A to Z

5-6-2022 UPDATE: I got the clear on the nose today. 2 weeks to harden, then color sand and buff.

Thanks. Wow, I hope so!

Thanks. Good to hear for you.

5-2-2022 UPDATE: Ok, so I continued the work on the paintjob, sanding the dirt and orange peel out of the clear coat using my orbital sander and 2000 grit sandpaper. I worked on finishing the hood, the cowl panel, and the tops of both fenders. Some spots I went through trying to sand out all those runs. I worked and worked on it until I got it smooth, but decided to go ahead and mask off the nose of the hood and the headlight buckets, and the front spoiler and re-shoot them. Lessons are being learned the hard way....but persistence pays off. The clear I shot turned yellow from being so thick. You will see that I folded the newspapers over where I re-shot the paint. This avoids there being a line that you have to try and sand out. I will have to do a final buff on the clear, but I am getting the shine I was hoping for. I also went back and sanded out the drips on the oil pan and re painted it. It looks better in person than the pics, but it is now good. Once dry I will move on under there, and finish getting everything painted and cleaned up. With this project it appears to be 2 steps forward and one step back. I hope you like the pictures.

4-25-2022 UPDATE: I went ahead and used an old toothbrush and some cans of brake cleaner to get the oil pan area cleaned off, and then masked off the area, and painted the oil pan area with the Duplicolor "Old Ford Blue" I used on the block. Painting upside down brought a lot of drips....so once dry I will scuff the drip areas and touch that up. I then took the sealer I bought that is made by Loctite and sealed the rails, and the other spots I found in the subframe. a small screwdriver to clean them out and then fill the void with the sealer. After that, I started doing a bit more color sanding on the body, this time the headlight buckets and hood. Yep....there will be spots I have to spot paint, but the majority is coming out pretty good. The last pic is a circle area, that I put some pure carnauba wax on (Meguires Gold Paste). It is so smooth! Here are some pics and a video! 10.MOV

4-13-2022 UPDATE: Welding Day. The mobile welder came over, and we spent many hours welding up the rails and getting them to where I could live with the job. While he was working I went ahead and started figuring out how to color sand my clear coat, and all those runs are TOUGH to smooth out! So, it's a learning process yet again. At any rate, I have attached 2 video's. Cheers. V1.MOV V2.MOV

Hehe, thanks Ken.

4-11-2022 UPDATE: So, today I went out to the garage and cut all the patches I needed for the rails etc. I then fitted them and had to "educate" some with a hammer....if you have never tried to bend 16 ga. steel with 2 pliers, let me tell you....it ain't easy! I then painted the sides that would be in the holes, and then mounted them up in place with duct tape, oh, I had to grind the paint off the rail pieces so the welder will have clean metal to weld to. I managed to find a welder and he will be over in 2 days, can't wait! Once that is done and they are painted, the value of my car will go WAY up! So, at any rate, good day, here are some pics.

4-4-2022 UPDATE: So, I went ahead and finished removing the remnants of the left/driver's side rail under the floorboards, and then grinded up the mating surface really good. Then I went and cut out the rusty parts of the rails on the sides. After that I went ahead and used my Dremel with grinding wheels, and my new rope twisted wire wheel attachment in my electric drill, and cleaned up inside the rails and got it all wiped out. I then painted inside there with Rustoleum Rust converter. I used my new wire wheel attachment, and removed the undercoating that was in the way of the rails, so there would be plenty of clean metal to weld the rails on. I was then able to hold the rails up and used a sharpie to mark around them, and then was able to mask that off and paint the portion that is inside the rail with some 2 part Paint/Primer in one - satin black from Rustoleum. I removed the masking tape and let it dry. I also found that I needed to cut down one rail, so I cut it down and cleaned up the edge and then went ahead and sprayed the same black paint on the inside surfaces of the rails. At that point, I used my die grinder to do some final cleaning up of the mating surfaces, and then closed out the day taking measurements and drawing out the patterns on a sheet of 16 ga. steel to cut out for patches. When they are done, the inside portions will be painted and then it will be time to weld it all back up. In the pics I took, I was able to get a little shot inside of the right rail with my phone, and it was surprising good. Here are some pics and a video. V1.MOV V2.MOV

Thanks, Chuck.

3-28-2022 UPDATE. Under the car. I went to work with my electric drill and a wire wheel attachment, working on the rack and engine crossmember, oil pan etc. After a bit of that. Went ahead and started removing the paint on my rails. Once I saw that they were a bit worse than I anticipated ( the paint was actually hiding rust holes!), I went ahead and unpacked my rail pieces I got from Klassicfab JDM a few months back. I then went ahead and put a cutting wheel in my die grinder and started cutting them off. I started with the passenger (right) side, then after that, I went to the left side. The left side I didn't finish....ran out of time, and I need a new cutting wheel. Removing the factory undercoating is a bit harder than anticipated, so I will get a thick wire wheel attachment for my die grinder and get to it. I also cut the bottom strips that I will replace with 16 ga. sheetmetal. All of this will be welded in with a mobile welder. I have some pics and a couple videos. Cheers! 12.MOV 13.MOV 14.MOV

Sure. It's kind of hard to see I know, but this will work.

