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Great work Copper, I was just courious when you say let the primer shrink/ dry a couple of months; is there a rule of thumb for how long to let primer set, based on coats you apply?
Originally Posted by coppercutlass
Thanks
The longer the better. You got 2 diffrent surfaces metal and the urethane primer ., 3 if you include filler Those 3 things will expand and contract at different rates. Its best to let it sit and let it go through a few of those cycles so when you block it its all settled in.
The guy that did my car said the same thing. He would roll my car out in the sun when ever he had a chance between metal work, filler and primer applications. Hard to argue with his method. I've seen cars that he did ten years ago and they look as good now as they did then.
Really enjoying your thread Copper. Always nice to see a professional work his magic.
Got alot done today. Im going to say over all im giving the door skins from the parts place an A+ they fit good and no dings or dents.
I coated the inside of the doors with bare metal primer from rustoleum and the edges where sprayed in welding primer ., once its fully dry im going to spray spatter trunk paint in the inside. The door edges came out great and will need just a little metal filing and the are ready for primer. The inside frame will be sanded primed and painted as well. I was nervous about doing theses skins. They are a much different animal from modern cars.
The only thing im leaving for last is welding them like the factory incase i have to shift them if i dont like the fit. Under the fold you have anywhere between 1/8th to 1/4 of movement . Even from the factory they are this way. I folded my skins to fall right on the original paint line left behind once i peeled the old ones off. Its a little trick i do with new cars too and the doors always fit great.
I love what i do. To me its an art. I was never good at drawing and what not., but once i learned to work with metal i found where i could tie the want to do something artistic to something i love. At work its all about doing a good job with great quality at an efficient pace. On my stuff its about shutting down life for a few hours turning on the radio and doing what i love on a whole different level. No stress , No time crunches . Its automotive meditation.
Got the doors on today and im pretty happy overall. The DR. side gap needs a little attention but thats in the quarter panel edge its always been like that and it is bugging me enough to fix it. Pass side is pretty good. On the DR side its tight up top and on the bottom so i need to build up the edge a little. Not much but i want it uniform. I feel the gaps i have are about what the factory standards where and im rolling with that. Anyone in reader land know the tolerances the factory used for door gaps.
Last edited by coppercutlass; January 9th, 2017 at 06:02 PM.
Put in a little work today. Got the fenders fitted and not too bad. The doors will need a little attention on the front op corners. It seems the stamping it abit too square. I folded the edge just like you should on them and its a bit too square so im going to take the doors off unfold the sin and re fold that area to my liking. Over all Not bad i still give these doors an a solid A. Not welding them right away lets me shift them around but over all the fit great and im using the same shims i took off the fenders when i did tear down so its all falling into place just like i had it before.
Today i had a vistor from indiana who brought me some gifts and a hood i bought. he is a member but does not come here often. He brought me some springs and shocks that where still good for use in a drag car. He also brought a hood i bought. Its a cowl hood and it needs work but its fiberglass and its all there and salvageable . By the time i buy materials and including the price of the hood i will be in it 200 bucks. So the time fixing it is worth about a 500 dollar savings. I love saving old parts and making use of peoples old parts that are not longer in service but still good to do work or do work with a little TLC.
The hood flew open and had been repaired before but it was not properly prepared and the glass work that was done to repair it is popping up but that will make it easy to re repair. Im excited to dig into fiberglass work as i have not done much.
Sherman makes the skins i believe. Its as basic as just a hammer and dolly to fold the skin. It comes as a 90 degree edge so you use the doly on the face and hammer the lip over. There is a special door skin hammer but harbor freight has a nice kit that would work well for the hobbyist . The nice part is once its folded you have between an 8th in to 1/4 inch of play. Meaning once the skin is folded if the door is sitting too far one way it can be shoved with some force by hand and manipulated or shoved before you tack weld it in. I opted not to glue and although panel adhesives are great you have limited work time. I did mine through out a few days so i needed that flexibility. All in all its as simple as a hammer and dolly, patience and taking your time to get good results.
i was bored and was messing around in the garage and decided to put the hood on to see how my fender alignment was and it fell right where i knew it would. Which is good news. The hood is starting to grow on me and i think for the custom paint i want to do this gives me more flexibility. It needs alot of work. But i think its time to mess with a little fiberglass. but i got a few more things to do before i can get to it.
