BUILD THREAD 87 Cutlass EFI build: 9/13/23..NEW STUFF!

[Injectedcutty]

Small updates for the week....i received my new black door and trunk locks from kirban, dropped off all of my window trim and a few other parts yesterday to get powdercoated! Hoping to get that stuff back in a couple weeks or so.
I was able to get out of work early today and put in some hours sanding yay. Got my spoiler mods close to done and a fresh coat of primer, as well as my bumpers, bumper covers, and header panel(with a suttle mod) got blocked out and primed for hopefully the last time.
The current eta for shooting color is by the end of October(waiting on a booth to get reassembled) as long as the next couple weeks go as planned but we all know how that goes when it comes to this hobby of ours!!!! Thanks as always guys for checking in, and hope to have it closer to color on the next update!

 

[Rktpwrd]

Progress is looking awesome Scott!
I hope all goes as planned for you and you guys are able to maintain your target paint date.

What would the subtle mod to the header panel be? Deletion of the hood ornament perhaps? (Keep in mind I'm not as familiar with the '81-'88 body style as I am with my '78-'80's).

Also, what's happening on the engine front? I know you done blowed up the old mill that was in it, but what's your plan for the new one and when?

As always, keep up the fine work.
Looking forward to seeing it all come together again!

Donovan

 

[Injectedcutty]

Progress is looking awesome Scott!
I hope all goes as planned for you and you guys are able to maintain your target paint date.

What would the subtle mod to the header panel be? Deletion of the hood ornament perhaps? (Keep in mind I'm not as familiar with the '81-'88 body style as I am with my '78-'80's).

Also, what's happening on the engine front? I know you done blowed up the old mill that was in it, but what's your plan for the new one and when?

As always, keep up the fine work.
Looking forward to seeing it all come together again!

Donovan

As always Donovan, preciate the kind words! Yes i deleted the center trim and hood ornament, put my glassing skills to work (btw I'm no expert but learning). Most won't notice it but that's kinda the theme for me....make it look like it came off the line like that!
On the engine debacle I'm torn right now. I have a good block waiting to be machined but it's a 2 bolt....i would love to build a stroker and i don't like the idea of using a 2 bolt block for that. I wouldn't mind throwing an LS in there but everybody is doing that and i like to stray away from the pack. My dream motor would be a 455 olds but damn they are expensive to have built the RIGHT way to put down some power. Engine plans are hanging in the balance and at the top of the list once paint is done! I also have quite a bit of $$$$ to come up with to get the interior finished, and the 8.5 rear needs new axles, seal kit, and new posi unit.
Realistic goal is to have a fresh motor in it by next spring and have it completed for the show circuit in 2017.

 

[Injectedcutty]

I was able to sand on the cutlass yesterday for a little bit. Most of the car and parts are in final primer now I hope but nothing exciting worth taking pics of yet! I have a couple days off next week along with my brother n law and bodyguy so we are going to thrash on it in the hopes of wet sanding the whole car down, bumper covers, bumpers, etc and have it jambed by the end of next week.

Good news is I was able to pick up all my trim from the powdercoater today and I couldn't be happier with how it all turned out!!! Only a couple pics as I want to leave everything safely and neatly wrapped up until it's time to go back on.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Here is a better pic of a trim piece in the sun. It's crazy how this particular powder choice changes colors in the light! It's based off hotrod satin black but has a slight amount of metallic in it. I can't wait to see all my trim back on the cutlass once painted....it should look pretty mean!

 

[Injectedcutty]

Well crap, took 2 days of vacation in hopes of getting the cutlass jambed in color but that idea fell apart wed night.....found out a stingray moved into the body/paint garage for a quick scuff,prime,paint job.

Oh well....good news is I was able to occupy these 2 days helping to get my dad's 90 jeep yj into rolling chassis status!!! As much as he's done for me I am proud to help a Vietnam vet get his toy ready for the sbc going in. Chassis was ground down, metal prepped and brushed with 2 coats of POR15. The front and back half were painted at 2 separate times so the 1st pic is obviously the back half metal prepped the proper way. Painted it while raining and humid which are probably the best conditions for using the POR15...I know it sounds weird, but it cures better when humid! Best part is my brother n law and I surprised him because he didn't expect it....told him we had a question about one of the parts! He was like a kid on Xmas when he saw it...grinning from ear to ear!!!! Makes all the work more than worth it!

