1968 Coronet 500 Project

[JimKueneman]

Here it is

 

[jason79]

I like it. These cars almost need something to break up the hood and maybe the trunk. That is why I did the stripes and the 6 pack scoop.

 

[JimKueneman]

Well today was suppose to be an easy day.. Layout a few stripes, spray on some black and hit it with a couple of coats of clear….

HaHa….. All went well in the the beginning other than taking longer than planned (surprise, surprise)…

Then the black went on…. like crap… It started to get pinheads of orange coming through the black (solvent pop? The orange was almost 24 hours old). So what does brainiac do? Spray on more black, then what… runs with more pin heads of orange…. I text the wife my frustration and and walked away till tonight. I did not think I could wet sand out the mess without destroying the tape but the 3M vinyl tape held tight and worked well as a gauge to how close and flat it was around the edges. I also through out everything that everyone told me and I wet sanded it out with my hand, way more control. The nasty run is in the back and I am still working on that one but the front was salvaged without too much drama…

It now looks like a Coronet with a Roadrunner identity crisis! I wanted something different than the normal bumble bee stripe and it competes with the "Coronet 500" emblems on the side so I went with a triple stripe.

Here is the back still trying to recover from a nasty mess on the dutchman panel… I need to get it done tonight so I can get the tape. It is already leaving a lot of glue behind…

 

[jason79]

Jim there's not a chance you have water in your air? Could be little water bubbles popping where you see the orange?

 

[JimKueneman]

Jim there's not a chance you have water in your air? Could be little water bubbles popping where you see the orange?

No, I de-watered it this morning. I am sure I was just applying it WAY to heavy and it was not drying fast enough before it actually cause the orange to start to react. I am now holding it back and hitting it with much lighter coats. Actually needed to wet sand a few times has made it look _really_ good now. It was a lot of drama but in the long run I think it came out better. I just hit the rear with the first of the final coats (wet sanding done). 20 minutes it will get the last coat and I am done. I need to get the tape off. I am having a hard to impossible time getting the tape impression off the orange on the front. I can't let is stay stuck all night long or the rear will be worse.

 

[jason79]

Good luck with the sanding and tape. You know what they say "if it was easy everyone would do it."

 

[JimKueneman]

Good luck with the sanding and tape. You know what they say "if it was easy everyone would do it."

Yea but I am kinda getting "done with it". I still don't have the clear on and the window of opportunity is closing on that. I still need to fix a couple of spots in the orange where I had a run and wet sanded it out and made a few boo-boos on the fenders getting the hood on.

 

[Pistol Pete]

The solvent base W&G removers works well on tape adhesive. I wouldn't use waterborne on fresh base though. Too harsh.

Glad to see it's working out though

 

[JimKueneman]

The solvent base W&G removers works well on tape adhesive. I wouldn't use waterborne on fresh base though. Too harsh.

Glad to see it's working out though

Sort of...... There was some weirdness and I was not gonna make the clear window. I have wet sanded the entire thing and shooting it again. The tape texture was actually empressed into the paint. I had to sand it out. I was rushing it. This looks way better. My final blocking sucked last time. This time I did a much better job and it is showing.

 

[jason79]

Is there a chance you are putting the base coat on to thick? If you are trying to get a shine with the base coat it is to thick. If the base coat almost has a flat look, it is sprayed correctly. You just need med wet coats not full wet. Your gun should only be 5 or 6 inches from the panel and move at fairly good speed. Just throwing out some ideas.

 

[jason79]

Don't get to discouraged Jim. I have to sand a reshoot my car after I had it cleared. Looked good in the shop, opened up the door to get it in the sun and there was mottling. Enough that it bothered me. So I sanded the entire thing and started over. Watched alot of videos on painting metallic and doing drop coats. Took a few extra weeks and some more paint, but it was totally worth it. There is less mottling now than my 2011 ram has and way less orange peel. Remember we are rookies at this. Kevin Tetz, the guy that used to host the Trucks show on spike TV, is now the Eastwood spokesman. He has some excellent u tube videos. Really helped me alot. Jason.

 

[JimKueneman]

Is there a chance you are putting the base coat on to thick? If you are trying to get a shine with the base coat it is to thick. If the base coat almost has a flat look, it is sprayed correctly. You just need med wet coats not full wet. Your gun should only be 5 or 6 inches from the panel and move at fairly good speed. Just throwing out some ideas.

You hit the nail on the head that is exactly what I did. When it is too thick it gets enough of a shine when you spray on top of it the new paint pools up like you have wax on the surface. The orange came out perfect. It just felt right. It went on the 500/1000 wet sand smooth. Almost zero trash no bugs and it looks like then videos, not sandpapery but not smooth and shiny either. It dried fast like it should and just felt right. Now to tape off the striped again and shoot the black and I will get a couples of clears on it tomorrow so I can breath a bit while finding a good time to add 4 more later. This is very stressful when you have to fix your painting around life and the day job.

 

[JimKueneman]

Wow. I am ready for clear tomorrow. It was going better than ever.....until the trunk stripes. The hood went perfectly. Another hint, never use the cheap thin paper from hardware stores for masking. It will bleed through if you spray enough paint on it. When it does it attacks the paint underneath then you get paper bonded to your paint job. This was the last thing I needed to do tonight. That was at 6pm. It is now midnight and one fiasco after another it is finally done. Also never throw away the small amounts of paint left over. You will always find a repair you need to do and it is nice to have a perfect color matched cup ready to go for a touch up. Time for bed.

 

[JimKueneman]

What next? I can't cut a break. Make sure you wipe down the car very very well before you clearcoat. I got some black overspray onto the clearcoat on the orange I guess it's time to wet sand some more. If it can go wrong painting I think I Have done it on this project

 

[Pistol Pete]

The next car will go much smoother.

 

[JimKueneman]

The next car will go much smoother.

Never again! I have an appreciation for this that I never had before. A great paint job is a huge amount of work.
Barry talked me off the ledge this morning. Just need a bit more base and I should be over the hump......

 

[Pistol Pete]

Never again! I have an appreciation for this that I never had before. A great paint job is a huge amount of work.
Barry talked me off the ledge this morning. Just need a bit more base and I should be over the hump......

Hahaha, he has lots of practice I'm sure. Hang in there Jim, it'll work out in the end and the satisfaction of knowing you painted the car yourself will last far longer than the misery of, well, painting the car yourself.

 

[JimKueneman]

The black smudges on the orange under the clear are growing on me. Gives it that old world hand crafted look.....

 

[44044]

When you get done, I have a '68 500 and a spare bedroom...lol

 

[JimKueneman]

When you get done, I have a '68 500 and a spare bedroom...lol

Sorry once is enough!