Day 187

Well that was quite the break, now wasn't it!

I was away for training for a new job, so that ate up about two months.  And with that two months the nice weather went with it.  Final paint will have to wait until spring, which gives me time to get the body and the two front fenders final sanded.

I did just that today, getting the driver's side fender completely prepped and the passenger side half way done.  Daylight and patience were quickly fading.

I moved the final sanded pieces back into the parts room and unfortunately dinged the front fender I just finished!  A small scratch about a 1/16" deep.  A little spot putty and some sanding took care of it.  Still ticked off at myself for doing it.

Next step will be to finish the passenger side front fender and onto the body for final sanding.

Once all of that is complete a thorough cleaning of the garage re-do the paint booth for final paint.

I'm also thinking I am going to start working on getting some of the interior items.  They don't expire and it would be nice to see some progress on the car in the form of a stocked room with parts ready to put on a car!  Motivation...

Day 186

Some small progress today.  I finished the passenger side door.  It blocked a little bit better than the driver's door so that was nice.  I think the extra curing time helped.

Over the past week I also restored some original date stamped coils that are period correct for my car.  I have 3 of them and hope to sell at least 1 or 2 to recoup my cost.  They turned out great!

Front fenders are next for sanding and then onto the body.

Day 185

Well some more progress on the car the past couple days.  It was windy and wet yesterday so although I didn't sand, I did get some stuff done.  I media blasted, primed, and painted my 3 ignition coils in semi-gloss black.  They turned out nicely.  I got some decals ordered for the sides of the coils, so they will look original.  I also tested them and it looks like they are still good!

Today I was able to get the few remaining smaller parts block sanded to 600 grit.  I also finished the driver's side door which took quite a long time.  I have the passenger side door, the two front fenders, and the whole body remaining.

Work schedule the next couple weeks isn't conducive to getting things done every day in a row but should leave enough time here and there to get the remaining parts done for final paint.

I still have quite a bit of work to do before that is ready, I need to take down the entire booth, give the garage a thorough cleaning and then put up new plastic.  I was trying to beat the cooler weather but may end up just buying some reducer for cooler temperatures.  It hasn't gotten that cold in Las Vegas yet :)

Day 184

Caroline has been home and I have taken the past two days off from sanding/paint work.

In fact, the next step is more filler primer on a few parts so that's all about waking up early, minding the weather, and having a free schedule.

I did get a few cool parts delivered.  The first was a set of 3 ignition coils that were date stamped right around when my original engine was manufactured.  They need to be cleaned, blasted, painted, and overall restored but I'm hoping 1 out of the 3 is good!

I also got my small pieces of chrome work back and they looked pretty good too!  I assembled the door handles, T handle for the decklid, and driver's side rear view mirror.  I'm very happy with the results.

The only one issue was a nick in the trim piece that goes on the glove box.  It is on the upward side so it is visible and I'm waiting to hear back from the chromer if he can fix it.  I'm happy with the results, so I'm thinking I may go with him for the bumpers as well.

Now I just need to finish it all so I can start putting these nicely restored parts on the car!

Day 183

Hey, guess what...more sanding!

Today I got the roof and inside blocked to 220.  Most of it turned out pretty good.  Some minor spots on the dash but nothing another coat of primer can't take care of.

Here's a little walk around to show progress on my blocking.  The areas that are blue/green were once low spots which I have used filler to bring up.  When I prime over top of them hopefully they won't require any extra work.

I also received the replacement door panel and pocket from Colorado.  They are in EXCELLENT shape and perfect replacements for my originals.

That will be a project for another day but will require me to remove the old vinyl, cut a new cardboard backing board, dye the old/replacement vinyl, mount, and then enjoy!

I even did another upgrade on my shoes so they're good for a few more miles.

This is the 2nd/3rd time taping :)

Day 181 & 182

Yesterday I finished the the decklid and front hood.  I also got the driver's side blocked to 220.  The rear quarter panel needed a bit more filler work and will need another coat of primer filler. I called it a day after that.

Today, I got the front and rear aprons, passenger side, and underneath parts all blocked to 220.  The front and rear quarter panels on that side will need more primer filler.

I also did a mini project attaching black decals to my reproduction but original quality hub caps.  These things were expensive!  $240 for 4 but they are the best reproductions available and I didn't have my originals.

The vinyl decal is applied with some window cleaner to move the sticker into position and then dried with a heat gun to get out any bubbles or wrinkles.  They turned out pretty good.  Originally they came from the factory painted black which was probably easy for the guy that did them all the time but I didn't want to bother with such a small project.  So, the stickers did an equally as good of a job and they get good reviews.

Tomorrow I hope to get the inside areas and roof done.  After that, I will be ready to paint some more primer filler and then repeat the sanding process on the parts that need it.  Slowly but surely.

Day 179 & 180

These past two days I've got quite a bit of work done.  I finished the driver's side front fender and that will need another coat of primer filler just like the other side.  I also blocked out the entire hood to 600 and it turned out to be good!

