59 body is finally in paint!

[John Mcgraw]

Well, I finally got the body into the shop today and got the color shot on it.
I rolled the body out on the drive to cure in the sun, and I must have had a dozen people pull in the drive to get a look at it. This thing is RED!
All the block sanding really paid off, as it is real straight. The chassis is now completely done except for the brake and fuel lines, and I will try to get some pics posted of it in the next day or two.

Regards, John McGraw

http://www.villagephotos.com/pubbrowse.asp?selected=900316

 

[BarryK]

John

looks GREAT!
i can see why it would get a lot of attention in your driveway. C1's would get attention anyway, but a nice red body like that can't be missed.

Barry

 

[67HEAVEN]

Yowsers! She's looking beautiful, John.

You're catching up to me very quickly. I've gotta work harder.

 

[Fuelie]

John,

That is sure one striking colour.....will be a fantastic look when attached to that beautifully detailed chassis!

 

[CHEV66JB]

Re:

I gotta stop surfin' and get WORKIN'!!!


Regards,

Jim

 

[BarryK]

I gotta stop surfin' and get WORKIN'!!!


Regards,

Jim

Jim

when you need a hand don't forget to let me know.

Barry

 

[Claude Edwards]

Looks great John. What version of red did you end up using?

 

[John Mcgraw]

Claude,

Although it pains me to admit it, I used Dodge Viper Red. I got my choices narrowed down to Viper Red, and the C5 Torch Red, and the Viper Red won out.
I used PPG Concept single stage urethane and have have not decided for sure whether I am going to apply any clear or not.I will let it cure overnight, and will start color sanding and buffing tomorrow.
Regards, John McGraw

 

[Tom Bryant]

Looks fantastic. I have no experience with PPG's product but DuPont Centari takes on a look of laquer when it's been color sanded and buffed. You shouldn't need any clear unless you use somthing with a high UV shield for protection.

Tom

 

[IH2LOSE]

WOW


That doesnt look like any home garage paint job I have seen before.

 

[John Mcgraw]

Tom,

The only reason for the clear would be additional protection. This is going to de a driven car and not a trailer potato, so I may go ahead and use clear. In spite of what I said, I went ahead and color sanded and rubbed a small section last night to see the depth of gloss, and it will need no clear for depth of gloss!
Regards, John McGraw

 

[CHEV66JB]

Re:

John,

Can you come paint my Chevelle? I'm in MD, so I'm sure you'd want more than a case of beer...


Jim

 

[Ron Miller]

Claude,

Although it pains me to admit it, I used Dodge Viper Red. I got my choices narrowed down to Viper Red, and the C5 Torch Red, and the Viper Red won out.
I used PPG Concept single stage urethane and have have not decided for sure whether I am going to apply any clear or not.I will let it cure overnight, and will start color sanding and buffing tomorrow.
Regards, John McGraw

She looks great, John! Wish I had one, as well. And I think the Viper red looks great, too! Congrats!

 

[61 Silver]

Paint

Hi! John

Looks Great!
I hope to spray my Sateen Silver today, but it is lacquer and will never look as good as yours.

 

[Tom Bryant]

Tom,

The only reason for the clear would be additional protection. This is going to de a driven car and not a trailer potato, so I may go ahead and use clear. In spite of what I said, I went ahead and color sanded and rubbed a small section last night to see the depth of gloss, and it will need no clear for depth of gloss!
Regards, John McGraw

I can understand that. The shop I worked in way back before base/clears were a way of life cleared over single stage urethane in production work for just that reason. It will look great.

61 Silver,
I love Sateen Silver. We need pictures as soon as possible. A silver C1 just hase a very unique look about it.

 

[JohnZ]

Looks fabulous - Viper Red was a great choice (only slight bias here)

 

[rowingone]

Looks great John!! I do have a quick question as I am about to primer my 64. I am going with ppg as well and have gotten different ideas about which primer to use. Did you go with the epoxy DP sealer and then K36 over that? How many times did you block and reprime? Any tricks that I should know about when block sanding? Thanks for any suggestions . . I'm a little nervous because of my inexperience!

 

[studiog]

Looks great John!! I do have a quick question as I am about to primer my 64. I am going with ppg as well and have gotten different ideas about which primer to use. Did you go with the epoxy DP sealer and then K36 over that? How many times did you block and reprime? Any tricks that I should know about when block sanding? Thanks for any suggestions . . I'm a little nervous because of my inexperience!

DITTO but a few more questions. Does the Concept single stage urethane behave similar to acrylic enamel? How far into the door jam did you wrap the white cove color?
What did you use to block around the headlight area? The body looks great!

 

[John Mcgraw]

I did not use an DP on the body. I am a big fan of it for metal parts as a self-etching primer, but have never seen the value of it on bare fiberglass.
I used a combination of Slick sand polyester surfacer followed by PPG NCP 271 primer surfacer. Don't ask me why I use NCP instead of K36, since I have no good reason other than this is what I have used before and it has worked well.
The NCP primer/surfacers are kind of a waste as well since they are also an etching corrosion resistant primer, but I paint metal cars as well, so it is just easier to stick with one primer. A lot of guys use K36 and I am sure that it will perform as wellas NCP.
If you want the body really straight, invest in a good hand file board and some 180 and 360 stick-on paper for it. This long board is absolutely necessary to maintain a straight line on long panels. A short hand block just does not cover a long enough area to maintain a flat sanding pattern. After you get a couple of coats of primer shot on, then shoot a fog coat of a contrasting color over it for a guide coat. A simple rattle can of black paint will do. As you start blocking the body, you will see the high spots go away instantly, while the low spots will hold the black paint. The trick is to get the entire body sanded so that all the guide coat is gone, but you have not broken through to the bare glass anywhere. I will generally keep sanding on the high spots until the guide coat goes away on the low spots and then prime again. There were spots on my body where I must have shot them at least 4 times, bot other spots that only took 2 applications of primer. It is all a matter of how straight the body is to begin with!

Regards, John McGraw

 

[John Mcgraw]

Studiodog,

Single stage urethane behaves like a cross between acrylic lacquer and enamel.
It cures pretty rapidly and will go on with a high gloss that will require almost no buffing with a skilled spray gun operator. A finished single stage job will look very much like a lacquer job except that the jambs will be much more glossy since the factory did not buff the jambs. Of couse, the urethane will be way more durable than the lacquer.
I wrapped the cove color to the first corner and then killed it at a sharp line with masking tape. This would be incorrect if judging was in your future, since the factory did not mask a hard line on the cove color.
I have probably no less than 10 different sanding blocks from very hard to very soft in several differnt shapes. you just have to find out what works for you in a given area. Usually around the hearlights, I block with a fairly firm block and sand with the block longwise on the fender but move the block up and down around the curve of the fender. This maintains the straight line, but avoids leaving flat spots on the curve. Around the botton of the headlights, you will have to go down to using your finger as a block to get in the tight radius used there.

Rregards, John McGraw