My garage is covered in plastic, the floor, the walls, the ceiling. my tool box and my parts. So, when Nancy asked me what I was planning to do with the hardtop now that it was finished....I could only think to cover it with more plastic. We wrapped it up, and taped it, but later on I unwrapped it so that the paint could breathe (I really just wanted to feel the smooth glossy finish again, and show it off to any one who might stop by the garage!)
How did I get that smooth shiny finish? Well, it started with some wet color sanding with 1000 grit paper, then on to 1500 grit paper (hmmm...I think I skipped the 1000 grit actually). Then I buffed with the Diamond Cut 2.0 compound, followed by the Finiesse-It. The final step is to buff once again with the Glaze, of course changing pads with each application. I didn't sand the rear valance, I will if I need to later on after the entire car is painted.
The best invention in the garage this week is my home made spray gun holder. I found this store-brand garage organizer (probably designed to hold an ironing board) hanging around the house, and bent it into the perfect shape to hold the spray gun so that I could fill it and set it down between coats of paint. 
Why would anyone bother to restore a part that no one would ever see??? I spent hours taking apart my heater box to fix some cracks, and while I was at it, I figured I would sandblast the heater blower and give it a light coat of cast blast paint. WHY? I guess to have the satisfaction of knowing that it was cleaned and restored and .....man, I have issues......who cares!!!
I spent a few hours sandblasting rally wheels, headers, small parts, and my eyes. Then painted these parts, which are now ready for installation.
Next step is to lay down a little fiberglass on the heater box to fix those cracks....because the parts are way to expensive to purchase, new or used. The outer cover is about $168 and the inner heater box is over $450! A little time spent here on restoring these parts is money saved for other parts.
I am off of work the entire week, and it is cold and raining. It figures.
I received my new valve covers purchased on eBay, and I think they look HOT! They have a billet aluminum rail, and a nice fabricated, tig-welded race look. Most importantly, they clear the valvetrain. I now need some good valve cover gaskets to keep any leaks from spillin' all over the new motor.
The correct oil pump pickup has finally been installed, I just need to put the oil pan on. I also got around to returning the parts that needed to go back to Jeg's and Keisler.
I'm off all week, let's see how much I get done!
My garage is covered in plastic, the floor, the walls, the ceiling. my tool box and my parts. So, when Nancy asked me what I was planning to do with the hardtop now that it was finished....I could only think to cover it with more plastic. We wrapped it up, and taped it, but later on I unwrapped it so that the paint could breathe (I really just wanted to feel the smooth glossy finish again, and show it off to any one who might stop by the garage!)
How did I get that smooth shiny finish? Well, it started with some wet color sanding with 1000 grit paper, then on to 1500 grit paper (hmmm...I think I skipped the 1000 grit actually). Then I buffed with the Diamond Cut 2.0 compound, followed by the Finiesse-It. The final step is to buff once again with the Glaze, of course changing pads with each application. I didn't sand the rear valance, I will if I need to later on after the entire car is painted.
