Secret experimental 1964 GX 455

[yachtsmanbill]

Well the whole deal took just about two hours, unbelievable! For the better part, when you open the shop door, its pretty darn dramatic. The roof, hood, and trunk turned out really nice but still a few errant pieces of lint here and there. That was with a solvent wipe and a tack job prior to starting.  Unfortunately, as I was cruising along thinking how well the job was going, due to piss poor lighting that I felt was adequate, I was unable to see how much was going on and that produced a few runs.

Dealing with that fact, and the lint deal, I think the whole job is gonna get the 800 sand job and a final coat of clear. Now that I have an idea of how the stuff works, I should end up with a beautiful job. Two absolutely full coats on top of the dry first coat took just about two quarts. 3 hours later its a bit sticky, so Ill give it a chance to cure at least overnight (the mfgrs suggest 24 hours before a wet sand). As all this stuff shrinks about 5%, its already to begin snugging up and not look so juicy. Boat paint with a roll and tip does the same thing. This is gonna reduce the runs to a manageable stage.

I came in feeling sorry for myself. After going out now for a later look, its not as bad as when I finished up. The prep is gonna take a day to accomplish, so why rush it now, right?
Any suggestions appreciated from here...   Bill

[GS66]

Looking good Bill!

[197064buickspec]

Was that one coat of clear with a HVLP gun? And where did all of the dust or lint come from? Looks like allot.

When you use a tack cloth make sure you also go over the masking paper too. I normally use that and go one direction over the entire car. Don't press hard. But before I tack it too I use an air blower and blow the entire car off along with yourself.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but those runs will never come out unless you reblock those panels with a heavier grit sand paper. And basically start over. You can try to smooth them out but looking down the side if the car you will still see them.

With HVLP guns when you spray don't try and load up the clear for a " wet look". It's not laquer days.  Less is better. Less clear is better it may look a little dry or flat but after it dries it will shine. It's easy to sand and polish with little to no orange peal texture.

Also not sure if you had your fluid nozzle adjusted correctly or your air pressure correct. Top adjustment is the width of the fan and the lower one is the fluid adjustment. It shouldn't be adjusted all the way out.

Lastly Harbor Freight guns are good for primer guns that's all.

I have allot of experience in body work and painting cars. I did it for a living for 20 years and opened up a couple of body shops.

[schlepcar]

It is time to take a break....you are not in that bad of shape here. Urethane has to dry before going back after it. Earlier post is definitely true about sanding with coarser paper. You can literally start sanding out any runs with wet 400 and a small block(let dry at least a day or two before trying). Ignore the rest of the car as far as lint and work out your sag areas only. Once they are gone you can sand whole car with water and 800 grit. If you sand through the clear on the sags you can stress NOT(yoda) because once you sand everything with 800,you can blend a little color around if necessary before re-clearing. If you try to rush the repair before the clear cures out good it will react around your repairs. I have actually had the best luck mixing up a bit of clear /activator and putting in a little color to overspray repair areas,then spraying clear over whole area. This seems to eliminate the reaction of fresh basecoat over new urethane,which usually creates grief trying to repair in a timely manner.

[Dr Frankenbuick]

Yes - Just more to work through on the way to a great paint job.  The rest looks good from your pictures.  The junk will sand out for the most part when you are ready for a final cut and buff.  I bought a used Sata 3000 pretty cheap on Ebay and sent it Sata for cleaning seals and adjustment.  I think I have less then $200 in it and it works fantastic.     

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks guys, I really do appreciate the pointers and tips! Right now my tail is between my legs and I am licking my wounds I going out this morning to assess and clean up the shop. Thats part of the problem Im sure LOL. I really thought this phase would be over and we could move on. Theres still plenty to do.

So after the CC has cured, but is still manageable, I want to get on it and back scrape the excess off with a razor blade. Thats just to preface the sanding. Ive had to use that technique before on the boat stuff with varnish and paints and altho tedious, I do have more time than money.

On the gun issue; yeah, I cheaped out, but its the best I could manage $$$. The primer and BC went on surprisingly well, but the CC , even on the first sticky pass seemed to toss droplets at the car, at say, 200-300 per square inch. They flattened out and after getting all the way around, the wet coat did the same thing, HOWEVER, it all blended relatively well. The lint particle thing is probably my fault. Altho really cleaned first (wiped and tacked) just dragging the hose around and debris in the rafters probably dislodged enough crap to get airborne. As of now all that crap is encapsulated with clear haha.

