Getting started on my 70 Duster... Finally

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69superbee

69superbee

Pete E
Joined
Jan 31, 2006
Messages
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Location
N.E Florida
I have had this Duster for a couple years and I am finally getting started on it.

I have done a few small things here and there and got it running and driving for the first time in 20 years. now it is time get it taken back apart and give her the make over she deserves.

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Sweet! Keep at it. A few days blocking after the metal work is done, and you'll be ready for paint!
 
Worked on the Right side quarter some last night..... I can see that I am going to have a lot of time invested in block sanding :)

has anyone had any experience with the Eastwood surfacer primer?
also I have some older bodywork that is very solid on the car is it ok to just prep the old bodywork and do my work over the top of it?

Any advise would be most helpful I have not done any body work or painted a car in almost 20 years I am sure the technology has advanced quite a bit since then?
I think I am going to go with PPG or Sherwin Williams base coat clear coat for my paint. I considered single stage but since thought better of it after doing lots of research.



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I’m following. Looking for similar help with paint and body work. I did watch a few Eastwood videos which helped. I’m starting from bare metal. Still lots of work to do.
 
Tad said:
View attachment 1715469064 I’m following. Looking for similar help with paint and body work. I did watch a few Eastwood videos which helped. I’m starting from bare metal. Still lots of work to do.
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I think I have been watching them over and over. I want to do the best that I can by the car and make it look respectable.

I dont understand all of this 2k this and epoxy that..... and if I should seal the car up with epoxy and then start the rest of the finish work or, if I should grind all of the old work that looks perfectly fine and has already done all of the shrinking that it will ever do?
Questions Questions.

sometimes I wonder if I am overthinking. prolly am! I am not looking for a SEMA car or something like that I just want it to be straight and the paint not fall off from it in 2 years. or the fill will not bubble up and look like crap.

We will find out together! lol

BTW..... I used to own a 69 Bee back in the day. very cool cars. :)
 
69superbee said:
I think I have been watching them over and over. I want to do the best that I can by the car and make it look respectable.

I dont understand all of this 2k this and epoxy that..... and if I should seal the car up with epoxy and then start the rest of the finish work or, if I should grind all of the old work that looks perfectly fine and has already done all of the shrinking that it will ever do?
Questions Questions.

sometimes I wonder if I am overthinking. prolly am! I am not looking for a SEMA car or something like that I just want it to be straight and the paint not fall off from it in 2 years. or the fill will not bubble up and look like crap.

We will find out together! lol

BTW..... I used to own a 69 Bee back in the day. very cool cars. :)
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I totally know what you’re saying. I have read these articles and watched videos and talked to guys at paint shops. I hear if you use epoxy you can’t put certain things on top of it and vice versa. or you can’t sand epoxy due to it getting sticky. Yes, I think we are totally overthinking it. I mean, there were guys painting their cars in their garages 30 years ago and didn’t worry about any of this. Good luck with your project.
 
More progress. with the car being tubbed the center body line was gone mid panel. had to do the tape trick to get it back. now I am getting started on the top.
LOL when I looked at the car before I started I said.... "oh this car is pretty straight I just need to block it out and fix a couple small spots" Um... I was wrong!
lucky for me the driver side mid line is all there and looks pretty good.

so far I have about 10 hours just into this panel and making steady progress.

also I opened up the left side and found what is the worst spot on the whole car. luck I suspected that this might of needed replacing and bought a panel for it. the extension is a little rusty but, I think with some POR 15 it will be good to go.

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Tad said:
I totally know what you’re saying. I have read these articles and watched videos and talked to guys at paint shops. I hear if you use epoxy you can’t put certain things on top of it and vice versa. or you can’t sand epoxy due to it getting sticky. Yes, I think we are totally overthinking it. I mean, there were guys painting their cars in their garages 30 years ago and didn’t worry about any of this. Good luck with your project.
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thanks Tad.

back in the old days I used to help my dad paint cars in the back yard and actually some of those paint jobs didnt turn out too bad.
 
Whew! blocking panels and getting them straight is not for the faint of heart. but i think I am getting close. Center body line is straight and I can now finish out the panel from there.

was too dumb to take some measurements off from the other side for placement of the body style lines. but, I have it corrected now and Im in the home stretch for the right rear. before i do the final shaping I will bolt the door back on to make sure all is well. and then seal it up.

I did manage to get the left rear partial quarter welded in. a couple small wins. :)

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69superbee said:
Whew! blocking panels and getting them straight is not for the faint of heart. but i think I am getting close. Center body line is straight and I can now finish out the panel from there.

was too dumb to take some measurements off from the other side for placement of the body style lines. but, I have it corrected now and Im in the home stretch for the right rear. before i do the final shaping I will bolt the door back on to make sure all is well. and then seal it up.

I did manage to get the left rear partial quarter welded in. a couple small wins. :)

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Where did you get the patch panels from? Or did you bye 1/4 skins and cut what you needed? My car needs a small part in front of the rear wheels and the lower portion I see you did on the drivers side 1/4.
 
gtgto said:
Where did you get the patch panels from? Or did you bye 1/4 skins and cut what you needed? My car needs a small part in front of the rear wheels and the lower portion I see you did on the drivers side 1/4.
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I picked it up from AMD. It was just the lower rear.
 
