139 replies to this topic

[1stiski]

Got home a bit early, so out I went to the garage to sand. Finished up the LH side


and finished up the roof


started the RH side


So a day that I thought I wouldn't get anything done, I ended up doing something... Yeah !

Once I finish up the rough sanding of the car,, I'll do my small dent repair, prep the mounting area for the GTC molding and rust removal, Fit the GTC body components , then remove and block sand (for a nice smooth body ) the car before I start with my primer. I'm going to epoxy primer first to seal up the base.

[1stiski]

OF course , I'll be posting pics of each step.

[Michael VII LSC/SE]

Oil_Injected, on 29 September 2011 - 10:46 PM, said:

I hope you keep updating us with pictures of your progress. I have a $1200-1800 quote from a reputable body guy in my area. But I'd like to do most or all of the work myself to stay true to the "I did it all myself, on a shoestring budget" theme

Love the updates!!

A little trick I became good with I learned from an old Beach Blanket Bingo Movie. Yea, with Frankie and Annette. The scene is not important, but a bored hot rodder pulls a long flat file from his pocket and leans over his car fender and with two hands on the file runs the file down the fender slowly again and again till they cut the scene. They used lead back then to repair fenders. So I wet my paper then roll it around a ten inch by 3/4" wide flat file. With a little constant water on the surface I use it to get the repairs level and to level my primer. I find it easier to angle the file a bit. Angling the file works well on curved surfaces but you want to touch as much paper covered file to the surface at the same time as you can. As the paper wears I unroll til the half then reroll with the worn inside and good paper out. The second trick it to do the same of strokes to each portion of the fender area to keep from producing low spots (too much sanding) in the paint surface. It will show when the gloss hits it. Before I shoot I will polish the primer with a fine grit paper even 2000 paper. Then check your reflections in the surface for clarity. A squeegee saves you the towels and dry time to inspect a given area as you are sanding and checking the surface reflection in angled light. I haven't tried it yet but have considered putting a picket fence next to the car to check the surface perfection by the reflection of the picket fence or a grid on the car.
This still works better in some areas than these tools.

[1stiski]

MICHEAL VII LSC/SE Yes I agree,, the body prep is the most important step of all... any thing that that is not smooth will show with the gloss. ESPECIALLY with the dark colors , And going all BLACK , like I am, it is paramont to get it right. I will be doing tons of wet sanding before I start shooting. And I will be doing that 2000 grit wet sand of the primer before the base. Thanks.

[LSCR351]

MichaelVIILSC/SE, It sounds like you are experianced in paint and body. Everything you say is right on except, I recomend putting the file back in the toolbox if you are not working lead. Instead use 2 paint sticks carefully taped together with masking tape.

I have not tried this, but in my opinion 2000 grit would be to smooth for proper adhesion of the base. After sight checking it I would scuff it lightly with a scotchbright. If you have been doing this, have you noticed any negitive long term affect from the 2000nd primer?

[W.V. Kelly]

A picket fence (or striped substitute) is a good idea. The local paintless dent removal shop uses one to check their work with a very bright light. They orient the stripes vertically but my sense is that using both vertical and horizontal stripes could be useful for a perfectionist.
W. V. Kelly

[1stiski]

Took apart the rear old dented bumper and started taking apart the good undented one,, stripping down to do the sanding of the chrome for the black treatment. I have the plastic bump strip off and i believe I'm going to use a special plastic paint in a flat black color for that part and body color for the bumper. . Also did some extra sanding and re adjusted my support blocks and jack stands so I can do my inital fit of the GTC panels. I'm really enjoying this project.

[JoshMcMadMac]

Where are you at in PA? The progress looks awesome!

[1stiski]

josadmac .... Central PA . 40 min north of Harrisburg .

[1stiski]

Received my new window dew strips yesterday .. Guess I'll do that change soon , maybe this weekend if I don't get busy at work .

[1stiski]

The box of goods

[88MK7Man]

MORE PICS OF THOSE!!! I'll order some tomorrow.. lol

[1stiski]

As requested, here is the dew strip side view


FUZZY side (the one on the inside against the window)


OUTSIDE, the weather side of the stip


Finished up the wheels today.. Took about 3 hours to prep the 3 wheels and about 20 min to spray em out.