 

[Injectedcutty]

After posting the other pic of the jeep chassis I realized it looks gray....the sun hitting it made it look that way. But it's black, very very gloss black and not UV sensitive.

 

[Injectedcutty]

Since it will be a few more weeks before I get to mess with cutlass I've been chipping away at some trim stuff to black it out for final assembly. That being said I've had my opera windows safely stored and figured this weekend was a good time to unwrap them for prep time.
After cleaning them up, I taped them off so I could scuff the shiney with the flexible 3M sanding sponge (320-400) that Donovan showed a while back. Once happy with sanding, I cleaned, cleaned, and cleaned some more with wax and grease remover until no residue showed up. Got out the SEM trim black and made sure i followed their prep directions before popping the lid off.
I began to hammer down, or so I thought! The paint was laying down nicely when a dime size spot decided it wouldn't hold paint.....I began to get pissed but realized that's how my luck usually goes. I tried the 2nd coat after flash and it just wouldn't friggin stick.....not sure why considering the rest of both windows looked flawless! Anyways, now I have to re scuff them, and go for round 2 next week.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Scott, that really sucks about the lack of adhesion in that one spot.

When you go to redo them next time, try cleaning that one particular spot really well with some lacquer thinner first, then follow it up with your multiple cleanings with the wax and grease remover.

I've never sprayed SEM before, but it should be like any other paint. Rather than trying to get uniform coverage on the first pass, try laying down what's called a "ground coat".

Ever so lightly make a pass barely laying down any paint. DO NOT try to get any coverage at this point. Then walk away for a bit and give the paint it's flash time.

Plus some even if you can.

Then go back and repeat for the second and third coats. Basically what you're trying to do is lay the paint on as dry as you can.
Stubborn areas like that that tend to want to fish eye like that can often be overcome with this method.
If after the third and possibly even fourth coats like this, there shows no signs of fish eyeing, then you can concentrate on laying down a uniform cover coat.
But be careful here too, don't lay it on too wet, or it will want to eat into the layers you just laid down and start to lift and separate again.
If after the first uniform cover coat there's no signs of issues, go ahead and proceed with your final coats. This method should do the trick for ya.

Just a few tips and tricks to try and help you out brother! Let us know how round 2 works out for ya.

Donovan

 

[Injectedcutty]

Scott, that really sucks about the lack of adhesion in that one spot.

When you go to redo them next time, try cleaning that one particular spot really well with some lacquer thinner first, then follow it up with your multiple cleanings with the wax and grease remover.

I've never sprayed SEM before, but it should be like any other paint. Rather than trying to get uniform coverage on the first pass, try laying down what's called a "ground coat".

Ever so lightly make a pass barely laying down any paint. DO NOT try to get any coverage at this point. Then walk away for a bit and give the paint it's flash time.

Plus some even if you can.

Then go back and repeat for the second and third coats. Basically what you're trying to do is lay the paint on as dry as you can.
Stubborn areas like that that tend to want to fish eye like that can often be overcome with this method.
If after the third and possibly even fourth coats like this, there shows no signs of fish eyeing, then you can concentrate on laying down a uniform cover coat.
But be careful here too, don't lay it on too wet, or it will want to eat into the layers you just laid down and start to lift and separate again.
If after the first uniform cover coat there's no signs of issues, go ahead and proceed with your final coats. This method should do the trick for ya.

Just a few tips and tricks to try and help you out brother! Let us know how round 2 works out for ya.

Donovan

Thanks man, I appreciate the tips for sure. Funny you mentioned the "ground coat" method as that's what I usually try to do when spraying. This time I wanted to follow the instructions that SEM recommends as it's the 1st time using their stuff. I followed prep, and it said 2-3 medium wet coats with 5 mins flash between.
I would say maybe it was an issue with not using an adhesion promoter as SEM says it's not needed on metal...but the rest of the windows looked great so that's not the issue. I should be used to it by now, but I hate spending sooooo much time prepping a part for paint, just to have it pissed me off and have to do it over!!!!
Once again Donovan, thanks and I will take extra extra time on round 2 and hope it works.