Paint will be the original code 63. but on the hood i will be laying all kinds of paneling with lace , marbelizing , and other old school stuff found on old customs and race cars same goes for the deck lid. The sides will stay pretty simple and plain. I dont want to make it too in your face but i do want the give it the complete 70's race car look.
This is the era of drag cars i love but i want it a bit more subtle so i keeping the custom paint limited to the hood and deck lid. but they will be done up the sides will be much more subtle. I even got centerlines to make it look right.
Ok so i put in some work in the garage today and i am beat ., worked this morning came home and hit it hard !!! but i managed to make my gaps pretty damn good. Had them on and off atleast 5 times each. I tried to re fold the skin but its turned into a can of worms so the dr. side i had to re fold to how i had it and i welded the edge up. I welded the edge aswell for the pass. side. then i spot welded the seams where i folded the skin and i hit the edges with a D.A. sander and the doors will only need a little filler in the areas where i welded the edges and the bottom corners and top ledge where i had clamps on it. but it will be very minimal. I also got my wheels on friday.
Well i was bored and felt i better go out in the garage and do something. So i masked , cleaned the steel of its oil coating then sanded it with 80 grit and a d.a. sander and etch primed the doors and where i blocked through on the quarter panel.
Well i was bored and felt i better go out in the garage and do something. So i masked , cleaned the steel of its oil coating then sanded it with 80 grit and a d.a. sander and etch primed the doors and where i blocked through on the quarter panel.
Is that rattle can on top of your car the primer? And if so, what kind is it? Is it moisture resistant? Inquiring minds want to know.
Its duplicolor automotive series self etching primer. Been using it for about 10 years with no issues. etching primer is just a thin protective coating for bare metal. It is moisture resistant. My drive shaft was coated in it and it sat in this primer for 7 years. saw lots of rain and it never had a spec of rust.
One can did both doors. it goes a long way. The roof of my car was entirely coated with this stuff before i applied high build primer when i first did the car 8 years ago.
The high build primer i have been using is sprayed with a gun. This method saves time and money. 8 bucks a can and i dont have to clean my gun or mix it. I use spray can products where i can if its practical.
if its gonna sit for a while lay it on thicker which i always do. ( im always trigger happy) but for priming over bare metal in a tight time frame a thin almost translucent coat will be fine if a high build will be applied right away.
Last edited by coppercutlass; January 22nd, 2017 at 03:28 PM.
Its duplicolor automotive series self etching primer. Been using it for about 10 years with no issues. etching primer is just a thin protective coating for bare metal. It is moisture resistant. My drive shaft was coated in it and it sat in this primer for 7 years. saw lots of rain and it never had a spec of rust.
One can did both doors. it goes a long way. The roof of my car was entirely coated with this stuff before i applied high build primer when i first did the car 8 years ago.
The high build primer i have been using is sprayed with a gun. This method saves time and money. 8 bucks a can and i dont have to clean my gun or mix it. I use spray can products where i can if its practical.
if its gonna sit for a while lay it on thicker which i always do. ( im always trigger happy) but for priming over bare metal in a tight time frame a thin almost translucent coat will be fine if a high build will be applied right away.
Thanks for the explanation. I am great with a rattle can and I have used Duplicolor products for years but I have never pulled the trigger on a spray gun.
got a bunch of more parts. got a new fan shroud , radiator (bought in dec but now installing) , 2 10 in. electric fans , a mini starter , new rear shocks , starter harness , and My buddy mounted my rear tires . Weather is looking good this weekend so i plan on getting the doors ready for primer.
Well i did whatever little body work i had to do to the doors today and took it all back apart.
IM going to do all my suspension , electrical and mechinical work next.
That lists includes. a new mini starter , fuel pump , new shroud and electric fans and radiator , re wiring up my accessories , new front control arms and of course i got new wheels which i have to re seal 2 wheels because of the 2 piece design but thats no big deal. New rear shocks along with fronts.and thats about it. Hopefully by mid march all that will be done then it gives me a few weeks to wrap up the rest which will be pretty fast. Or so i hope.
once that gets done i will fix my window post's and start painting all my door jambs and fender edges after its very last coat of primer.
