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| 06/24/04
Update |
The underside of the body has been painted and it's ready to send to the paint
booth! The easiest way to paint the bottom of the car is to do it while it's
suspended upside-down. I decided this was something I could do to speed things along. It
didn't turn out too bad for a paint job by an amateur in a dirty garage. A booth is so
much nicer but I made due and will show how later.
I documented everything with photos but I'm
going to wait until we get into the paint booth to cover the paint application (and the
steps leading up to it) in depth. The PPG representative will be present when we paint the
body to share his expertise in PPG products and their application. He'll cover what
products to use on various surfaces and why, as well as the proper application techniques.
We're scheduled to paint on the 17th of July and we'll be priming and blocking the body
the weekend before.
| I painted the floor of
the body with a brilliant silver that has a fine metallic, giving it a kind of aluminum
looking finish. The color break will be
in the top center of the frame rail, so the floor will look silver while the sides retain
the body color as they overlap the frame. I think it will be a nice contrast to the purple
frame. |
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We've also sprayed the frame so I can start assembling it while
the body is being finished. (more on this later too)It went well except for a couple runs in the clear. Frames have to be the
hardest piece to paint because of all the little nooks and crannies. To spray into some of
these areas you inevitably get too much paint on another area. |
Kids, don't be scared - this isn't the Easter
Bunny from hell. No fancy high-tech paint
booth or special paint suit here - no sir, this is poverty painting at its best!
You've probably heard the old song "Smoke gets in your
eyes" well, let me tell you, "Clear gets in your hair" and this was Bob's
solution to the problem. |
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Oh baby, oh baby! I won't divulge the secret formula, but I will share that there's a full
($70) bottle of pearl in every quart. So each gallon of paint contains 4 bottles of
powdered pearl.
The paint looks electric! I'm so excited! These pictures
don't do it justice. |
What the heck is that thing?
A body cart has been built to hold the body about 17-inches off the ground
while we paint. It's on 4 swivel casters and has 2 stabilizer casters in the back. The
flat floor of the frame (from the firewall to the wheel wells) will be bolted to the upper
outside 2x4's in two places on each side. The boards closely follow the frame rails except
for the center bow. The front and rear body mounting holes will be drilled vertically
through them using four 6-inch long bolts to anchor the body down. This system allows us to roll in in and out of a trailer and in and out of
the paint booth with ease. The body will sit on this cart until we're ready to place it
back on the frame. All bodywork was done with the body on the car (and bolted down tight)
to make sure it's correct and lines up right. The cart will only be used for priming,
blocking, painting and temporary storage. The doors and deck lid will be painted off the
car but at the same time as the body so the paint will be an exact match. |
SNEAK PEEK!
Yup, you saw it here first. The band Aerosmith is having a
custom theme bike built and here's a sneak peek at the front wheel - fresh out of the CNC
milling machine. Pretty cool huh?I'd like to
build a bike sometime. It would be a fraction of the time and expense of this project.
Like the band says, "DREAM ON, DREAM ON, DREAM
ON, DREAM UNTIL YOUR DREAM COMES TRUE". |
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| Until next time - Keep the shiny side up - and
DREAM ON! |
Scooter
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Updates: |
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