gerahead
Glutton for Punishment
got it. Thanks for the tip. I need to start thinking about that stuff being my first stop for parts clean-up! L8r
Jim
Jim
1972 Canadian H-Code 340 Dart Swinger Special Resto - Finally started!
- Thread starter Swinger340Canuc
- Start date
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Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Not a problem Jim, pleased to help, any other questions feel free to ask and I will try to help.
Danny
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Lets see if I can help out with your questions Steve,
I decided to use the TopCote since for two reasons, its worked beautifully on my table saw top to prevent surface rust, and secondly since I needed an uncoated clean metal surface on the doors for the spray adhesive to glue the foam onto. I couldn't use Rust Prevention Magic since you need to heat up the surface which might damage the foam this product sprays on almost dry and won't hurt the foam, you could put a second coat on can't hurt, and you let it sit for a bit then buff it with a cotton rag and that it should protect the metal for a long time. My metal parts had a very light bit of rust and they were 45 years old.
The EvapoRust is amazing in that it only seems to dissolve rust, it appears to be harmless to everything else, won't harm your skin or anything I thru in the pail.
On the clear I have a significant advantage over most in that I have a fully stocked Paint system at my disposal,
But I'm going to suggest, and this is the product I would use myself if I did this at home, a product call SPRAY MAX, in this case Spray Max 2K Clear Coat Semi Matte (not the straight Matte version). This is a two component clear so it has a hardener capsule inside the can that you pierce by putting the red cap you see in the lid on a pin on the bottom of the can and slamming it down to drive that pin into the hardener activating the clear. You have 24 hours to use the clear then it will be spent and won't spray anymore. These cans spray very nicely almost as good as a minijet spray gun but one should do a few test sprays on something and this will also show you how quickly it dries and it cures up pretty quickly which is perfect for home spraying. Now this is a professional product so most bodyshop supply stores should carry it but you can buy it on Amazon.ca and our U.S. members can definitely get it on their Amazon. It will work perfectly on fibreglass all you need to do is provide the proper sand scratch for it too grab onto like all paints. I used some degreaser first then a red Scotch brite pad since they work great for getting into all the nooks and crannies then I wet sanded the boxes with 800 grit then blow off and degrease before tag ragging the surface (use a nylon lint free tack rag if possible). If you get some of the fibreglass fibres standing up let the clear dry for a few hours then degrease then re-scuff with 800 grit (you won't need to rescuff every corner since the clear will stick to itself without sanding within 24 hours but you should degrease which removes an invisible film that most clears produce while curing) too knock them off then degrease and tack off and re-clear, this procedure should give you the same finish that I achieved.
Hope that helps Steve, any questions feel free to ask,
Danny
Thanks Danny for the reply. Getting good paint stuff up here (as you know) is difficult or pricey or both.
The boxes are getting hard to find in good shape. So submersing them in anything was a concern for me.
Basically all I used was soap and water on the 67 ac box. Ended up nowhere near as nice as yours.
Hopefully the 69 with your tips, it will turn out nicer.
Thanks again, lots to be learned and enjoyed in your thread!
The boxes are getting hard to find in good shape. So submersing them in anything was a concern for me.
Basically all I used was soap and water on the 67 ac box. Ended up nowhere near as nice as yours.
Hopefully the 69 with your tips, it will turn out nicer.
Thanks again, lots to be learned and enjoyed in your thread!
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Haven't posted much up lately decided to move back on the body to get that ready for paint ASAP. The fenders needed some more detail on the bodywork and since I had them in just Epoxy they needed the same coats of high build primer so they can be blocked out. Undercoated the inside with Pro-form rubberized rock guard the same as the were but painted over that (forgot to take pics of the paint) since raw rock guard or undercoating will cling onto road grime and eventually just stay dirty looking.
Unfortunately a bunch of the captive nuts on the front of the fenders were dissolving away over the decades, I don't know how common this is but my bud Kev (Scatpacker) came to my rescue and brought me a handful of them the car farm.
I installed them just using a bolt and washer and a nut and pulled them onto the panel until they grabbed on, thanks again Kev.
Then I got to hanging all the panels, except the hood since I know the front end sheet metal fits, so everything lines up correctly before I start blocking it all out,
This is kind of the last opportunity to find any fitment issues and correct them before blocking it all out. Unfortunately when I replaced the quarter panels I forgot to test fit the rear valance and it doesn't fit very good on both sides,
the AMD sheet metal did give me some fits with fitment and I'm not sure whether I could have done much since the trunk drops didn't allow me to move the bottom of the quarters any more then they are. So the fix will have to be, and likely would have been, to do some cutting and altering the valance which is the easier panel to work on. Just wish I had of spotted this before I did all the body work and priming the darn thing, the front won't give me this problem since the front end sheet metal is all original.
Tomorrow out comes the body saw and the welder.