I'm about 3/4 done with the decklid which I hope to finish tomorrow and get to the body after that!

Progress has been slow because once it is ready for final sand I have to sand the entire part 3 times.  220, 400, 600 grit which takes a lot of time.  They look great when done and especially when I put wax and grease remover on the part it has a very flat and smooth gloss to it, even with the light colored primer.

Once I get the body done I can shoot the last bit of primer required for the doors, front fenders, and any remaining areas on the body.  Those parts can then be sanded and then final paint is after that!

This is taking quite a lot longer than I had hoped, but it is being done right so that's all that matters.

Day 178

Those two fenders are ready for final paint!  (and back in the living room ;)

Today I started and finished some block sanding on the body parts.  I started with the rear fenders and those blocked out well.  I did 220 grit, followed by 400 and then 600.  Of course I am being ridiculous and blocked the underside of the fenders.  I'm happy with the results!

I also did the passenger front fender and quickly found that at 220 it still had some low spots that weren't going to block out.  I even had to use some glazing putty to fill in the lows.  So a third coat of primer for at least one front fender.

I also got some original green/grey door panel replacements.  I was going to use a vendor for the panels but found him to be a little difficult to work with.  I even went and visited with them on a trip a couple weeks ago and they will likely provide many of the items I use for the interior.  But their reproduction pieces aren't exact copies of the originals and no one even comes close to what they do!  So I'm going to try and make my originals work.

Here's what they had to offer.

Original panel, replacement vinyl, original color book 1959

In different light, the green doesn't match at all.  The headliner and B pillar posts will be in the first two greys in the 2nd row.

Here's an example of his kit on a Diamond Grey car.

The green just seems off.  It doesn't mesh well with the original Diamond Grey.  The green/grey panels should look like this.

So, my original panels the cardboard backing is falling apart.  And the rear passenger side has a tear.  The driver's side front panel also has a sloppy pocket...which can't be fixed without tearing it up.

I found these original panels and am going to create new backing cardboard for them, dye them the original colors, and use them in the car!  They are missing the white trim around the edge and chrome trim piece in the middle...but I can transfer that over from my originals!

I'll also have to get the seats custom made now, which I think I should be able to do.  I'll likely use the same grey vinyl from the B pillars for the seats and then color match a green or use dye for the accent color.

More sanding tomorrow.

Day 177

Been quite busy with work and got some work on the car done today.  I got back to block sanding the parts.  I had a few small pieces and did the two doors.

I found that my spray job was fine but these parts are going to need another coat in order to fill the low spots.  The small parts all were very close but towards the end I started sanding through to metal which means the lows are still too low.

I also did each door.  The passenger side door has a few more imperfections and will require some more filler primer.

You can see some guide coat left on the bottom of the door, it needs a bit more work.

The driver's side door is pretty good, just a couple low areas that a few passes with the paint gun should take care of.  This door ended up blocking out better because I had to use some filler for the repair to replace the rusty metal bottom.  The replacement metal piece came up onto the outward portion of the door which meant more metal work, body work, but now less sanding!

I'm busy again with work this next week so will probably be slow progress on the block sanding.

Day 173 - 176

Well after another day of block sanding the remaining parts the car was ready for another coat of primer filler.

I also received my replacement visor for the rear view mirror which was in excellent shape.  I also sourced an NOS horn button from the UK which really makes the steering wheel pop and I'm very happy with it!

I did have to repair a broken tab that holds a tar board in the engine compartment.  I don't have a lot of pictures of me actually doing work and my lovely photographer helped with that.  :)

I also cleaned the garage out with a nice water bath and soap scrub.  Trying to remove as much dust, paint remnants, and body filler as I can.  Again, at this stage it isn't super critical because most of it will be sanded off anyway.  But also better to have it clean just because.

Here's a couple pictures of the areas I block sanded but there are still some imperfections in the panel.  Hopefully the latest layer of paint will take care of these, but if not I will do as many coats as required.

Yesterday I was able to get the fenders, hood, and decklid taken care of as well as some small pieces that needed another coat.  They all turned out well with no runs.  I did get a bit of orange peel which I attribute to the high temperature and thick material.

Today, I finished the doors, body, and top side of the hood.  They all turned out very good and I am happy with the results.  I saw two runs and again some orange peel.  It has been 105-115 degrees here the past few days and although I've been trying to get a good start in the mornings it's hard to avoid the temperatures.

Another action shot!

My neighbors have commented on how this plastic booth looks...most reviews refer to a certain serial killer.

So, the 2nd coat of primer filler is on the car.  Now back to more block sanding to get it all ready for the final paint!

Slowly....but ever so slowly.

Day 172

Another day of block sanding, this time on the body itself.

I got the roof done, front quarter panels, and rear quarter panels done.  They all blocked out pretty good, the rear quarter panels will for sure need a couple more coats of filler primer.

I have to finish the front and rear aprons, the passenger right rear wheel well, and the inside.  Probably at least another full day sanding and then more primer!