Rebuilt the door hinges that was a pretty easy little job. got the doors rehung and nicely adjusted so I could finalize my work on the quarter panels. .... Whew! that took some effort to get the gaps nice on them. Wyatt and I worked on them for quite awhile. BTW.... Wyatt is my 17 year old. then we removed the front part of the roll cage and the front halo. when we were finished with the above we were sitting by the car and i told him about the bondo surprise i found in the drivers rear quarter and he said... "Dad lets sand the bottoms of these doors and the rockers just to make sure that there are no more surprises." well... sure enough the bottoms of the doors are rotted but, the good news is the rockers are like new. so now we are weighing our options and will either repair the doors we have or locate some rust free doors. Good call my boy.. good call!


I will get some photos posted.
 
That polyester primer sprays on sorta like body filler. Be careful that it is not too thick, just as in what guys tell you about BODY FILLER!! It will do well filling some imperfections. I usually just use it over some pitted metal.
There I a good sticky on here about paint work.
My general method is get to clean bare metal, epoxy primer, body filer, epoxy primer over filler, high build urethane primer, reduce the epoxy and use as sealer, topcoat. Yes there is washing, tack rags, sanding with various grits on high fill primer, etc .
 
My friend Pete has some quality video on you tube
Think of epoxy primer as a sealer.
Finish all bare metal work then spray with sealer..the do the bondo/filler work on top of the sealed surface
 
update: I found a couple doors and got them for a good price actually 4 of them. but the 70-72 door that I got was worse than the door that I had. the guy gave me a set of 73-76 doors with the deal. and I used the bottom of the passenger door to repair my original door. other than a little bit of warping the door came out decent. Wyatt did a good job welding the panel his first time with the welder and I am pretty sure I can get the warps hammered out and it will look fine. I would have just welded in parches but the seam was pretty crusty on this door. its not so bad on the driver door and I will more than likely just patch it. We went and looked at a 69 Barracuda that he was interested in for his first mopar but, it was in really bad shape. So we are still searching for something for him. he was pretty bummed but the back half of the car was pretty much gone.

Wyatt said his list is as follows.
Fastback 64 to 69 barracuda
67 to 72 dart
Another duster 70-76
a /6 car would be cool for him then I can show him out to do a V8 swap
.... Trying to talk him into a 64-66 Dart too.

I told him if the right car came our way for the right price we would make it happen.

If anyone near by has something ( NE Florida area let me know ) :)

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vegasanthony said:
My friend Pete has some quality video on you tube
Think of epoxy primer as a sealer.
Finish all bare metal work then spray with sealer..the do the bondo/filler work on top of the sealed surface
Click to expand...

I have been watching his vid. a lot of good info.
 
Well Made some progress but, its going slow.

finally got the right side down to 220 and starting on the left side.

getting body lines straight is not an easy task.

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Tad said:
Looks great! So did you start with bare metal and just fill in the areas that looked low or did you put down the skim coat on the whole thing?
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I skim coated the whole panel. I got tired of putting it on and grinding it off only to find another low spot. worked out a lot better and saved a ton of blocking and material i think. the drivers side will go a lot faster.
 
I think this is the hardest work in car restoration. I admire the dedication.
 
Idaho said:
I think this is the hardest work in car restoration. I admire the dedication.
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I totally agree. It takes a lot of patience and commitment to get a car properly prepped for paint. I have forgotten the work involved in bodywork. Its been a long time since I have done anything like this.
My advice is to be sure that you know what you are getting yourself into and take the time to realistically look the car over and prepare yourself for the unexpected surprises. Also start with what I like to call an “honest car” this means wearing its factory paint and not mummified in a bunch of old bad bodywork. If you think buying a car and thinking ... cool the car is already in primer is a good idea. Be sure you think it through or you will end up with a garage ornament that will feel like a never ending task or, you might give up on the project all together. I now remember all of this. I also remember when i find the unexpected and things that were initially unseen saying “oh well. I can fix that!” Because once you are committed... you will need to fix it and fix it to the best of your ability.
The bottom line is to be ready for anything that comes up. Enjoy yourself and follow through. Ask questions and listen to people who have done this lind of project. This car might not be a perfect restoration when I am done. But, its going to be a really cool car and I am taking a car that has been a garage ornament since 1987 and putting her back on the road. call me crazy bur, I am eyeballing another one to do for wyatt. This whole experience has been fun and a great bonding project for my boy and I. Lol Wyatt and I were adjusting the drivers door and after 3 hours of frustration. Wyatt was nearly in tears! He said “ im so happy that i feel like its my birthday” lol and we both felt really satisfied when we stepped back and looked our work over. Then i reminded him that we have to take it back off to jam the car out. He tried to debate with me and bounce ideas off from me so we would never have to touch that door again. I told him to forget it. Its coming back off and next time it will be easier.

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Great character building experience for your son. There is no substitute for doing difficult things that make you grit your teeth and carry on.
He will use the experience in all areas of life.
 
well starting to turn the corner and get a little closer on this thing.

yesterday was drivers door day. looked better than what it was after the paint was off from it.

had my helper with me. Was Wyatt's first time with a paint gun.
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