RPU, bodywork underway.

[Dr Crankenstein]

It is solvent based. Something is really goofy about that one cowl panel. Yesterday we sprayed the two doors with the sealer coat and they came out fine, we then sprayed the rest of the body and all of it came out ok too, except that same panel ! As soon as I shot it, it started to get a rough texture to it as if something underneath was reacting with that coat.

I would strip that panel NOW. I'll bet a dollar, you have solvent popping and it won't stop, unless you start again from the bottom up. (Just my opinion.) I'd be very surprised if it doesn't reappear in your paint.

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[donsrods]

I would strip that panel NOW. I'll bet a dollar, you have solvent popping and it won't stop, unless you start again from the bottom up. (Just my opinion.) I'd be very surprised if it doesn't reappear in your paint.

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I agree. We are going to take it down to where we feel safe and reprime at least that one panel. I do not want to take a chance of the final black messing up.

 

[donsrods]

The past two nights, Dan has worked on the cowl panel that is exhibiting those issues, sanding it back down to the filler stage, and I have been prepping the headlight buckets and trim rings for primer.

Tonight I got the headlights shot with epoxy primer, and after they cure for a couple of days I will finally be able to spray the final coats of black paint on them.

Dan still has a little more work to do on that panel , but we are hoping to shoot a coat of epoxy primer on it on Friday, and maybe actually be able to paint the body in black paint on Saturday.

We also corrected a small section at the bottom of one door, and got it sprayed in high build. That is why one door is black and one is gray in the picture below.

 

[Old Iron]

Did you guys ever figure out what the issue was on the cowl?

 

[donsrods]

Did you guys ever figure out what the issue was on the cowl?

Sort of. It seems that Hot Rod Red paint caused more problems for me than it cured. It really went on thick, and we think solvents got trapped between the coats.

When Dan was sanding down that area yesterday, he had to go through some layers of the red that were somewhat "gummy", and they did not sand off like dust. After he got through that layer, the red did start to turn to dust when sanded. That one layer just looked like it had not dried completely and it sanded like concrete.

It could be because of my not being a professional painter, and I may have laid on that red in too many layers, too fast. I may not have given it enough time to flash off before spraying the next coat. We are going to let the area he sanded last night sit for a day, then we are going to seal it with the black epoxy, then shoot some gray high build over it, and let that sit for a day or so to see what we have and then block sand it to get it totally smooth again.

I think he got down through the problem area though, so I think we are now ok. Luckily, the rest of the car is fine, and I may have just gotten a little heavy handed when shooting that section.

 

[Old Iron]

[cl
[P[P

 

[forbigpicture]

Don, there are so many variables with paint you can drive yourself
crazy sometimes trying to make something work. Only advise I feel
comfortable giving (since I can't be there to see what's going on) is
I had the best luck staying with one manufactures products, always
used PPG... Just my preference. Now, can't wait to see the finished
product, you've done a great job !!!!

[P[P[P

 

[donsrods]

Don, there are so many variables with paint you can drive yourself
crazy sometimes trying to make something work. Only advise I feel
comfortable giving (since I can't be there to see what's going on) is
I had the best luck staying with one manufactures products, always
used PPG... Just my preference. Now, can't wait to see the finished
product, you've done a great job !!!!

[P[P[P

Thanks, bud ! Yep, the only product we used different than all the Kirker brand stuff was the Hot Rod Red from Summit, and we did that because the rep from Kirker said he was not a fan of the Kirker brand Hot Rod Red, and he even made a call to Summit to confirm the two brands were compatible.

Today my son worked on the body all day and he got that section down to primer completely. Then he fixed a few mistakes on the rest of the body and basically is ready for us to shoot a couple of coats of high build primer tomorrow. If there are no reactions or issues, we will scuff that a few days from now and then shoot the final black on it all.

While he was doing that today I had to work on my daily driver. My AC blower went out and I have been sweating for a week. On this particular Caddy, you have to use turnbuckles to pull the motor away from the firewall to be able to snake the blower motor out...…..it just makes it. So, I got that fixed and now have AC again.

