Hey [not other] Eric, how's it going? Thanks for the compliment but you might not say that if you saw it in person, lol. I'll need more filler than I'd like. A small spot on each side may be up to 1/8" thick. But I'm keeping everything very clean and using Rage Gold so it should be okay.
Good to hear from ya

 

Hey, it's not a show car - whatever you can do to improve it is good, and you're learning, too.

I'm okay - spending a few months in Montana for a change of pace. It's actually a really nice state.
I could almost picture myself living here...

- Eric

 

Looks very nice Mac, you may be able to tap it out a little and use less filler.

 

belive it or not 1/8 is the industry max. I have seen show cars that have been blasted with 1 in. thick in some areas. Now thats some hack stuff. Just have to get creative to bring the metal out to use less filler. If you need a heavy fill you could use a coat of fiberglass filler and finish with the regular filler. Its a bit more rigid and will fill more. I usually use glass filler over seams much like where you welded your patch.

 

Agree, looks good. Once you start digging things usually things don't get better.

 

I've never been. I have a sculptor friend that farms out there and he loves it. I have, however, been to Maine and I loved it. I think they're both good choices. Illinois, however, 70 degrees on a Monday, snow on a Tuesday, thundersnow Wednesday......it's never boring, lol.

Yeah, that;s kind of the issue, Eric. The low spot is right up against the inner wheelhouse (or something). I even bought a [cheap] set of hammers and dollies.

I picked up a can of Evercoat short strand glass just in case but I don't think I have the room for it. It would have to be pretty thin.

Lol, that was the FIRST thing I learned! I had no idea how bad it was. All things considered, though, it's really not bad for a 46 year old car.

I should mention that CopperCutlass has been very generous with advice and expertise. Thanks dude!

 

So, here's an interesting question/dilemma:
The rattle can touch-up paint I bought, an excellent color match btw, requires I use clear coat over it. and to use clear coat, the original paint will need scuffed. How exactly do I blend clear-coat into the non clear-coat (original) paint? If I tape it off, I'll have quite a line. If I don't tape and try to blend-spray, I won't be clearing over scuffed paint. Do I have to take the clear all the way up to the contour where the quarter panel turns horizontal and becomes the deck? That's about 400% more area than I'm working. It's a conundrum.

 

Hold up; I could put that line right under the chrome trim. That would only leave an inch or so between the trim the bumper to deal with.

 

You can back tape off of body lines and the blend the clear into the corners by buffing but it's hard to explain.

 

Yeah, I saw that mentioned on a website but they didn't explain it at all. And when I search for "back taping" I get what you did to mask your door jams. Got any other search terms?

 

This is what it looks like when you back tape on the body line. Then you can buff your clear into your old paint or burn it in as we call it. Just don't actually burn the edge and buff through the paint lol.

 

Oh were doin' alrite buddy, I can see your work continue's LOL. I'll have to take a front row seat on this bodywork session.
It's crazy how a little spot can grow into something you just can't get seem your head in. I happens to me on a regular basis.
I hope the process goes smooth, I'm going to follow along here and learn myself.
Nice to see another project of yours on the go!!

Eric

 

Okay, I getcha. It seems like there ought to be a way to gradate the clear as it's sprayed but since it won't stick to un-scuffed paint, that idea is out. Now, I really screwed up on the hood. I popped off the chrome trim up by the windshield and wire-wheeled off the surface rust. Not a ton but it did encroach beyond the trim (I'll get a pic tonight). I'm down to bare metal so I'm looking at primer, paint, and clear along the trim line. Looks like I'll have to clear coat the entire hood? Will that look gawd-awful if I don't clear the entire car? There's no body line to work with there; can I tape, clear, and buff the resulting line, as in buff the crap out of it? I have a DA polisher.

Yeah, Eric; you should follow this thread. You'll get see how exactly NOT to do it, lol.

 

In my defense; I've done a lot of painting in my day. Not auto related but artwork related. I assumed I could buff/polish the base coat, feathering it into the original paint, without using clear coat. I may actually try it on some scrap sheet metal. My original paint isn't bad but it certainly isn't going to blind anyone with it's shine, lol.