Starting on the nasty 81

You'd better hose down that floor the morning you shoot paint, unless you want half of that dust in your clear coat.
 
Quite right! And Thanx for the reminder.

I'm not yet to the Base/clear stage. I'm an amatuer and will be shooting Centari single stage accordingly.

The clear coat I've been taking off of this mess only reinforces my decision to stay away until I learn a LOT more.
 
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The nasty clear coat on the drivers side has burnt me so I'm now doing extensive sanding there as well. And I'm freakin' tired. I'll go back to work tomorrow and this'll become a weekend endevour struggling for time with the others. I tried...
 
Thanx Wayne,

I agree on both counts. I just got done shooting a couple coats of Glasso primer-filler on the front clip. Left the nose sitting for separate attention. I can shoot it with the primer separately when ready but I'll hang it and leave all the bolts loose for color coat. BTW, your efforts posted have been quite an inspiration, Thanx for your help.

Woke up this morning with my hands and shoulders aching from all the sanding. Head hurt a bit too but I don't believe that was from the sanding...:drink:

The nasty clear coat on the drivers side has burnt me so I'm now doing extensive sanding there as well. And I'm freakin' tired. I'll go back to work tomorrow and this'll become a weekend endevour struggling for time with the others. I tried...

I used to paint cars years ago, before I came out to Saudi but I've never worked on a fiberglass car before and what I used to know about paint has all changed! I'm pleased that I still seem to "have it" when it comes to doing the body work - time will tell when the colour goes on I guess! Glad I've been an inspiration for you though Steve.

It can be hard yakka though, especially when you're not used to it - leaning over or stretching at weird angles, using muscles in your arms in weird ways, fingertips getting sore. Plus, we're doing this in our spare time - we've already worked our day or week then we go and get pretty physical with a (nearly) 30 year old piece of fiberglass!

The pics look good so far mate, any more progress or new pics?
 
I took Saturday and Sunday off to practice aluminum TIG welding so I can add a sunburned hand to the aches and pains. I was welding without a right glove to work the handle rheostat. I now have a set of Tillman TIG gloves :blush:

Have to buy a lot more abrasives to continue the welding.

As for the Vette, I may come out OK on the drivers side. A bit of sanding Sunday afternoon SEEMED to get me back into the well stuck stuff. We'll see as I try to feather it in. I may just continue to sluff off as I go but perhaps not. We'll see come the weekend. Probably no progress during the week because of the ten hour workdays.

I'll post a pic when there's progress:drink:
 
I remember "teaching" myself to arc weld years ago and discovering the nice healthy tan that goes with it. Of course, by healthy tan I mean being lobster red on any part of my body that wasn't covered :blush:
 
Damn does that new HVLP gun move the paint! First time I used it I had a stuttering that was attributed to low air pressure by the Rep. I may have had too much air this time but by Gawd it was working as fast as I could.

Got a big curtain on the nearside wing but nothing I can't fix. The texture you see is from me mopping up some excess with masking tape.

CopyofCorvette057.jpg

Overall, it's satisfactory. Tons of little divots I missed in primer (??????) that only seem to show up in paint. But then I was sick of sanding, it's only a tartup! :mad:

Corvette069.jpg
 
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It's a Sharpe Cobalt.

http://www.spaceagepaint.com/product_detail.aspx?id_product=8608

I bought it a few years ago to paint the racer but today was the first time it worked like I'd expect. I'll turn the delivery screw down a bit and maybe need a smaller nozzle. I was able to keep up with the delivery no problem, don't know what happened on the right side. Must've let my mind wander...

It looks good overall with all of the masking stripped, shows how dingy and horrible the old look was. I'll append a pic as soon as the camera charges...
 
OK guys,

Here's where we're at this moment, I need some help.

If there is an artist in the house their input would be precious...

Front clip looks good, some repair work but overall good.

I envision something like the Motion stripe on the rear coming down into the two tone paint scheme the factory offered. I also picture I should pick a paint that reflects the glass T-tops for color making it a dark silver grey. This is where the artistry comes in, which I definately lack.

Anybody know a color that matches/complements the T-tops?

What do ya think of my idea? Too much? Too busy?? Or boring? All opinions welcomed and considered.:devil:

Corvette070.jpg

Corvette071.jpg
 
Hey Wayne, poking thru the Garage area for pictures I came across one of yours before sanding. What color was on the bottom of yours?

If I squint a bit at the one from the rear I can kinda see what I have in mind with the color coming over the rear end.

Confuse the witnesses ya know...

"It was a white car"

"No, It was a dark car...":rofl:



Corvette073.jpg
 
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Mine was actually white from the factory but someone out here sprayed it the silver/metallic grey two tone. It looked like the factory two tone colours but I have no idea of knowing if they were the correct colours...
 
...I envision something like the Motion stripe on the rear coming down into the two tone paint scheme the factory offered. I also picture I should pick a paint that reflects the glass T-tops for color making it a dark silver grey...
Here's a quick idea I just knocked up. Do you mean something like this?

idea.jpg
 
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WOW!

That's almost exactly what I mean.

I'd have no center stripe because of the glass tops breaking it up and a dark dark gray below the beltlineto mimic the T-Top color.

I'm going to save that pic because it is so close to what I envision.

Thanx immensely!!:1st:
 
After further examination...

I really like the way the stripe is all that follows above the beltline. Much better to my eye than the dark extending above the wheel arches.

I would do a curve instead of a sharp corner where the beltline turns up to the spoiler. And I could well regret such an effort too. But I guess if I was careful with an X-acto knife any curve is reproducable.

Thanx for that terrific pic...



I tried to get the painted nose on yesterday but it's just not going. The sides wont stretch around to pick up their fasteners. It's cold (For Vegas) in here so I will really warm the front up with halogens and general garage heat before I try seriously to assemble this bit.
 
No probs mate, glad it helped. If I get time tonight, I'll try and knock up a couple more for you. If I don't do it tonight, I'll sit down Friday and do it - tomorrow's out as we have another gig...

No centre stripe, curve upwards at the spoiler and a darker grey?
 
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Wow, Thanx...

That's pretty much what I envisioned but better. I really didn't have a firm idea. I knew I didn't want the dark riding up on the fender well as standard and was considering a straight beltline push. I really like the stripe you've done.

That'll probably be how it'll come out when I pick a color.

Thanx immensely:beer::beer:
 
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