while the part I managed did much better. So now I manage all of my own funds and do my own investing. By being "safe" he lost several "six figures" in potential gains I missed out on. But he made tens of thousands off of me for "managing" my money.

I might, to some degree agree with your comment however, if one did a financial plan long before one reached retirement, then there wouldn't be any question regarding what the next step was. My CFP and I have had a 20+ year relationship. We established long ago the goals, how to achieve them and alternate plans depending upon what the market does through those years. Now, if you're CFP is new to you, prior to meeting with them, draw up a plan you might want with specifics and challenge them to meet them.

[chevynut]

I might, to some degree agree with your comment however, if one did a financial plan long before one reached retirement, then there wouldn't be any question regarding what the next step was. My CFP and I have had a 20+ year relationship. We established long ago the goals, how to achieve them and alternate plans depending upon what the market does through those years. Now, if you're CFP is new to you, prior to meeting with them, draw up a plan you might want with specifics and challenge them to meet them.

Tell him you expect a MINIMUM of market returns and see what he says. You can get market returns guaranteed with an index fund. These guys typically underperform the market, often SIGNIFICANTLY. And they'll tell you that they minimize the downside, which is hogwash unless you're in a dividend fund that returns a few % a year. What happens if in 5 years they don't meet their goals? They got paid, and you got screwed. They have zero accountability for it. All you can do it take your business elsewhere. I personally have no use for them.

You don't have to say publicly, but what kind of return did you get in the past 5 years while the DOW increased 75%? Before this past couple of weeks drop, I made 43% in the prior 13 months in one of my personally managed IRAs. I haven't calculated the other one since I have made some distributions out of it, but it's done well too. I trade individual stocks.

[Bitchin'57]

Busterwivel, thank you for contributing to the state if Kalifornia and helping them continue to stay one step ahead of bankruptcy. Gas costs the same everywhere....the difference is in taxes and they want you to help pay for their ridiculous social programs. I'm sure the illegals and homeless druggies are grateful for your contribution.

I still haven't finished our taxes and decided to take a break from them for a day or two. I'm probably going to work on them a little this morning and this may be the first time we've finished them before the deadline. .

It's already 40 today and we have a "Fire Weather Warning" as it warms up. We've had an extremely dry winter and things are starting to green up here. I even ordered a new John Deere lawn tractor with a bagger this past weekend after using the same old Montgomery Wards riding mower I bought used almost 30 years ago.

Yesterday I blocked out my passenger fender again and I'm still not happy with it. I blocked lightly and tried to let the sandpaper do the work and the low spot I had is pretty much gone. However, after blocking I can look down the fender at a low angle towards a light and I can still see some waviness in it. I don't know what to do about it but it's not where I want it to be. I'm going to re-shoot that area with K36 and use some new 320 sandpaper and see if I can get it straighter. I might try using a solid sanding block I have instead of the semi-rigid K-blocks. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I flipped the fenders over and didn't like the looks of the fender lips so I sanded them and did some filling with Dolphin Glaze. Both fenders had some factory marks there in about the same areas. Today I'll sand them and shoot what little K36 I have left on them.

I texted my painter yesterday and asked him to call me when he had time. He replied via text that he'd call but I haven't heard from him yet. I need to have him tell me how much more paint material I need so I can get it ordered.

IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

[Florida 57]

You and a little work made that old nasty 'free' topper look very good, Florida...

Thank you, it was a lot of work for which I am no stranger to.

[Florida 57]

IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

That depends as not all manufactured sandpaper with equal numbered grit are the same in terms of aggressiveness and longevity of usage.

[chevynut]

IMHO, 320 is way too fine to block out waviness.

The "waviness" is very slight, and you can only see it when you look at it from a very low angle. I'm into the Slicksand and K36 interface and I think they're sanding at different rates. What do you suggest?

[Bitchin'57]

The "waviness" is very slight, and you can only see it when you look at it from a very low angle. I'm into the Slicksand and K36 interface and I think they're sanding at different rates. What do you suggest?

Hard to say without seeing it, and I'm just a hobbyist body and paint guy, but I've been blocking out my high build (with a guide coat) with 180 or 220. Now, that's my initial blocking to get the panel flat. Most of the time, I prefer the 180 because it gets the panel flat faster. Mine will eventually be final sanded with 320 dry. Since I'm painting my car with single stage non-metallic paint, I won't need to achieve quite as smooth a surface like you will need for your metallic base.

[NickP]

Good morning all! Worked on three projects yesterday. I discovered that the 57 had, some time back, been in a small fender bender. Driver side cowl took a hit damaging it enough to not allow a new fender to fit correctly. In that discovery, one hinge took enough of a hit to actually misshape (egg) the cylindrical bore for the hinge bushings. Disassembled the hinge, glass beaded it and set it up in the Bridgeport and cleaned up the bore. Installed new bushings and pin. The old pin was "S" shaped. UPS arrived and my new X Axis power feed arrived so I stopped messing with the hinge and upgraded the Bridgeport. Now, X Axis cuts will have a much better finish.