1969 GTX....The T stands for tetanus

[threewood]

I had a migraine earlier and took sick leave from work. Got plenty of rest and once my head was somewhat clear I decided to prime the car. Garage was a decent 75 degrees, gun was an Astro Evo 1.4 LVLP set at 18psi at the inlet, 125psi at the wall. 3 wet coats, 2 at 30 minutes and the third at 40.

A painter I am not and will never claim to be. Professional painters have a gift well worth their time and amount charged. With that said, this is going to be a driver and will not be perfect but I will try my best to not suck. I kept the distance to about 7" but my problem is speed, angle and overlap. Still getting there and I do plan to cut and buff to get any flaws out in the end. I would like to keep it close to a factory look with a bit of orange peel.

So I raised my garage door about 18" and set the fan on low. pulling through the garage. I was really close to neutral pressure as the plastic didn't bow in or bow out. No dust or dirt from what I saw as it laid down and I tack ragged everything before starting. I did see plenty of sanding scratches which I will wet sand out before sealer and base coat. But overall I am happy how straight it turned out. I am going to base clear the engine / trunk as planned as it was a pain in the butt raising and lowering them doing the primer. The pics make it look better than it is as there are some dry spots as i lost my wet edge moving around and the sanding scratches I saw.

 

[threewood]

 

[JimKueneman]

Did SPI send you any reducer? 20% reducer and the epoxy will layout beautifully. You do need to move a bit faster as it won't flash as fast. It is more like spraying the base once reduced.

 

[threewood]

Did SPI send you any reducer? 20% reducer and the epoxy will layout beautifully. You do need to move a bit faster as it won't flash as fast. It is more like spraying the base once reduced.

I have a gallon of reducer, which I will use on my sealer coat. It layed out fine, just my technique needs work. Especially on the roof, hood and trunk, really hard to keep the nozzle at 90* and distance at 7". Doors, fenders and quarters are fine.

 

[dryheat]

Nice work Mark ... I'm thinking you should paint my Polara ... just let me know when I can drop it off at your place!

 

[Glenwood]

Looks good to me! Painting is quite an art. I wonder if painting on a rotisserie is any easier.

 

[HawkRod]

I have never had the balls to try painting myself. I would like to do that one day, but perhaps I will try on a beater car that I am just patching up a bit - this way I can learn on that.

You seem to be a natural. Plus, no more Tetanus shots now! Nice work!

 

[threewood]

I have never had the balls to try painting myself. I would like to do that one day, but perhaps I will try on a beater car that I am just patching up a bit - this way I can learn on that.

You seem to be a natural. Plus, no more Tetanus shots now! Nice work!

I had contacted a local about painting it, friends husband but never heard back so I am going in alone lol. I painted my 62 Belvedere in my garage in single stage. This will be my first base / clear. I always have the option of sanding out imperfections and buffing the finish. Not looking for a mirror, just something that looks stock. And it is nice knowing no more rust.

 

[threewood]

Went with silver, real exciting lol. Not a true A4 Silver like the car originally came with but a newer silver. It is called Celestial Silver. This stuff goes on easy and smooth and dries pretty quick. Hope it looks good on the exterior when I get to it. Going to get some rest and clear coat it in a little while.

 

[Glenwood]

Pretty exciting! Looks awesome.

 

[threewood]

Have the first coat of clear on and....it was anti climatic. Maybe a bit too much material coming out but I sped it up a bit and got that nice new car slight orange peel thing going. I'll re adjust the gun for the second coat. Using SPI 5000 (I had ordered the 5001 low VOC but got this instead) and seems to be the same except it requires reducer to spray. More fog than the base coat that is for sure. Still have psi set at 18, and saw a few sags in the door jamb. Just like the factory! I'm only going 2 coats on these areas focusing on the engine compartment and door jambs. Trunk is getting covered as is the passenger compartment. And wind is blowing so probably get some debris in this coat. Pics to follow soon....

 

[JimKueneman]

Yup it fogs like CRAZY. It will be anti climatic and have orange peel until your are really good (I still am not). Barry says he will never tell anyone they are laying the clear too thick. To get a slick coat you need to really lay it on thick just at the edge of running. Wet sand and buff it will look amazing. You really really need to mask off what you just did when doing the outer shell or you will get fog and overspray on it and piss you off. I know.

Keep going!

 

[threewood]

Yep, I am going to reverse mask it for the exterior. And someone mentioned in my other post about 3M foam tape, which I intend to buy and try out on all the seams. I don't mind a little orange peel.

This is after second coat. Couple more runs in the door jamb area. I think I was moving too fast on some spots. Looks just like the base coat only shinier. I think the outside will go easier because there are no crazy angles like these areas. The color is Celestial Silver Metallic 1J9 ( a Toyota color lol, but I got to see it on the lot on several cars).

 

[GetX'd]

Wow - can't believe you took that rust bucket and turned it into the nice piece you have today. You're a talented guy.

 

[JimKueneman]

Yes the exterior is WAY simpler to shoot. I had a hard time in the trunk and under the hood. The hard corners are a bear to shoot in an even layer.

 

[threewood]

Here is a shot of the engine bay with the garage open...

I got the masking stripped off and got to blocking it down. It is pretty straight with much of the flaws being sanding scratches so i am going over it with 180 to 320 before sealing it. Very few pin holes but there are some small dings that were missed such as the trunk lid. And I cannot find my glazing putty so I ordered more from Amazon...Evercoat Glazing Putty.

And you can see the numerous little dings in the trunk lid.

Also, the hood is not well and would take a bunch of work to get right. Probably from having stuff stored on it for years and the panels between the framework are sunk in and there is plenty of dings. I will keep it for now as it is presentable but will most likely get a fiberglass hood or a repop steel in the future.

 

[SlinktRR]

just read through your whole project and I am blown away by the skill and speed with which you built this car. With not much repro sheet metal as well simply amazing. Sometimes it is better just to cut out rust and keep some factory metal but that roof job looked pretty hairy. The silver is awesome I for one will love to see the finished silver bullet 1969 version, cheers

 

[69 GTX]

Looks Great!

 

[mr. b]

wow looking great keep up the good work

 

[threewood]

Rolled it out into the sun to do some putty work and sand it down with 320 grit. Boy the sun brings out all the flaws....I should probably roll it back in and dim the lights lol. Lots of pinholes and a few shallow dings but it is getting close.

Hosed out the garage again, and will again before I mask off the interior to shoot the exterior.