I really did look at the SATA stuff and just couldnt swing it. I do have a several DeVilbiss guns and my old trusty Binks #69 cup guns. All the mess is on the sail panels and on the outside tops of the fenders and doors. Par for the course eh? No problems from the knees down. The HVLP stuff made just as much airborne mess as a cup gun. Too much paint on the needle? Air Pressure too much? I was running around 30 PSI on my gun regulator. The fan seemed OK. Lighting is marginal at best and cant be helped; thats the weird part because all the lower panels are perfect. Hmmm.

This job shouldve been done "as is" but a cut and buff may be the way to go. Dang blast it!   Bill

[WkillGS]

I've successfully sanded out runs in cc..... just make sure it's fully cured before attacking them. When I did my first bc/cc job, I only had two runs.... one down the left side and the other down the right side, must've been 10 feet worth! My error was putting in on too heavy and inadequate time between coats in the cool weather. One spot I hit with a razor blade and the clear was still gummy.

Lots of guys have success with the HF guns. If the clear is spraying with larger droplets, it's not being atomized properly. Paint may need to be reduced more, or higher air pressure usually helps. Best to search YouTube for some HF gun tips.

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks walt! Yeah, the paint is a good product/deal, but te customer support sux. Three callswith a voicemail and their being adamant about emailing questions ( times!) and finally getting a single line answer like this:

"Please advise whether or not thinning of the clear coat is necessary. I just bought your kit) blue sapphire metallic BC and the upper end clear coat which came with one gallon of clear and two quarts of hardener (2:1). Is reduction necessary? Thanks. Awaiting your answer here please!"

"Yes, the included two quarts of hardener must be mixed with the clear to spray."

I called BS on them by phone; "You have my money and thats the help I get?" with no other replies.

I wasnt asking about application, just thinning. I was gonna try the old standby with some lacquer thinner but didnt want to guess the sensitivity of the stuff. I shot some with the detail gun with a .6mm tip and it was really nice, so I went ahead. I shouldve dug out the old Zahn #2 as the can did give a time. The masking tape was almost dry to the touch (still sticky tho) after the first trip around the car so I just went ahead. The big gun was spitting, but after about 15 seconds, all the spots laid flat. The should was a good 70*+, so I didnt feel the temp was too low. That was with a 3 hour heat sink into the car as well.

I can only attribute my mess to poor lighting and definitely too much product applied. The latter being necessary to blend probably due to too little air pressure. A bloody case of the dog chasing his own tail!

I had to take today off with zero sleep last night. I am having a reaction to statin meds with baseball bat pounding nocturnal leg and foot cramps every 1-1/2 hours.  I quit the meds a month ago and they cleared up. My doc changed the brand and I was on 1/4 dose (10Mg) and they started back without relent again last week. Now I get them even sleeping upright on the couch all day today; still every 1-1/2 hous. What gives there? Im ready to stick my head in the microwave haha.

Tomorrow the paint is getting a close shave. A two day beard should be plenty LOL. Its not the end of the world; just another 2 day set back.  Thanks!  Bill

[schlepcar]

When I did my first bc/cc job, I only had two runs.... one down the left side and the other down the right side, must've been 10 feet worth!


Absolutely true with new materials...I purposely spray some of my paper to use as a .....
Have another beer before next coat gauge. If the spot is not literally stringing away on my finger it is time to open another 12 once can of patience. In cold weather it may take a lot of patience so I prefer to stay away from any cans larger than 12 once size. There is a fine line between too wet,stringy,tacky,and get on anew coat if you want it to flow out decent. A 16 once can of patience will sometimes interfere with any one single stage of drying time. Generally these stages take place between 8-20 minutes with properly mixed material,but I have waited as much as an hour in cold weather.

[yachtsmanbill]

I like yer timer! Im not consuming in the shop but do have various other "methods".   Bill

[yachtsmanbill]

Well two 24 packs later the stuff was still soft enough to leave a sleeve print from my hoody at about noon today. Thats about 30+ hours of cure time. Its cold out there overnight with the heat off so its gonna take some extra time. I spent a few hours with a bunch of brand new razor blades cutting off what I could. This mind you, was only to minimize the sanding part. The slices came off like a biopsy slice for a microscope slide. Tedious comes to mind. The inside of each slice was still sticky enough to stick to the shiny stuff. Had to pick each one out with the corner of the blade.