I have the 3 center caps to do yet., only one was done so far... Tomorrow I will be sanding the RH door and RH front fender.. Then the Trunk and Hood.
More to come....

[LSCR351]

I need information on how to order the dew wipes. Please!

[1stiski]

Check out "dew wipes " in the Tech section , there is a link to eBay for the place to get them .

[johnnymustang]

Not an exact fit, you have be carful and take your time with them. You have to drill new holes on the side moulding for the staples to ggo thru. Take your time with them and dont get frustrated.

[Michael VII LSC/SE]

1stiski, on 04 October 2011 - 07:20 AM, said:

MICHEAL VII LSC/SE Yes I agree,, the body prep is the most important step of all... any thing that that is not smooth will show with the gloss. ESPECIALLY with the dark colors , And going all BLACK , like I am, it is paramont to get it right. I will be doing tons of wet sanding before I start shooting. And I will be doing that 2000 grit wet sand of the primer before the base. Thanks.

One of my steps was to remove Orange peal on the hood with blocked 1200 then a fast 2000 followed by a water squeegee using those inexpensive yellow bondo applicators. A 6" one with a new edge gets all the water safely out of the way leaving a clean surface you can quickly verify the smoothness with a reflection without breaking your prep rhythm and setup. The surface is still kinda wet so shiny with no water film and drops to distort the reflection. Works great.

LSCR351, on 04 October 2011 - 07:47 AM, said:

MichaelVIILSC/SE, It sounds like you are experianced in paint and body. Everything you say is right on except, I recomend putting the file back in the toolbox if you are not working lead. Instead use 2 paint sticks carefully taped together with masking tape.

I have not tried this, but in my opinion 2000 grit would be to smooth for proper adhesion of the base. After sight checking it I would scuff it lightly with a scotchbright. If you have been doing this, have you noticed any negitive long term affect from the 2000nd primer?

One caveat of the file, is the edges of the file and the tang will gouge a lot of paint with a wrong stroke. The paint sticks are a better recommendation for sanity. But I liked the 3/4" width and heft of the file. Most of my auto painting was with lacquer rattle cans in 05 and except for fading looks good. The only exception is where I left too much original clearcoat thinking I would strip back to that surface. ( not a good idea, Like I have that kinda time.)
I wasn't aware of the scotch brite pad use. But sanding so your surface has "tooth"for the new paint to bond to is correct. IIRC I shot over 2000 with good results but the 2000'd surface was a recent shoot. But I think I also did a fast tacking wipe with Lacquer thinner to soften the surface. That's tricky because you can lift paint. I defer to the auto paint gurus who would would make the better recommendations.

W.V. Kelly, on 04 October 2011 - 01:31 PM, said:

A picket fence (or striped substitute) is a good idea. The local paintless dent removal shop uses one to check their work with a very bright light. They orient the stripes vertically but my sense is that using both vertical and horizontal stripes could be useful for a perfectionist.
W. V. Kelly

Where do they mount this grid? High or low?
I did most of my work outdoors and used the trees and the neighbors roof lines my for reference reflections.

[1stiski]

Today didn't get a whole lot done, work day, even on a Sunday, but hey, at least I got 2 hours to "Me" today. Here's what I managed to get done,
Moved my finished and clean wheels to the other garage (the clean one with a cement floor) for storage till the car is done. I also sanded the RH front fender and door.


Then I started in on the front grill area


I plan on sanding the rear deck tomorrow, and removing the front bumper.

I did some research on the GTC and there was a great web page that had the original paint build sheets, and what C&C did . I am going to take my bumpers to get sandblasted for the proper finish . Its a great reference sheet....for many other parts of this project.

[1stiski]

Sanded trunk area today and scuffed the rear back up lights with scotchbrite, taped .



Then I primer etched with 3 coats, 10 min flash between



Took off the front emblem on the grill, wet sanded the back ground and re-did it in Ford Blue



I'll be top coating the back up lights with the SEM black later tonight . (there is a 2 hours dry time before topcoating). I'll post up a pic later tonight.

[1stiski]

Finished back up lights. SEM coated 3 med wet coats. 6 min flash.... Looks good.


I think I found a local sandblaster to do my bumpers, grill and taillights.

Its funny how all these little steps add up.. I'm glad I doing some of the tedious stuff now.