BUILD THREAD Project Olds Cool (Recognition!!)

[motorheadmike]

That's kind of it, isn't it? Do I want to go fast or look good? Because when you are on a PB&J budget compromises must be made no matter how much work you do yourself.

I don't pity those who want it going fast, looking good, and ready yesterday.

 

[Rktpwrd]

Well hot damn, if Christmas didn’t come around a second time!

I managed to find a few minutes to sneak away today and grab my back ordered high build primer....

Then received the last of the 2 shipments I’ve been waiting for today!

New valve covers, again. I really like the ones I picked up last year but I think they’re a little too racey for this build. I’ve gotta pull them to fix a couple pesky leaks anyways, so I figured it’d be a good time to replace them with something a little more “old school”.
😏

Amazon buy, they came outta SoCal and are pretty nice cast aluminum pieces with bolt in baffles and tall enough to clear my roller rockers.

The reinforced bolt holes are a nice touch...

...and they even came with grommets and stainless hardware.

In the other box was another special purchase, although I got a little nervous when I opened it up and saw this....

But my fears were unfounded, because it was perfect!

Aaaand of course, I couldn’t resist putting it together with it’s other new counterpart!

Now I just gotta find the last piece, a matching NOS one for the driver’s side. Any leads anyone??

So many new toys, I don’t know what to play with first!!

D.

 

[sportriderOK]

I love Ebay day! Nice score on the headlight bezel and grilles!

 

[Rktpwrd]

Not exactly a whole lot of progress to report on this week, between the brutal cold snap we’ve been having and work blowing up on us, not much garage time has been available.

But even still, I managed to get a few things done. The epoxy and seam sealer got sanded and feather edged...

...and I got a bit carried away and anal retentive with sanding the seam sealer at the back end of the door. Overall I want the seam sealer job to look not perfect but cleaner than factory, but the back edge (especially on the driver’s door) gets seen more frequently than the rest so I wanted it to look especially nice. After all, I’m gonna be seeing it every time I get in and out of the car.

Once that was done, I finished up scuffing the rest of the areas that will get painted, and flipped it over. Applied some dry graphite guide coat...

...then got down to the business of blocking it out in 120 again. It can never be too straight!

For those autobody rookies out there that use this thread for reference, the guide coat is to show you where any potential lows are. As you block sand, the material comes off the highs, while the guide coat stays put in the low areas. Guide coat is a stern mistress and doesn’t lie. Low areas will look like this as you are sanding:

Thankfully for me, I know pretty much exactly what I can get away with and what I can’t. This particular little low quickly went away after some repeated even sanding across the whole panel. In fact I didn’t even break through the epoxy to the bare metal underneath in the areas around it.

As I was blocking, I found I wasn’t entirely happy with the very back edge of the door, it was still a bit “pregnant” with too much material. So I heavily worked the rear edge until it was where it needed to be and I was happy with it.

Yes, I’m well through all the high build and epoxy, and through the putty and some of the filler too, but that’s ok. That’s exactly what I wanted and needed it to do, and besides that, it’s only the first round of high build and blocking. That’s why it’s done this way. I’m aiming to have it masked back up and shoot round II of high build tomorrow. No need for epoxy first again this time, just some simple etch primer on the bare metal areas first is all it will need.

D.

 

[Tony1968]

Excellent. Watching and learning intently
Can you explain next time what you used to feather the seam sealer? Please

 

[Rktpwrd]

Excellent. Watching and learning intently
Can you explain next time what you used to feather the seam sealer? Please

I dunno Tony, it was pretty technical....

🤣🤣🤣🤣

Seriously though, that’s all it was. Just by hand. I will say this though, most conventional seam sealers out there are not sandable, because they’re not meant to be sanded. If you are going to be wanting to sand yours for an extra smooth look, be sure to use 3M’s Heavy Bodied Seam Sealer or equivalent from your brand of choice.

 

[old80cs]

For my own curiosity, Donovan, why the switch to etching primer over the epoxy in this situation?

 

[Rktpwrd]

For my own curiosity, Donovan, why the switch to etching primer over the epoxy in this situation?

I figured I was gonna get questioned on this.

Honestly? Time and cost effectiveness. Epoxy does a better job of providing sealing and protection, but is much more expensive and time/labor intensive to mix and apply. Epoxy is a catalyzed product, so it needs to be mixed with its hardener and reducer. Then applied in a couple coats, then left for an hour for induction before subsequent top coats.

Etch on the other hand is not catalyzed. So no hardeners, no mixing. In fact the etch I have is in an aerosol can which makes it extremely easy to use. Just a couple very thin coats, and ONLY on the bare metal areas, and on to the next step. But it provides nowhere near the same sealing and protection IMO that epoxy does.

It should be emphasized that neither one is a miracle product, but if they’re used properly in accordance with their intended use, they’re both perfectly acceptable.

 

[Tony1968]

So when you spray the self etch aerosol, are you just hitting the very small bare spots? Looks like a few smaller than a coin or the whole area of white? Sorry for confusion
I know you said only bare metal so do you tape off the rest or just give it a quick touch of spray????

 

[ssn696]

Speaking of which, how's the
?