These are single edge blades bought in 100 packs. I took a piece of 1-1/2 inch blue tape and wrapped the finger handle making it easier to control. On one spot when I was done, I took a piece of well used 400 wet and didnt do much but dull the finish. I tried some new 220 wet and it wouldnt begin to slide. Still too soft I'm guessing?

The bumps still showed through even after a back scraping. Guess its gotta dry some more. Why rush it now. Back scraping did produce quite a bit of excess, being careful to not knick the base coat. May have to do some spot filling on the clear to even it out before a 800 sand and buff. I did back scrape all 7 spots that had run so I can examine them at a glance and not have to hunt them down. Some are big and some are very slight. All in a days work I guess.

Be sure to read chapter 378 tomorrow LOL... Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill and mid-60s Buick owners with a perfectionist streak, . . . .

Well two 24 packs later the stuff was still soft enough to leave a sleeve print from my hoody at about noon today.
. . . . .
All in a days work I guess.

All this reminds me of when I had time to work on my model railroad.  The process is very much the same struggle, but at least whatever you are working on can be easily moved around in your hands!

Be sure to read chapter 378 tomorrow LOL... Bill

. . . . . Ya' think you could sell the rights to this story to Hollywood and have them make one of d'em action-packed mellerdramas out of it? . . . . .

Cheers, Edouard 

[yachtsmanbill]

Naw Ed... Im leaning towards more of an UN-reality show. Can it get worse??  Today I was attacking the runs with some 400. It a corner was a "divot" that needed to get sanded out... OK. Sanded it and blew it out . Did this 3 times and the dang clear lifted. I blew some more and before I was done the entire rear quarter panel is CLEAR-LESS now. Just another chapter, right?

I was able to stop the blow off at both ends "strategically". Could probably go around the whole car like this. At this point all I need to do is re-prep and shoot blue on the fender, then clear it... again. Now where'd I leave that microwave???   Bill

Film at 11:00... tomorrow LOL.

[yachtsmanbill]

Had to take today off. Paramount was to go buy a new camera. Gonna pop a Corona tonight in honor of all the cleaning supplies and potable water having had vanished from the walmart store. People are panicking. Schools are closed. Churches are doing services on line. Me? Im stocking up on .45 ACP's.

So as I mentioned about blowing the clear coat off, heres the deal. The tape line saved the day. Theres about 6-7 areas with runs that got sanded down to "flat" with 150 on a rubber block. I'm gonna wet sand the whole job with 400 and touch up a few minor blems, then recoat the whole thing with clear. My pal loaned me 4 BIG halogen lights and I'm gonna rig an exhaust fan for the fumes.  Im gonna be prepared this time... or else!  Bill

[elagache]

Dear Bill and mid-60s Buick owners who clock d'em hours, . . . . .

Had to take today off.

. . . . . . Oh yeah?  Did you have permission from da' boss!!!  Pat! . . . .

Paramount was to go buy a new camera.

Why do you need a new camera?  Did the old camera fall victim to something in the shop?

Gonna pop a Corona tonight in honor of all the cleaning supplies and potable water having had vanished from the walmart store. People are panicking. Schools are closed. Churches are doing services on line. 

It certainly seems like many people cannot make a realistic assessment of the risk associated with the corona virus.  It isn't very different than flu viruses and people don't panic over that.  Our public schools should guarantee that people can make these sorts of judgement calls reasonably, but clearly people don't feel comfortable enough with the science to trust the experts.

So as I mentioned about blowing the clear coat off, heres the deal. The tape line saved the day. Theres about 6-7 areas with runs that got sanded down to "flat" with 150 on a rubber block. I'm gonna wet sand the whole job with 400 and touch up a few minor blems, then recoat the whole thing with clear. My pal loaned me 4 BIG halogen lights and I'm gonna rig an exhaust fan for the fumes.  Im gonna be prepared this time... or else!

Indeed be careful about those fumes!  Take good care of your own health so that you can really enjoy BADLASS!!

Cheers, Edouard