Unfortunately a bunch of the captive nuts on the front of the fenders were dissolving away over the decades, I don't know how common this is but my bud Kev (Scatpacker) came to my rescue and brought me a handful of them the car farm.
I installed them just using a bolt and washer and a nut and pulled them onto the panel until they grabbed on, thanks again Kev.
Then I got to hanging all the panels, except the hood since I know the front end sheet metal fits, so everything lines up correctly before I start blocking it all out,
This is kind of the last opportunity to find any fitment issues and correct them before blocking it all out. Unfortunately when I replaced the quarter panels I forgot to test fit the rear valance and it doesn't fit very good on both sides,
the AMD sheet metal did give me some fits with fitment and I'm not sure whether I could have done much since the trunk drops didn't allow me to move the bottom of the quarters any more then they are. So the fix will have to be, and likely would have been, to do some cutting and altering the valance which is the easier panel to work on. Just wish I had of spotted this before I did all the body work and priming the darn thing, the front won't give me this problem since the front end sheet metal is all original.
Tomorrow out comes the body saw and the welder.
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Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Looks like I got bit by Photobucket, buggers.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Fixed it, I think the pics should be visible now, thanks Photobucket there goes 45mins of my life I won't get back.
What a shame.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Looks like Photobucket "has" buggered up my thread with most of the pictures and more to come not displaying. Not sure if I can rebuild it or have the time to replace all the pictures, I've got a car to build, but will try.
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Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Addressed the issue of getting the quarter panel extensions and mostly the rear valance to fit the AMD quarter panels properly, I was able to coax the left side, using some strong arm tactics, to line up pretty good so then I would only have to cut the one side.
I started out making a relief cut down the body line on the side and removed a couple of millimetres until it lined up properly too the body line on the extension then welded that up,
Then I made the cut that will allow me to spread the two half's out so they line up with the lower quarter panels. Then I needed to add some metal to the end section,
Fasten it back on the car where it fits properly then I can find and mark the line to be cut and weld the two sections back together and apply some All Metal and filler. Fasten it back on to check the fit which is much improved,
Then some more work to fine tune the fit between all 5 panels to get the gaps correct that everything flowing into each other correctly,
Everything lines up nicely so now they will come back off for priming blocking and painting and since I know they did fit they should go back on looking proper.
I wish I would have had NOS panels which would have saved a lot of time with fit but I'm still really glad AMD made the panels I needed since thats one of the big reasons the car sat unrestored for so long, anyway this area is not an issue any more so onward and upward!
I started out making a relief cut down the body line on the side and removed a couple of millimetres until it lined up properly too the body line on the extension then welded that up,
Then I made the cut that will allow me to spread the two half's out so they line up with the lower quarter panels. Then I needed to add some metal to the end section,
Fasten it back on the car where it fits properly then I can find and mark the line to be cut and weld the two sections back together and apply some All Metal and filler. Fasten it back on to check the fit which is much improved,
Then some more work to fine tune the fit between all 5 panels to get the gaps correct that everything flowing into each other correctly,
Everything lines up nicely so now they will come back off for priming blocking and painting and since I know they did fit they should go back on looking proper.
I wish I would have had NOS panels which would have saved a lot of time with fit but I'm still really glad AMD made the panels I needed since thats one of the big reasons the car sat unrestored for so long, anyway this area is not an issue any more so onward and upward!
muddacres
Well-Known Member
Lookin good. You need to slow down a little you are getting a head of me.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Lol, slow is what I do best!
Fantastic work!
Dartnut
Don't hate me because i'm beautiful
Great job and pictures, as always!
You're building it a lot better than the factory would have..........
Can't wait to see paint on it!
You're building it a lot better than the factory would have..........
Can't wait to see paint on it!
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Appreciate the comments fellas, I want it to turn out nice Tom but not over restored or like a show car, it can be tricky to improve on the way factory built it and keep close to the way they made it look especially using modern materials.
Three40
Well-Known Member
Outstanding Work ! That's coming together very nice. Can wait to see paint on that bad boy
Glad to see you're back at it Danny. As always, your posts are very informative. Hopefully, my car will get some primer paint and color on it soon now that Steve can get back to it after Carlisle.
gerahead
Glutton for Punishment
Danny, back in post #278 (ya I know, sorry) you show a pic of your car on the rotisserie when you painted the underside of the car. Is the area under the brackets that mount the body to the rotisserie arms painted or bare? Mine is also on a spinner and I have been trying to figure out a way to make sure that area gets painted and looks like the rest of the paint in the vicinity. Thanks for your help, as always. L8r
Jim
Jim
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
I've been waiting for your car to get the shine on it Kevin, hope that happens for you soon, I've got no one to blame but myself but I'd like to spray it on the Aug 7 long weekend but that's probably not going to happen so the Sept 4 long weekend it will happen for sure.