3-24-2022 UPDATE: So, I went ahead and painted the rest of the car. I started by masking off the pieces in the vicinity of where I still needed to paint, and then touched up a few areas with some sandpaper, then wiped it all down with Denatured Alcohol and started painting. I used the Epoxy Primer I ordered from Rustouleum over the areas that had lacquer sealer primer on them. This serves as a "bridge" to allow the Urethane color coat to stick. I then used the white custom mixed paint I got from www.expresspaint.com. After that, I buried it all in clear. I used the Rustoleum, as it is enamel, where most aerosols are lacquer, which is a no-no with urethane color coat. YES, it is covered in runs....the way it came out was runny, but I did succeed in putting ALOT on there, which is ok, as I am going to color sand it all down with 2000 grit on my orbital sander, a water spray bottle and a towel. The runs will just be sanded smooth with the rest. The rally stripe still has to be done. At any rate, I took a bunch of pics. I will put them on here as well. Cheers.

Thanks Ken. Finally moving forward.

3-15-2022 UPDATE: Final wash today. Now mask and paint. 1/2 the car is already painted, epoxy the rockers, hood tip and headlight buckets, touch up the white where needed and then clear, clear, clear!

Thanks. Put a real hold on everything. It comes back day after tomorrow. today 60+ degrees, tomorrow 54....then COLD.

3-14-2022 UPDATE: I got out tothe garage for the first time in quite a while...Winter finally relented a bit. I went ahead and gave the car a bath as well as the floor. After that, I went ahead and got the car back up on jackstands, but at max elevation with 4X4's under them. To make them wide enough, I sandwiched the 2 pieces with a 2X4 and screwed them together on the top with a steel plate across all the 3 pieces. Then I finished the little bit of work needed on the dog legs and rockers, and then got out my orbital sander and with 1000 grit paper and sanded the rest of the body that hasn't been painted and got it prepped for painting. Now my garage is dirty again :D.....but one more bath, and I can mask it off and get the body done. By getting it up as high as I did, I can next go ahead and cut out the rusty parts of the rails and then cut and prep the patches.....I will then have a mobile welder come over and weld them all in. I have the rail portions I bought for Klassicfab JDM I will use along with 16 ga. plate steel. 4 videos and some pics attached. Enjoy. 1.MOV2.MOV3.MOV4.MOV

Thanks, but I think I'm okay. I am crawling out of the deep pit I was in trying to get it done. The doglegs and rockers have been a BIG job.

2-28-2022 UPDATE: I went ahead and blocked out by doglegs and rockers a bit more, and then sanded out the hole for my fuel filler. Afterwards I went ahead and tried the 2K primer. It worked AWFUL! Afterward, I tried the Duplicolor Primer Sealer, and it worked like I wanted the 2K to work! It filled in a lot with enough coats, and with maybe 3 small spots I need to add just a tad of glaze to with my finger and sand out, the rockers and doglegs are done! I also went ahead and painted the headlight buckets and the tip of the hood. Here are some pics and video's. 5.MOV 10.MOV 11.MOV

Thanks everyone!

This was actually fun! Started out a nice day, almost 50 out, then about 3:30 ish....oh man, here comes the wind, felt like it dropped 20 degrees, So, I set things up and closed the door, and used the shop light for navigation. It actually warmed up just enough to where it wasn't a concern. Didn't know my toes were numb until I came in at a tad past 7 p.m.! you wouldn't think an un-insulted garage could be warmer with the door closed, but it is! I could have easily kept going, but my birds need attention too, so... Hey! How come I NOW feel all sore from this! Geez! Take a shower, have some Bourbon and WHAM!

when sanding this glaze with 180 grit, the sandpaper loads up so quick. You have to smack the block on the ground, and then hold the screwdriver by the shaft and smack the bottom with the handle to clean the sandpaper off!

2-21-2022 UPDATE: Well, I managed to get a tad over 7 hours in today on the Z car. I pulled the headlights, and sanded the headlight scoops out. In the pic the left side if you look you can see I had to add some filler to the back lip, as it was missing. I had painted them and everything.....but you could see scratches through the paint, so I took them down and smoothed it out. Next, the tip of the hood had been repaired by a previous owner, and earlier I sanded it out and THOUGHT it would be good.....nope. You could see the clump of bondo through the paint, so I also sanded it and the hood across about 1 foot up....then used the new glaze. I then coated both dog legs and spots on both fenders at the bottom. Unlike the other stuff I have used, the glaze is ready to go FAST. It is awesome. It is runny, but so nice to work with....but with the hardener is in unforgiving.....like the can says, 2-3 minutes to get it on, then it's too late. Cool thing is 15 minutes you can sand! I blocked out the hood and got it good to go. then moved over to the driver's side and sanded out the left dogleg and the lower front fender area. On this side, I have it about 90% ready. The passenger (right) side is about ready for final paint! I will have to add a bit more to finish it up. Then I went over to the right side and got it all sanded and blocked out. A couple little spots on that side, but I am now SO CLOSE to 2K primer and final paint I can feel it. Oh, yeah, my 2K primer came in, made by spray max, 2 part so it is catalyzed paint. I took some pics. BTW, it is amazing the amount of dust sanding this stuff puts off....man oh man!

I got to see you at ZCON, at the hotel at night when you were loading the Z car on the trailer we talked for a few seconds..

Today I picked up some new Glaze. I was advised to get a glaze with hardener over the red spot putty. So I went ahead and bought this can, along with some 180 grit paper that was also recommended to block sand it out correctly. Both sides are all closed up and done....now it is just beautification being done....so taking a brake from the heavy grit paper and old fashioned Bondo Mud. A couple of mugs of Fat Tire is necessary to keep the motivation up after a shower to make the work acceptable to my old bones.