Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

7 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

I got all the major body work done to 80 grit. I need to add filler in a handful of small spots but it's basically ready to sand down to 180 grit and then spray bare metal with epoxy primer before I spray Slick Sand on the shell.

Most of the work was down low, which was a pain in the neck but it had to be done. I had a few spots on the rockers, the bottom of the 1/4 panel by the drop off panels, the wheel well lips, and the sail panels.

The pass side sail panel was particularly a pain. I had to add filler 5-6 times before it was right. I am being OCD about all the body work, but the sail panels especially.



Rear driver side rocker, I need to add a little more in one spot as you can see. I was done for the night



Driver side rocker - this was an area that got pressed in so I had to pull it out using the stud welder and then added filler over that.



1/4 panels where it meets the drop off panel. I decided to smooth these areas some. They are not PERFECT but they look way better than before.





Pass side rocker - this might have been the toughest patch to deal with, but I finally got it

10-1-2014

I got some minor progress tonight made tonight. I media blasted the support pieces that mount under the rear tail lights. I will spray these with epoxy primer when I spray the bare metal spots, which I plan on doing this weekend. After spraying epoxy primer I will get these supports installed.

I began scuffing the shell with Scotch pads to prep them for Slick Sand. In my head I am thinking I am not THAT far off from being able to spray the shell with BC/CC. It will be a lot of block sanding, but the shell is pretty damn straight so it should go fairly well (in theory). I won't rush the blocking stage, don't get me wrong.

The scene of the crime





The shell getting one step closer to being painted someday

10-6-2014

I got the bare metal sprayed with epoxy primer and left it at that. Sorry, no pics but its not pic worthy.

Next up is to weld the tail light supports in and then paint the dash. I am unsure about spraying Slick Sand first or getting the front clip installed and aligned. I will take the front clip off after alignment. My gut is to take care of front clip alignment, remove the body panels and then spray the shell with Slick Sand.

10-11-2014

I got a few more things done today on my quest to spray Slick Sand on the shell.  

First item is to get the dash sprayed in satin black. I sprayed a few coats of SPI regular build 2k primer first. It sprayed nicely from my 2.0 tip primer gun and sanded well.






I also got the taillight support pieces installed. I will need to spray some bare metal spots with epoxy primer, which will happen tomorrow. The pass side support had a small dent I had to deal with.

I will need to let the epoxy primer cure for 48 hours before spraying Slick Sand, so I plan on doing that one day after work if I can get home early enough. Then I can begin block sanding.

10-12-2014

I got the dash painted using Summit's satin hot rod black. This is a single stage product. There is a little OP, but I am not sure it's enough for me to sand and buff it. I will think about it some more.

I was able to get the door openings masked off for when I spray Slick Sand this week. I just need to mask the windshield opening.

I had the genius idea of cutting the masking paper when I remove it and use those as templates for the next round of masking, particularly the door openings.

10-18-2014

I re-did the dash area and it turned out much better. I sanded the previous paint with 400 grit. I then sprayed with a 4:1:1 reduction using the "slow" reducer and that did the trick. I sprayed this through my HF 1.4 tip purple gun at ~80 degrees with ~28 PSI at the gun. Fluid adjustment was ~1.5 turns from the bottom, almost full trigger pull.

10-20-2014

I started block sanding today and got the roof and quarter panels mostly done to 150/180. I started with 100 grit to remove most of the peel and then moved to 150/180. I will finish with 220. I still need to sand the rockers, jambs and tail panel. I ran across a few high spots (I think), which I will gently hammer down and then re-spray with Slick Sand. The 1/4 panels sanded really nicely, which they should have since they are new panels. Overall it went well. I would like to wrap up all sanding by this weekend so I can move on to fitting the front sheet metal. I have low expectations about the gaps being right without some metal work, but that's the nature of the beast.