What the World needs now is... a progress thread, An update after 2 years? Unpossible! Yet, true. Options

[VaccaRabite]

I'm taking a little break from the work, though I have gotten a lot done today.
The front trunk and gas tank area both got scrubbed with lacquer thinner and vacumed. I got all the glue off the wall of the front trunk.

After lunch, I am going to scrub the cabin and rear trunk. Then I'll give all three areas one final cleaning with wax and grease remover, mask and spray the first coat of sealer on the interior spaces.

Depending on what time it is when that is done, I'll sand off flash rust from the exterior and epoxy seal them as well. However, I thin that will probably be a job left for sunday.

I am hopeful, though, that by the time I head back to work Tuesday, the car will be fully coated in epoxy sealer.

It would be great if I get all this done. But right now, I am going to go have have lunch before I go back out to continue my work. I've still got a lot to do.

[Dr Evil]

You know better than that, Zach
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

[RoninEclipse2G]

hey Zach, how did you build your rotisserie? it looked like you cannibalized a couple 1/2 ton engine stands.

[VaccaRabite]

You know better than that, Zach
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)

Too busy for a camera. I have pretty much only stopped today to eat poop and pee. Eating an early dinner now, then go out to finish wrapping the garage in plastic.

hey Zach, how did you build your rotisserie? it looked like you cannibalized a couple 1/2 ton engine stands.

It is made from 2 x 700 pound engine stands from Harbor Freight. The rest was stock steel from the local steel yard, and the plans were a combo of the AA plans, and plans from another member here, and me just winging it.

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

So. I got the front trunk painted with Epoxy Primer. I need to tune the guns better, but the damn guns did not come with ANY instructions. Even though I usually like to just wing it, this is a little more then I like to just wing.

So I was able to put down paint. I did not do much paint prep to the trunk other then cleaning the hell out of it, so it looks rough. But it is sealed. I am treating the trunks as "proof of concept" so hopefully the rear trunk will look better when I paint it sunday. I am hopefull that I will be able to seal the rest of the car sunday, but I need to find gun directions online somewhere. I'll have a seperate post about that in a moment.

Gotta get ready for my parade tomorrow.

Later
Zach

[Dr Evil]

Parade tomorrow? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/gayfight.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aaron.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whip[1].gif) This kind of parade?

[VaccaRabite]

Parade tomorrow? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/gayfight.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aaron.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/whip[1].gif) This kind of parade?

More like this, but hopefully with more blue coats. The Chestertown parade usually draws about 20 guys, due to the party afterwards.

Zach

[JPB]

Nice work home skillet and interesting use of the old roticeroid. Glad to see your more of a pig slicer than a pig staber. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[ptravnic]

I have pretty much only stopped today to eat poop and pee.

Did no one else pick up on this?

Zach - you eat poop and pee? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) Whatever gets a rise in your Levi's...

[Zimms]

Zach,

Did you MIG weld the rotisserie yourself and if so, did you do much welding prior to welding it? I am going the same route, but need to pick up some welding skills.

Thanks,
Mark

[JPB]

I have pretty much only stopped today to eat poop and pee.

Did no one else pick up on this?

Zach - you eat poop and pee? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/barf.gif) Whatever gets a rise in your Levi's...

I picked up on it but he made an error, its, eat poop and drink pee or sumthinlikedat. Them skivillwar boys really like to keep it real don't they? Colonel Sanders didn't know a thing about war but he made a hell of a good bucket of fried chicken!!!!:rotfl:

[VaccaRabite]

Zach,

Did you MIG weld the rotisserie yourself and if so, did you do much welding prior to welding it? I am going the same route, but need to pick up some welding skills.

Thanks,
Mark

Due to the thickness for the metal, I used flux cored wire at a high temp setting and a low wire speed.

This was my first major welding project. I practiced a little, and had done a little sheet metal welding on my car. However, the thickess of the metal (1/8 inch wall thickness, 1/4 inch for a 2x2 that I got for free from a neighbor) anf CLEAN metal makes for very easy welding. Welding thick metal is way easier then welding thin metal. If you make good cuts (I used a power miter saw with a metal cutting blade) the welding goes together like a snap. I did not bother to grind down the welds. In fact, I made them a little thicker. Afte the first pass, I wire brush the seam, and then lay a second bead, really melting it in good. Probably not needed, but it made me feel better.

On a lincoln 140 (or HD1400 - same welder, but sold via Home Depot) for 1/8 inch thick steel I was using temp D (the hottest) and wire speed between 2 and 3. For my welder, 1/8" steel is around the max that true MIG could weld, so I felt safer with flux core, which my welder is rated to 5/12 inch thickness.

I have to admit, most of my freinds think it is more cool that I welded something from scratch that can supprt a car and is useful, then the fact that I am restoring a 30 year old car.

Zach

[Dr Evil]

I thought the car was on it to prove that your welds could hold, your restoring the car? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[VaccaRabite]

I had to come in and post this.

I just caught a bird.

I just re-plasticed off the garage, so I can seal the rest of the car (a breeze blew into the garage this morning, and took down much of the plastic). I was sanding some paint ripples out of the front trunk, when I heard flapping. I looked around, and a bird was trying to exit the garage though the clear plastic I have taped to the garage door. I walked over and caught it. I tried to get Erin to take a pic of me with the bird, but she would not (women (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif)). So I let it go.

I am now masking off the rest underside of the car, so I can seal the rest of it. I'll probably mask until dinner time, eat and the go out and seal the rest of the car.

These past few days I have gotten so much done, between the house and the car.

I am making one choice that I know I am going to regret later. I am not putting in an Engman stiff kit while I have the car unpainted. I had intended to do this, but never got around to it. I know once I have the car sorted, I am going to want one, but it will have to be a winter project for some future time. Right now, I need to start taking the antibiotics to kill the DWD, and get this puppy done. I really want to drive it to Hershey next year.