Having done decent body work was a good thing because it is saving me time when it comes to blocking.  There are some areas that need work but nothing too crazy.

Day 171

Yesterday I continued the block sanding working on the decklid and front hood.  They both are some intricate areas and curves.  It took about 6 hours to do both and the front hood needs a bit more work!

I hope to finish that today and then move on to another layer of primer in the next few days.

Day 169 & 170

The past couple of days have shown some good progress.  No pictures, unfortunately.

First, I started blocking all the larger parts.  I got one door done yesterday and made a run to the paint store for more primer filler to the tune of $500.  Silly that most of it will be sanded away anyway, but it's the good stuff!

Today, I got the other door done and 4 fenders.  I switched up my technique because using 400 grit to start I was taking a long time and using a lot of paper.  Instead, I started with 220 to get most of the major issues taken care of.  I didn't even go on to 400 and 600 because all the fenders and doors will most definitely need another spray coat of primer filler to even out the imperfections.  Some of them may need two more coats.

Tomorrow I hope to get the decklid and hood done.  Then I should be ready to spray another coat of primer.  While that cures over a couple days I'll start blocking the actual body.

Good to see progress!

Day 168

Some more progress today.

First, I sourced a replacement visor for the one that was broken during "restoration".  It should be here Monday and I'll get it sent out to get restored, properly.  I also sourced a couple horn buttons which are in nice shape to replace mine which has a bunch of cracks and crazing.

Today, I started block sanding some of the small parts getting them laser smooth for the final paint application.  I started with all the "small" parts for the car.  The rear tail light housings, license light housing, brackets, supports, speedometer cable tube, the dash grills, etc.

About half of them blocked out fine the first try.  I started with 400 grit and then went to 600.  They turned out nice.

The other half were suspect to begin with so I blocked them until I started to see metal showing and stopped!  The idea is to sand down the high spots to meet the low spots.  Well if the low spot is the metal, you can't sand anymore.  The next step is to apply more primer filler to raise the lows and then block it again.  This could go 3 or 4 times.  Because I spent quite a bit of time on body work I'm hoping to only have to prime twice, but I'll see and do what it takes to do a good job.

Here's a sample of what I was doing.  First I sprayed a guide coat which is a contrasting color onto the piece.  Then with the sand paper and a flat block (of rubber-ish material) I sand in an X pattern to get the primer flat.

As you can see below the guide coat slowly gets sanded off as the high spots are brought down to the lows.  More or less you are trying to take the peaks down to the valleys to make a nice plain.  A topography analogy, brilliant!

This glove box door was one of the pieces I could not get flat on the first try.  As you can see, there is filler (blue) showing through which is the same as sanding to metal.  There is also metal showing on the bottom right.  The next step in this process is back into the paint booth to apply more primer filler onto the piece.  This will bring the valleys up higher which allows them to meet the bottom of the peaks when sanded down again.  Make sense?

I'm going to run to the paint store tomorrow.  I need some more primer filler ($$$), guide coat, and some other odds and ends.

I have the fenders, doors, hood, decklid, and full body left to sand...a lot of repetitive motion in my future!

Day 167

Well it's been a few weeks since I had any real progress.  Work and life get in the way I guess.

It hasn't been as insanely hot so it is hospitable in the garage, which is a good thing.

Today, I got the interior items (and my last "random" color!!!) sprayed.  L471 Stone Beige is the color.

Overall, very happy with the results.  This is a single stage paint and I don't know if it is my technique or what but I really enjoy spraying it.  It lays out so much better than the epoxy primer with NO runs.  I feel like a pro shooting it.

Setup.

Ready to spray.

Results

Next step is sanding, sanding, sanding all the body parts!

Day 163 - 166

It has been almost a month since the last update!

I have had progress just a bit slower than I'd like and with less frequent updates.

Everything has been primed and is ready to be block sanded now.  The body turned out pretty good although there are several runs in the paint I have to take care of.  It's very strange because on the color coats I had almost no issues with the runs and when it came to the primer it was a bit more troublesome.  Anyway, no big deal as I can sand out the the problems before my final coat of paint.

I also sent out my rear view mirror for restoration and it came back broken which was a bit of a shame.  The company that did it is looking for a new one, we'll see what happens.

And I was able to get the glass logo etched on my side windows.  They turned out pretty good and I'm happy with them!

When I have some free time I'm going to finish painting the ivory items for the inside of the car and then off to block sand!

Day 162

Another productive day!

I finished all my black items which was the bumper supports and brackets.  I also had to touch up an under seat spring.  They turned out nice.

And then I went about getting the rest of the body parts in primer.  I was just going to do the doors and underside of the hood but remembered I still had some small parts to do too!

I did get my doors mounted on one of the fender poles.  A little bit of a challenge getting the first screw started while holding the doors by myself but they went up and it worked!

Everything turned out ok, I think I am going to have quite a bit more smoothing work on the doors to do.  I did my best to get them flat before primer but it isn't as good as I'd like.  Will see what happens when I block sand but will probably end up doing more filler work and priming again.  We'll see.