Hopefully, by tomorrow night I will have some pictures of the body in final primer and the doors and headlights actually sprayed in the Hot Rod Black paint.

 

[donsrods]

SUCCESS !!!! Yesterday we shot a coat of high build on the front of the cowl, and there were NO REACTIONS !! All the hard work Dan put in on that front cowl section evidently got past the layer that was causing the problems.

Today I went over and scuffed that coat, and Dan came over after work and we shot two more coats of high build on the entire front of the body, and it laid down great, and flowed in like it should.

Also, yesterday we had the headlghts, doors, and windshield posts all ready for final paint, so we shot all of those with the SEM Hot Rod Black. Those all came out better than I had hoped for.

So, we will let the high build cure for a couple of days, scuff it once more, and then shoot the entire body with the Hot Rod Black, probably either one night this week, or on Friday.

Here are some pictures from today. The black on the doors, headlights, and windshield post is the final paint job. I think I will have a bloody Mary to celebrate !

 

[Torchie]

Torchie

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Those all came out better than I had hoped for.

I think I will have a bloody Mary to celebrate!

Looks good and sounds good to me. [cl

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[donsrods]

Thanks guys. It feels so good to finally maybe seeing the end of the bodywork on this thing. The bed will be more fabrication and less bodywork, and that should (I hope) go a little smoother.

Once I get this thing in paint I can start building the seats and interior door panels, and then push it down the parking lot to the upholstery shop a few doors from my shop. After that I can paint the floor and tunnel and get this body finally put back on the frame.

Still a lot to do, but this is a major accomplishment. Here is a little better picture of the doors. For as bad as they were originally, they actually came out pretty straight.

 

[smallfoot]

So close you can taste it!!! Naw, that's just dust.. Looking good on the paint and body work.

I noticed something in your doors pix above..Is that guy actually laying on the asphalt under that truck in the distance...in Florida?...during the summer?...jeeze!

 

[donsrods]

So close you can taste it!!! Naw, that's just dust.. Looking good on the paint and body work.

I noticed something in your doors pix above..Is that guy actually laying on the asphalt under that truck in the distance...in Florida?...during the summer?...jeeze!

Haha, Yep, I better go check on him, he has been laying under there like that for a month or two ! Actually, he was draining his transmission fluid because the coolant line snapped off and it blew all the fluid out, and I told him to check the fluid to see if it looked milky, as if the coolant got sucked back into the transmission.

Thanks, I am pretty satisfied with the doors and other parts so far. They are not Chip Foose laser straight by any means, but not bad for 91 year old doors that were pretty beat up to start with. I am far from a bodyman, so for me this is ok.

I think I will tackle a few small jobs today, like getting the underdash brake pedal assembly painted, while the primer cures a little more. Probably tomorrow we will scuff the primer and when Dan is off on Friday we might get the final paint sprayed on the body.

BTW, if anyone is thinking of buying the SEM Hot Rod Black, I highly recommend it. This is the 3rd car we have sprayed it on, and , while it costs about 4 times as much as some other satin black brands, it really shoots great and has a perfect sheen. It also holds up well, and you can wax the car and it only makes it look better over time.

 

[donsrods]

Tonight Dan worked on block sanding the primer we sprayed on this week. He got it to the point where we are ready for the final coats of paint to go on.

While he was working on that, I worked on getting my newly painted headlights installed and wired up. Somewhere down the line I will have a pin striper put some artwork on the headlights, maybe the top of the cowl, and a few other places on the body.

Here are some pictures from tonight, and although the pictures of the body look just like every other picture I have posted, this is the last coat of primer ! I also painted all the brake pedal parts, and can now set those aside until it is time to install them under the dash.

Feels good to be nearing the finish line.

 

[Old Iron]

I know the feelin about getting to the end

 

[Dr Crankenstein]

Are you going to repaint your rad shell? [S

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[donsrods]

Are you going to repaint your rad shell? [S

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No, it is chromed. It just photographs funny because of the mirror finish.

 

[donsrods]

Here, this picture in the sunlight shows it a little better.

 

[Skip]

Yea. I think you can get buy without painting it.