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
I have the same spot in that needs to be done Jim, no way around that, I'll need to break out the touchup gun and spot those area in. I think the front is covered by the bumper brackets but it'll need some for protection.
gerahead
Glutton for Punishment
Danny,
I seem to remember that you sandblasted the underside of your car before painting it, but can't confirm cuz the pix are gone. I am about to start blasting mine. I have gone over as much as I can with a knotted wire wheel on an offset grinder to clean everything up as much as possible first. I have a 40# pressure pot blaster and will be using ground glass media for the blasting. Do you have any recommendations from your experience on how to attack this beast? Might as well try to avoid reinventing the wheel. I am thinking that I will try to get the boxed in areas like the spring mounting pockets first and leave the flatter, open areas for last. Whutcha think? Thanks. L8r
Jim
I seem to remember that you sandblasted the underside of your car before painting it, but can't confirm cuz the pix are gone. I am about to start blasting mine. I have gone over as much as I can with a knotted wire wheel on an offset grinder to clean everything up as much as possible first. I have a 40# pressure pot blaster and will be using ground glass media for the blasting. Do you have any recommendations from your experience on how to attack this beast? Might as well try to avoid reinventing the wheel. I am thinking that I will try to get the boxed in areas like the spring mounting pockets first and leave the flatter, open areas for last. Whutcha think? Thanks. L8r
Jim
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Sorry that my thread and pictures are messed up Jim, I took the approach of not wanting to spin this thing back and forth so I hung a canvas tarp off the car so it would catch most of the glass so I could easily gather it up and reuse it. Then I worked from the bottom up and blasted everything I could see at that end of the car then moved the tarp down and did that end, spun the car around and flipped it and did the same process from the opposite angle, I did wire brush it by hand to knock the bulk off before I started. I took some breaks to give my compressor a chance to cool off and me as well. I decided to remove my torque boxes and rebuild them to remove the dents and clean up the poor welding the factory did bonus being I could blast and paint the inside of them. Later I decided to blast the engine compartment and fender aprons, since I was this deep might as well keep digging LOL! I think I managed to blast the whole car using 3 or 4 bags of glass, not a fun job but the only way to clean it up right.
gerahead
Glutton for Punishment
Danny, this is very helpful information. You did exactly what I am intending to do. I was curious about the amount of media you needed. I guessed and decided to get 6 bags to start, so it looks like I was in the ballpark. My intention is to just do the underside, but if I have enough media (and patience) I may do the outer side of the engine compartment and lower radiator support as well. I am fortunate that this car is VERY clean, so I could easily get by with a wire brush attack on the engine compartment and aprons if I decide I have had enough of the media getting everywhere the sun doesn't shine! Thanks for the quick response. L8r
Jim
Swinger340Canuc
72 Swinger 340 Special
Been busy blocking this thing out and for those that are new to prepping your own car this is the block or one of similar size that will get you a very straight paint job. The guide coat, in this case the last coat of grey primer, reveals the areas that are still a bit low and need some additional fill when I re-prime. Most of these areas are so close to being flat that when I re-primed you could not see them as being low
An example you can see in these two spots, the first one as I begun to run out of primer around this spot, its evident that the area in which the orange peel is still untouched by the sand paper is too low. Any additional sanding will simply create high spots surrounding this low area so it needs a light coat of filler to fix. The spot just above it, thou the grey might indicate it is also low, the sand paper has removed almost all of it indicating that its very close to being as flat as the yellow surrounding it and when re-primed it will likely be very straight. I will put a couple extra coats on these grey areas regardless and give them a light blocking referring to the pictures I took so I can remember where they were.
Prepped up the inside of my doors and applied some sound deadener on the inside of the door skin, so they are ready for a re-prime on the outside and some colour on the inside,
Then mask off for the black,
The hood and the trunk lid needed some work, the hood had hood pins holes that need to go away since that wasn't original. The trunk lid need a bit more work then I thought to get it straight but that got done and primed them then blocked them and re-prime and then got the inside painted,
Still making progress heading to the September long weekend where hopefully I will get it all painted, today is a day off, thank the lord!
An example you can see in these two spots, the first one as I begun to run out of primer around this spot, its evident that the area in which the orange peel is still untouched by the sand paper is too low. Any additional sanding will simply create high spots surrounding this low area so it needs a light coat of filler to fix. The spot just above it, thou the grey might indicate it is also low, the sand paper has removed almost all of it indicating that its very close to being as flat as the yellow surrounding it and when re-primed it will likely be very straight. I will put a couple extra coats on these grey areas regardless and give them a light blocking referring to the pictures I took so I can remember where they were.
Prepped up the inside of my doors and applied some sound deadener on the inside of the door skin, so they are ready for a re-prime on the outside and some colour on the inside,
Then mask off for the black,
The hood and the trunk lid needed some work, the hood had hood pins holes that need to go away since that wasn't original. The trunk lid need a bit more work then I thought to get it straight but that got done and primed them then blocked them and re-prime and then got the inside painted,
Still making progress heading to the September long weekend where hopefully I will get it all painted, today is a day off, thank the lord!
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