I did it! The Stingray now has a shiny coat of paint, and I did it in my garage for a few hundred dollars. I started by giving it the basecoat of 1967 Marina Blue, and as can be expected, had immediate problems. The lower doors and hood were terrible, with lots of sand scratches that were were visible. I took the hood off and sanded it down with 600, and then re-shot it again with the base. The doors were also wet sanded down to the primer and re-shot, each with three more coats of base blue. No big deal right....wrong...I spilled about $100 worth of paint when I dropped the gun. Nice job. So I was running out of supplies quickly. What, no picz you say? I was so frazzled, I forgot...sorry. Then I had to lay down the thin line tape for the hood graphic, and by then I was ready for bed.
Wake up the next morning, paper off the entire car and shoot some black down the hood. After removing the paper/tape I found a few areas that needed a bit of a touch up, so I adjusted the spray gun fan to small, reduced the air pressure, and was able to blow in the paint like an air brush. I was pretty excited with my new talent!
So here it is as of tonight, with two medium wet coats of clear, and a ton of dust, runs and bugs to color sand out of it tomorrow.
Yesterday, Tommy (72 Chevelle) and I were talking about how the body work was going. I told him that I probably know enough about paint and body work to write my own book...but it is the application of this knowledge that eludes me. Every time I do it , I get better at it, but there are those times where I swear I just got lucky at it.
My wonderful new neighbors are so kind and supportive as I push the Vette out into the driveway each day and sand, sand, sand. Then I push it back in and prime, push it out and sand. I tried to warn them that when the Vette is done, I am sure to have another project in the driveway, and they don't seem to be bothered by that. (Whew)
I was wet sanding the car for what I thought was the last time with the 600, when I found this HUGE bulge on the rear deck. (I thought I had fixed it earlier) Damn, now I had to rough it up and start filling and feathering again. I lucked out by getting it the first time!So, you want to see what it looks like after all this sanding? I have given it my best effort with the sandpaper, washed it down, and plan to paint this week. Wish me luck!
I didn't want to post another entry, but I couldn't let the opportunity go by with such a title. I hung the doors and hood, and tried to set all the gaps equally the same. Of course I'm frustrated with the results, because on a Stingray you can't shim the fenders or hood...just align the doors the best you can. I really want the body line to match up nicely, but it never really did before because the front end, and the rear end, are both aftermarket pieces. 
The hood always had a huge lift here. Not much I can do about it, I can't bend fiberglass.
Then I found the little bag with the bolts, and of course I never cleaned them. So after I do, I'll hang the rear pieces and finish aligning the body parts to the best of my ability. Then finish sanding, and I hope (gulp) paint!
No, I'm not in the garage with the guitar...I'm jammin the doors and hood. I finally thought that I've spent enough time with the sandpaper, and it was time to put some color down. I hope to have the doors hung and the hood back on this week, so that I can sand the rest of the body with 600 and shoot it next Friday.
All I have to do today if figure out if I need to clear the jambs first, or hang the parts back on the car, paint the basecoat and then clear everything. I'll figure it out.
I sanded the hood...again...and then wet sanded it down to 600. I leaned the broom handle up against the edge to get an idea, and shot these two pics. I'm out of primer, but I think one more coat (or two or three) ought-a do it. Let me know what you think.
It was a productive weekend here at South Hill Customs, and we had lots of welcome visitors. It started off with a visit from our good pal Tommy and his '75 Stingray.
Then we got a visit from Eddie, who has my first stingray, a '73 L-48. Unfortunately his ex-wife took a claw hammer to it in the garage and it needs some extensive body work and new paint....ouch!
We also had a visit from a friend (who's identity will remain a secret for his own protection) with his new yellow 505 hp Viper. He just got it out of the repair shop with $20,000 worth of "minor" body and suspension repairs after he hit the gas a bit too hard and threw the rear end out into an oncoming mini-van. The rims alone are over $3,200 each!
I'm not sure who owns the red Lamborghini kit car, but he drove by a few times. Stop in if you get the chance!
Jimmy was here lending a helping hand, as well as Tommy ('72 Chevelle) and Dave "the Mayor" ('50 Merc) who stopped by to check things out. I titled this blog "No Fingerprints" not because we didn't leave any on the body work, but because I no longer have any fingerprints left, seriously!. I sanded so much that I have no fingerprints, just bloody tips on the ends of my hands. I am STILL working on the hood, almost there, just a few tiny waves to block out.
I finished cleaning up the hardware for the decklid and installed it. It took a few times to get it all adjusted, but now all the body panels are on, finally!
I was feeling a bit down about when I looked at the doors last week. Why were those body lines so off? Then a little help from some $3 wooden shims used to adjust the door gaps and we were in business! The lines are very good now, and I am ready to start block sanding with the 600. I was hoping to have it painted by this weekend, but of course work has me all back up, again, maybe next weekend.
I didn't want to post another entry, but I couldn't let the opportunity go by with such a title. I hung the doors and hood, and tried to set all the gaps equally the same. Of course I'm frustrated with the results, because on a Stingray you can't shim the fenders or hood...just align the doors the best you can. I really want the body line to match up nicely, but it never really did before because the front end, and the rear end, are both aftermarket pieces. 
We also had a visit from a friend (who's identity will remain a secret for his own protection) with his new yellow 505 hp Viper. He just got it out of the repair shop with $20,000 worth of "minor" body and suspension repairs after he hit the gas a bit too hard and threw the rear end out into an oncoming mini-van. The rims alone are over $3,200 each!
