BUILD THREAD Rustier then I thought!!!

[RabbitHoleSS]

I'm starting to get the hang of it. 1 gallon of filler later with 95% ending up on the floor.
I got the fenders in epoxy. 2 wet coats.

I got runs in it again. I keep getting my gun too close. I need a guide or something lol. I also stuffed the old epoxy on the shell. I put 1 wet coat over it, but the filler just soaks that stuff up.

I'm spraying the doors Tommorow. So I'll spray the roof and sail panels again. Since I can see the filler outline. My question is should I spray high build on the panels individually or assemble the doors and fenders to spray 2k, block, and seal. Then take them off to paint the jambs? Also when do you guys apply the 2k seam sealer to the drip rails?

 

[Rktpwrd]

I'm starting to get the hang of it. 1 gallon of filler later with 95% ending up on the floor.
I got the fenders in epoxy. 2 wet coats.


View attachment 208770
I got runs in it again. I keep getting my gun too close. I need a guide or something lol. I also stuffed the old epoxy on the shell. I put 1 wet coat over it, but the filler just soaks that stuff up. View attachment 208771View attachment 208772
I'm spraying the doors Tommorow. So I'll spray the roof and sail panels again. Since I can see the filler outline. My question is should I spray high build on the panels individually or assemble the doors and fenders to spray 2k, block, and seal. Then take them off to paint the jambs?

Personal preference really. It’s 6 of one, and a half a dozen of the other. Pick the one that works best for you and go with it. Personally I prefer to block all the panels on the car, that way I know everything is aligned properly and there’s continuity between the panels.

 

[Tony1968]

Seam sealer after you have epoxy in drip rail

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I got another wet coat on the shell. It covered all the filler spots. My gun technique is horrible, it especially shows on the roof.

The paint on the doors was thicker then anywhere else on the car. It was checked all the way thru both doors with surface rust under it all. I assume that's why you strip to metal. I hadn't seen either door for about 2 yrs. I fixed the driver door then, and thought the passenger was good. It's wasnt.

So I reluctantly started cutting the rust out and made a patch from some scrap.

It wasn't too bad. I'm just glad the door skins of both doors were OK. It rusted from the weatherstripping holding water. I stripped them by hand. 2 wet coats and I used every drop of epoxy I had left.

I'm gonna start putting the shell and fenders in high build Tommorow. I grabbed some 5/8" lighting rod to align the body/frame. Still have to finish the rear brake lines first though.

 

[Tony1968]

Painting the roof is the hardest for me also. Don't feel too badly. I think it's a pretty common issue.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I put the self leveling seam sealer in the drip rails

And a few spots in the door jams. It was alot runner then I expected.

I'd say this isn't for vertical surfaces. It did good in the doors too though. Anywhere horizontal it flows out perfect, looks really good and dries rock hard. I think it's sandable too.

After that dried about an hour I started spraying high build.

I put 3 wet coats on everything but the roof. It got 4. I still have about half a gallon. I didn't spray anywhere not seen. Like the trunk, area above the trunk, behind the taillights, I didn't hit the rockers cuz I have to remove the excess seam sealer drips first.

Alot more overspray with this stuff, I wasn't prepared for it. Epoxy has minimal if any overspray. This was like an nfl mister was following me around.
Next weekend it's gonna be 75, so im aiming to have it together, blocked out and ready for another rd of 3 wet coats. I have 80,180, 240 grits. How do i finish it for sealer? Do i need to go 300,400 on the last rd of high build? Should I wait until I'm ready for base to do final primer blocking or can it sit for a few months and be scuffed with a red scotchbrite? I won't be able to spray base/clear until probably spring.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

Still rollin’ right along.

Saturday night I got the rest of the car completely tore down, anything that was extraneous, bolted on, or in the way of block sanding the car now was removed and set aside. All the hardware got carefully bagged and tagged so as to keep track of everything and make reassembly easier.

Some of the parts (but not limited to) included:

Front windshield trim
Stainless cowl trim and windshield wipers
Rear window trim
Drip rail trim
“A” pillar trim
Door glass weatherstrip
Door glass weatherstrip channels
Door locks
Door handles
Door belt mouldings
Door mirrors
Front marker lights
Rear marker lights
Rear quarter to bumper filler panels
Trunk lock
Trunk trim along bottom edge
Front bumper
Rear bumper
Taillight bezels
Taillight lenses

...and the list goes on and on.
By the time I was done I had an entire bench full of parts and hardware! No pictures of this, but I did take a couple really short videos and posted them up on my Instagram page. Search for “@rktpwrd5” if you’re into that kinda thing.

Today was supposed to be garage day at Mike’s working on his ‘57 Chevy, but he texted me first thing this morning to say he got called out to work. Bonus for me! So instead I filed my tax return and was pleasantly surprised to be getting more back than last year.
Double bonus!
There should be enough set aside now to purchase the paint, clearcoat, any misc supplies, and a brand new paint gun to lay down that perfect finish.
😊

This afternoon I gave the roof a thorough cleaning and several wipe downs with wax and grease remover in preparation for starting the final block sanding process, then applied some dry guidecoat.

Here we go...!!

View attachment 137862

After a couple hours, I have all of the flat sections of the roof including the AstroRoof insert completely blocked out in 220. Found a couple of areas that will need some minor attention, but no big surprises thankfully.

View attachment 137864

View attachment 137863

She’s not quite smooth as glass yet, but it’s the first major step to getting it there. I’ll continue to block the entire car out in 220, then go back and spot prime any areas that need it before moving on to 320.

That’s it for now guys, I’m headed back out there to continue making progress!
Till next time,

D.

I really do wish it was that easy Rick, but I’ve got a bit of a journey left to go yet. Once I get the entire car to block out properly and evenly in 220, I still have 320, 400 and 600 wet grits left to go. Once I hit the 400 stage tho, it should really start going quickly as there’s not much material being removed, just enough to eliminate the previous grit’s scratches.

TRUST ME, no one wants to see this car get painted and close this chapter more than me!

Found the answers I was seeking. Lol. If your interested in this part of the process Start here

BUILD THREAD - Project Olds Cool (Updated 6/2/22)

I know. It is very useful info. And it is awesome you take the time to show and explain everything you do. Most of the time I do read the text, but this morning at work I was busy so I just glanced at it.

gbodyforum.com

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

I got another 2 coats of high build. I used upol dtm high build. I think the other stuff was regular build. After blocking

I should have blocked the runs in the epoxy before spraying the 2k. It sands different then high build so it wouldn't flatten out like it's supposed to.

Hopefully after this round of blocking, I'll just need 1 more to finish it.

 

[Tony1968]

You are doing a great job and looking back since you started, you have come a long long way. Many lesser guys would have given up. Keep killing it.

 

[RabbitHoleSS]

You are doing a great job and looking back since you started, you have come a long long way. Many lesser guys would have given up. Keep killing it.

Well I'm close enough now, I can smell these old tires burning so that's keeping motivated. I'd be lying if I said I never thought about quitting. But never more then just a thought. I wanted to quit baseball as a kid, my mom wouldn't let me. She said once you quit something, it makes it easy to quit everything. I played thru jr high. So I do my best to follow through once I start something.