Got some more work in. Got my control arms on today. I did have to trim the dust sheild as im positive these control arms where designed to be used with a disc brake set up. But besides that. It went pretty damn smooth.
Got some work done today. installed my fans , finished the fan shroud / fan / radiator installation , Also got a new water pump drive from an old pro stocker and starter to mock up my new mount points along with relocation the alternator back to the dr. side with the stock upper bracket. Chipping at it slowly.
Got some work in. Finally re located my alternator. IM running that big fuel pump and the pass side alt mount will not cleat the pump. My dilemma was on the dr. side im running and engine limiter strap and my electric water pump drive. Here is whats i did.
I mounted my water pump drive and engine limiter strap on studs. But i mounted the A/C alt top bracket first. then tightened it. Then mounted mt water pump and limiter strap. This left me with a lower bracket problem because due to the strap i cant run the stock lower bracket. I took a power steering mount plate cut it and welded it to suit my needs.
I also kept the non A/C crank pulley. I did buy a relocation kit but due to my unique set up i couldnt run it either. A few hours cutting and welding and its all set up and i can now install my new fuel pump.
There is a little update i didnt do last week. i got around to installing the fuel pump. I had to grind part of the mount boss on the cylinder head and part of the fuel pump to get it to fit but it fits great now. It was sitting on the block.
Had a fun weekend brewery hopping in chicago which was needed ., i will get back to it this week. Back to body work !!!! Its the home stretch now. Wiring in 2 weeks as well.
Its been a while since i hit the body work ., but we got back on it today. I got the doors in high build primer. I also spot primed the quarter where i blocked it when i hung the doors after skinning them. I got the jambs on the body side all sanded and ready for a coat of paint and clear. Tommorow i will sand the inside of the fenders and doors and spray them as well. after this all that is left is repair the window post and as i write this im waiting for the glass guy to come pull the windsheild out. More photos to come tommorow. Getting very close to paint. I still need to do my wiring but thats a solid days work. I think i made the right choice doing all the mechanical while it was still too cold to spray.
Copper:
I've been studying your posts with a microscope as I'm almost to the body-work stage in my project; and thank you for posting such good pics. I've been able to blow up your pics to see little details without losing resolution. My project is a frame-off and I'm finally ready to spray the bottom of the body tub, trunk floor and core support; but I needed to upgrade my compressor set-up to get good, dry compressed air. The humidity in Houston is ridiculously high most of the time and I don't want my paint work to fail because of poor air quality.
Your car is looking good can't wait to see it in color!
Thanks cdrod. My car was off the frame 2 years ago to fix the front mounts and a few spots on the frame but it didnt get the royal treatment. My underbody is just undercoated.
I have a 30 gallon compressor. I would not paint a complete with a 30 gallon but its good for priming and doing the door jambs and small task's like that. I plan on painting it at the body shop i work at.
Im glad the pictures help.
I got out today and got some paint on the parts. As mentioned before once i fix and patch up the window post's i can do final assembly on the body and it can be blocked wet sanded then sprayed.
Ok. Update i guess. The glass guy bailed on me. I have been trying to get a glass guy ut here for 2 weeks and no one wants to pull the glass out on my car. The guy i work with suggested i try to pull it myself as he had glass tools. The cost to remove and install the windshield would be 120 and a new windshield is 180 new.
Well i got it out but i did crack it. I learned alot and learned i could have used a few more tools. But for 60 bucks it was worth the lesson. Dont be affraid to loose a few bucks guys because its only a failure if you didnt learn. So im going to buy a new windsheild when the time comes and install it myself. Thats the easy part.
This weekend I will attack the old patch work on the window pillars and hopefully i can reassemble the car in the next few weeks.
well after 5 hrs its all patched up. Needs a little filler but not much. i should have taken more pictures but i was in the zone and my phone was plugged in for tunes.
Thanks. 10 lbs or not you gotta start some where. These pillars i fixed with aluminum flashing and panel bond and shaped it with filler. Very hack of me lol. This is the way it should have been done but i was just starting in the field and though it was a good alternative to my lacking metal shaping skills.
January 5th, 2017, 08:12 PM
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