Zach

[Zimms]

Thanks for the info. I welded some thin sheet, and the results were nothing to write home about. I was getting fearful of welding something that would hold a lot of weight over me.

[VaccaRabite]

I no longer need to worry about flash rust. :-)

My car is encased in epoxy primer.

I need to shower, and I will take some pics tomorrow when there is sun.

I need to get better at painting. I think I have too much pressure going into the gun. When I put on the second coat of epoxy, I am going to try 20 psi instead of 30.

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

So, painting.... Its fun, but it looks that I am going to be as slow a painter as I was a welder and a body man.

Pics:

First, the paint booth, to make sure that I don't paint my wife's car. Its not perfect, but it works well enough. You can see the 914 behind the plastic.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377277.1.jpg)

2 coats of epoxy sealer/primer yeilded this:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377278.2.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377279.3.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377279.4.jpg)

I'll be the first to admit it is not perfect. This morning I went out to look at last night first coat, and found all sorts of body irregularities that I could not see when it was steel and body putty. So, I mixed up more filler, and went to work leveling things out. I also found a few pinholes in the filler that I am going to need to close. I had not seen them before, and was hoping not to need a glaze. After sanding the filler down, I put on another thin coat on one or two spots that warrented it, and sanded it again.

I wiped the car down again with wax and grease remover, and then dusted with a tack cloth.

Last night, I had the pressure set at 30 PSI at the hose, and that was too high, got runs too fast. So I set it this time for 20 PSI. My test spray looked okay, but as soon as I put it on the car I saw it was crap. Not enough pressure to atomize the spray, so I am going to need to sand that out. I raised it to 25 PSI and that seemed to work well. Nice spray, but not laying so fat that it runs.

Somehow, I found dust, again, on the same quarter panel fender that I needed to sand any how. So, that will have to be sanded out too.

The rest of the car went well, except for a run at the rear where I was not paying attention. *sigh*

There are areas where the paint lays differently over the body filler then the metal. I hope that is just how sealer works, and when I spray the sandable primer that will just cover over.

So, its not perfect, and I still have a long way to go, but MAN do I feel happy to see the car one color!

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

So, last night after the folks went home from the Memorial Day cookout at my place, I went back into the garage, sanded the orange peel from the car, and put on another thin coat of epoxy sealer to cover where I sanded through. This simply resulted in more orange peel. After I spent several minutes cursing Eastwoods for not packaging instructions with the paint guns I bought (Devilbiss Startlingline), I cleaned the guns, put them away and went inside. While I was not able to find directions for the Startingline guns, I was able to find directions for the FinishLine guns, which are also Devilbiss gravity fed HVLP guns with a similar layout. So, now that I have 3 coats of paint on the car (which I need to sand smooth again) I now know that I totally bollocked up tuning the guns.

This is a bit of a rant.
Eastwoods Automotive has been my goto company whenever I have needed something for this resto that was tool related, and that I did not want to buy locally. I know they are a little more expensive then if I shopped around, but they have EVERYTHING, and they tell you exactly what it is used for, and it is a PA company so I like to support them. That said, I feel that they totally dropped the ball with this paint gun set, by not putting in a simple 8 page instruction booklet.

They heavily advertised the 3 gun Startline set as _THE_ gun set for the beginning hobbiest painter. Hey, thats me. For under $200 you got 2 production sized HVLP guns (one with a primer tip, and one with a finish tip) a touchup HVLP gun, paint cups for all three guns, a regulator, a cleaning brush, and a free gun stand. But then, they go and cripple you by not including any documentation on how to use, clean, store, etc. the equipment you just bought. You just get a slip of paper that says to tighten the packing nut on the gun. Given that the guns are being targeted towards folks that have never done this before, the result is almost catastrophic. There was not even anything in or on the box which said which gun was the primer nozzle, and which had the paint/clear nozzle. I had to figure that out by looking at each nozzle, and just using the biggest for the primer.

I do realize that there is a learning curve to painting, and deal on these guns was smokin', but the time spent printing an 8 page PDF doc on what the parts were, how to clean, and how to tune and pattern the guns would have been invaluable. I know how to do it now, but it cost me a lot of sanding time (and more to come, as I sand off last nights bad paint). I am not the only one to complain about this either. There are many complaints on the Eastwood site about the lack of instructions.

There, rant over.

Classes start tomorrow, so I doubt that I am going to have any time to work on the car this week, but I do hope to be able to sneak in to the garage and sand it smooth before the weekend. We will see.

Zach

[VaccaRabite]

So, I did not get any work done on the car this weekend. I had planned to work on more painting today, but the (much needed) rain held me off. I had homework to do anyhow.

BUT, I did do some other rather important work.

As of Friday night, this is how I had my "shop" part of the garage separated from the rest of the garage:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377413.1.jpg)

As of Saturday night, it looked like this:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm1.static.flickr.com-179-1274377413.2.jpg)

I love it when I get to build things. This has freed up _SO_ much room in my shop - which I can now consider a shop as it is a separate room from the garage.

The inside now looks as such:
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm2.static.flickr.com-179-1274377414.3.jpg)
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm2.static.flickr.com-179-1274377414.4.jpg)

Aside from the obvious wall and workbench, I added doublers to the existing light fixtures (as well as putting in CFLs instead of incandescents) and 2 hanging shop fluorescent light banks as well. I can actually see what is going on in there.

For painting, I am just going to put plastic over the door to the garage.

I still have shelving to hang in the garage part, in order to more efficently use the space, but that will have to wait for a drier, less busy day.

Zach

[Dr Evil]

Boioioioioioioioioioioing! I am sooo fricken jealous.