Don's 1969 Charger Restoration

[mopar4don]

A-pillars are DONE!

Did a little patch on the drivers side






I had a LOT of trouble getting these seams to blend out using disk grinders.
Ended up using a file. the problem is it takes a LONG LONG time to file down welds, and get it good.
But thats what I did and this is what how it looks. (NO FILLER by the way)









Used the sharpie as a guide coat


then

 

[cdr]

excellent work !!!!

 

[Superfreak]

Now that was an episode.

 

[Ron 73]

Wow Don the work your doing is a step above awesome man! I don't know if this will help but i use a little cheap hand air grinder and the disks are small and it really has helped me with getting and grinding down the welds the regular one cant seem to satisfy me with, really works great in the hard to get at welds, it's as i said a cheap 15 dollar job but really helps a lot!!! Keep it up man, ive told others of your project and would like to think there checking out some real meticulous, and tedious work....

 

[hunt2elk]

Nice job on the roof install Don, you almost make it look easy lol.

 

[mopar4don]

Wow Don the work your doing is a step above awesome man! I don't know if this will help but i use a little cheap hand air grinder and the disks are small and it really has helped me with getting and grinding down the welds the regular one cant seem to satisfy me with, really works great in the hard to get at welds, it's as i said a cheap 15 dollar job but really helps a lot!!! Keep it up man, ive told others of your project and would like to think there checking out some real meticulous, and tedious work....

Thanks Ron,
The way I approach blending the welds is to use a 1/16 thick cutoff wheel (thicker than normal) mounted in a die grinder. I use this and bring the welds down to just above flush. Then I switch to a 2" or 3" disk and blend down the weld.
The problem I had on the a-pillars was there was just not a lot of room to blend it in, that and I had two curves to contend with. I tried with the abrasive disks but removed to much metal. (put a flat spot in the metal)
By switching over to a file instead of the disks, I had much more control, and the metal removal rate was controled.
The finished results are so good that I can't find were the weld seam is!

- - - Updated - - -

Nice job on the roof install Don, you almost make it look easy lol.

Ummm.... easy is not a word I would use, but yeah maybe I can give some insperation to someone else out there like you did for me!

 

[Propwash]

Looking good Don! I think the next '69 Dodge Charger puzzle you do should look like this:



Think you earned the right to dial it down a notch or two in the puzzle department.

 

[conv67bdere]

Holy cow Mopar4Don . . . you slipped a new car is where your jigsaw puzzle use to be . . . the work is outstanding ! ! Great job as always !

Keep up the great work . . . and thanks for keeping us posted on your progress . . . it's a great show !

 

[pat1969charger]

Looks awesome don! I hope someday I'm at that point haha!

 

[mopar4don]

Looking good Don! I think the next '69 Dodge Charger puzzle you do should look like this:

View attachment 228706

Think you earned the right to dial it down a notch or two in the puzzle department.

Thanks Prop
I really like the puzzle pic! I would like to up-size it and make a poster and hang it in my garage, next to the REAL puzzle! Hmmmmmm :thinker:

Holy cow Mopar4Don . . . you slipped a new car is where your jigsaw puzzle use to be . . . the work is outstanding ! ! Great job as always !

Keep up the great work . . . and thanks for keeping us posted on your progress . . . it's a great show !

Thanks Kahn,
I am just following the lead of others before us, hoping to inspire others will save these AWSOME mopars!
(or sell them cheap to me) :icon_biggrin:

Looks awesome don! I hope someday I'm at that point haha!

With a little time and effort..... I mean a LOT of TIME and effort you'll get there

 

[mopar4don]

Let us all remember the reason for this season,
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas!

 

[cdr]

MERRY CHRISTmas Don

 

[mopar4don]

Look what Santa brought me.

 

[Propwash]

Awesome. Now that's some great present's!

Thanks Prop I really like the puzzle pic! I would like to up-size it and make a poster and hang it in my garage, next to the REAL puzzle! Hmmmmmm

http://www.cafepress.com/+1969_charger_03_puzzle,1058602951

Don't think it's a real pig puzzle Don, but never the less that's a pretty cool idea! Would look really neat!

 

[eldubb440]

wow, another "glutten for punishment".........

like i told Propwash in another thread, my wife thinks I am nuts...... and she cant believe there are so many of us out there

keep up the good work,

PS,,,,, the "thick" cutoff wheel on the die grinder is my tool of choice also :icon_rambo:

 

[daytona kid]

Merry Christmas Don.:christmas_presents: Santa was very good to you. Work is outstanding! What kind of paint/primer is that you are using?

 

[mopar4don]

Merry Christmas Don.:christmas_presents: Santa was very good to you. Work is outstanding! What kind of paint/primer is that you are using?

Thanks Kid,
After blasting, everything was coated with epoxy primer.
I used the cheaper PPG Shopline product.



