'83 Cutlass Cruiser Build Thread

[Blake442]

Thanks you guys!

Today I stared at it a bunch and then wet sanded the header panel and called it an early day.
All I need to do is scuff up the fenders and wipe everything off and I'm ready to shoot the front clip.
Ah sh*t, I just remembered I need to order up more clear.
Aiming for Friday to paint...

 

[Ribbedroof]

Looking good!

Been a few years since I painted the last one, probably a few more til the next one.

 

[Blake442]

Turned into another long day yesterday but I got the front clip painted.
A little more dust than what I had in the rest of the car, but that's ok... it will all get sanded and buffed anyways.
Most important to me was that my body work looks good and the base color looks good.
I did put a pretty good run on the passenger side fender, right on the style line and unfortunately sagging down onto my chip guard.
I'll have to be very careful when taking care of that. Otherwise I'm really happy with how everything looks.
Used up almost all of my color and all of my clear, so I'll have to order more before I'm 100% finished.
All that's left is the front and rear bumper fillers, side mirrors, fuel door, and 1/4 window trim.
I'll start prepping that stuff next week...

My state-of-the-art painting facility... I can't imagine how I end up with dust in my paint lol

 

[O. D. Showtime]

Very nice Blake! Can't wait to see it all together!

 

[Ribbedroof]

Didn't you know? Dust comes already mixed in to clearcoat! Kinda like how smoke is in electrical wire, and when you let the smoke out they don't work anymore.

Doing the window moldings in body color....I figured I'd do mine in satin black. I'll be interested to see how they look in color.

 

[HAFROD]

Now your talkin Blake! Looks like it laid down nice

 

[Blake442]

Thanks guys! I'm really happy with how it turned out!
I will admit there is a bit more orange peel in the clear than I would like, but that's ok.
If I was in a nice bright paint booth, or had an air compressor that could actually maintain the proper air pressure it probably would've come out a little nicer, but you gotta work with what you've got...
Considering this is my first complete paint job it's pretty good! I learned a lot and whatever project comes next will be even better!
I'll get my last few small bits painted and then I'll start sanding and buffing... A lot!

 

[Blake442]

Spent yesterday digging out and cleaning up all the remaining bits to be painted.
Lots of these parts I have doubles and triples of so naturally I picked out the nicest ones...
One of my rear bumper fillers has started to crack, so that is really my only repair I need to do.
I'd swap it out for one of my extras, but this one has the straightest edges so I want to try and save it.
Everything else is in great shape and just needs to be buzzed down, primed and painted.
Yikes, I gotta order up some more primer, color and clear too...

 

[Longroof79]

Glad to hear that things are lookin' up, Blake.
I thought you've done this before. My wagon was also a first time complete paint. I would paint panels,etc, but never a complete car. Previous vehicles were done by someone else.

I think once it's cut and buffed, you're gonna love it. 🙂 I also had my share of drips and runs...fortunately, they sanded out. It's not perfect, but I'm going to live with it.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Blake442]

Thanks Jack! I'm really happy with how everything has turned out so far!
I've painted lots of smaller stuff over the years, just never had the opportunity to shoot a whole car!
I got into restoration right out of school, so I've been lucky to work on lots of fun stuff over the years. I'd love to get back into it someday.
The last thing I had sprayed before beginning the wagon was the flat black tail-panel area on a '68 Dodge Charger. That was 2009.
When things were getting bad at the resto shop it kind of took the fun out of it for a while for me.
So I just stuck to working on my stuff and my best friends stuff and the enjoyment came back.
At least I still remember what I'm doing most of the time! lol
I'm still deciding on how carried away I want to get with the cut and buff... It should look top notch regardless!
Realistically I only need to buff out the top half of the car since the sides will be mostly covered with wood grain.
I'm looking forward to starting to reassemble the car... that's my favorite part!