Then in areas I had to patch, I 1st hit it with a scuff pad, wiped it down with grease and wax remover, then sprayed it with SEM self etching primer.



And please, If at any point in this resto, if someone has questions or concerns about the way I am doing things, PLEASE let me know! I am still learning and you all may have a better way. I am no expert but will help as much as possible.
And if I can't help then someone on here can.

 

[eldubb440]

Don....... ive used that shopline epoxy ONCE....... its nearly impossible to sand, it is hard as a rock and will clog paper wet or dry....... your best bet if using it is to "wet on wet" (with adaquate flash time) shopline filler primer on top of it....... the filler primer sands like butter

ive found u-tech E380 to be the best bang for the buck, best filling, easiest to sand, epoxy out there, short of the ultra-pricey Glasurit stuff


i also use this on weld areas..... awesome stuff...... its very thin and will run into seams also......most corrosion resistant stuff i ever seen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VJCxLwSf7U

 

[Ron 73]

Thanks Ron,
The way I approach blending the welds is to use a 1/16 thick cutoff wheel (thicker than normal) mounted in a die grinder. I use this and bring the welds down to just above flush. Then I switch to a 2" or 3" disk and blend down the weld.
The problem I had on the a-pillars was there was just not a lot of room to blend it in, that and I had two curves to contend with. I tried with the abrasive disks but removed to much metal. (put a flat spot in the metal)
By switching over to a file instead of the disks, I had much more control, and the metal removal rate was controled.
The finished results are so good that I can't find were the weld seam is!

- - - Updated - - -


Ummm.... easy is not a word I would use, but yeah maybe I can give some insperation to someone else out there like you did for me!

Don i thank you for the advice on these things and something i will be trying! Every time i hear of ways to help, It most usualy does just that.. It helps me! Thank you sir, I see Santa is doing his part for the project, cant beat that at all.. And if i may comment on your post to Elk, That word "inspiration" comes up here a lot and ive found out it is the most valuable tool we ALL have hear and with me, my project is just getting started but, everyone of us is helping each other in a valuable way with this inspiration and i think it not only helps with the same way advice does but it keeps us going when sometimes we just get dried up and stay away, we see something, check projects and all of a sudden we get that extra dose of adrenalin and i cant just think im alone with this thought, but im sure grateful for what it does with me.. with that i do have to say that epoxy primer is great stuff, i sure could use some in the near future myself and its on my growing list of supply's needed! thanks bud...

 

[mopar4don]

Don i thank you for the advice on these things and something i will be trying! Every time i hear of ways to help, It most usualy does just that.. It helps me! Thank you sir, I see Santa is doing his part for the project, cant beat that at all.. And if i may comment on your post to Elk, That word "inspiration" comes up here a lot and ive found out it is the most valuable tool we ALL have hear and with me, my project is just getting started but, everyone of us is helping each other in a valuable way with this inspiration and i think it not only helps with the same way advice does but it keeps us going when sometimes we just get dried up and stay away, we see something, check projects and all of a sudden we get that extra dose of adrenalin and i cant just think im alone with this thought, but im sure grateful for what it does with me.. with that i do have to say that epoxy primer is great stuff, i sure could use some in the near future myself and its on my growing list of supply's needed! thanks bud...

Ron, I agree and could not have said it better.
This shopline epoxy seems pretty good to me BUT I have NO experience with it other than what you see that I have sprayed. Maybe someone else has some do's and don'ts, or better products they would recommend. Like the DP90

- - - Updated - - -

Don....... ive used that shopline epoxy ONCE....... its nearly impossible to sand, it is hard as a rock and will clog paper wet or dry....... your best bet if using it is to "wet on wet" (with adaquate flash time) shopline filler primer on top of it....... the filler primer sands like butter

ive found u-tech E380 to be the best bang for the buck, best filling, easiest to sand, epoxy out there, short of the ultra-pricey Glasurit stuff

i also use this on weld areas..... awesome stuff...... its very thin and will run into seams also......most corrosion resistant stuff i ever seen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VJCxLwSf7U

Thanks for the reply eldubb440,
I was advised that I had 24-48 hours (if I remember corectly) that I could respray. Anything after that and the epoxy primer would be to hard and would need to be sanded or scuffed so that the primer would have something to bite into. I don't have a lot of experience with sanding it, but it seems to sand ok when using a scuff pad.
I planned on using the epoxy primer mostly in non showing areas, like the frame rails and front clip. (basically everything up to this point)
If you look on page 4 post #63 you will see that the inside of the fender was sprayed with the epoxy and the outside or showing side was sprayed with regular primer? or maybe high build primer? (Honestly I don't remember, I will have to ask my painter!)

So this bioxide weldable primer is as good as say SEM copper weld thru primer?
Watching the video it doesn't really say it is to be used that way. It like they use it to prevent rust until it can be welded. I guess I would like to know is it good between sheet metal?