Aaron's 76 Type LT Project

7 minute(s) of a 383 minute read

Not much that is update-worthy from today. I got the door/fender surfaces flush after several filler sanding sessions. While I was waiting on my father in law to come help remove the fenders and doors I decided to strip the paint off the fenders and doors...might as well get those suckers started now.  

I will spray 2k primer tomorrow and begin sanding, but will let it "bake" in the sun after I am done with the 320 grit sanding. Then I can move on to 400 and 500 grit sanding. I am not sure how long this phase will take, but I hope to have the shell painted by Dec 1.

Here are some obligatory pics of the 76 with the paint removed on the doors and fenders before we removed them.

11-8-2014

I sprayed 2k primer today. It started off as a perfect, sunny day and when I was just about done I felt some small rain drops. You wouldn't believe how fast I put the two rear tires back on and got the car off jack stands so I could roll it back in the garage. Nothing bad happened, so that was good. The rest of the day was nice and sunny, of course.

I screwed up initially as I didn't properly anticipate how much material would come out of the gun. I started at the lower tail area and got some runs, so I will have to sand those out and re-spray. But at least it's not a visible area. After dialing everything in I was able to spray the rest of the shell with minimal peel.

I sprayed SPI 2k primer using a 2.0 tip primer gun. I sprayed ~30 psi at the gun gauge. I applied 3 coats and 4 coats in a few areas so I didn't waste any material.

I should get the shell sanded by next weekend and then it's on to spraying BC/CC

11-9-2014

thanks Pat

I let the car sit in the sun today so the 2k could "settle" and began sanding in 400 grit later in the day. I got a large chunk of it sanded to 400, so I think I can get the entire thing sanded in 500 within the next few weeks. The good news is I haven't broken through the primer (yet). Woo hoo!

Then I have to begin planning for color/clear. The biggest thing is building my booth to make sure I have enough space on all three sides. I may just build it in the driveway so I have natural light.

Here's a few (boring) obligatory pics

11-18-2014

I forgot who advised I go ahead and make sure the rear window trim fits, but I went ahead and did that and everything checks out. I was mostly concerned with the side pieces, as that corresponds with the new 1/4 panels. Everything checked out, thankfully. Ignore the top piece, as it has nothing to support it so it looks "off".  

12-1-2014

Since I don't have enough to do we bought another rent house in late Nov, but we are hoping it will be rented this week (fingers crossed). So that took some time away from the Camaro, but it's all good. All the work is done, so now to find someone to live in it.

I sanded the shell and had to re-spray a few areas where there was some burn through, but this was isolated mostly to the rocker panels, tail panel and door jambs. I hope to have the shell completely sanded to 600 grit by this weekend, then I can start thinking about color/clear. That wouldn't happen until the week of Dec 15. I have to get the supplies to make my booth and then assemble it as a dry run so I can make sure it works and is proper size.

A few pics of me covering up as much of the shell as I could to avoid overspray. That's all I got for now!

12-22-2014

You'd think so, huh? I was off from 12/12 to 12/21 but only worked on my Camaro for 1 of those days - no joke. First 5 days we took a short trip as our Christmas gift, Wednesday my wife had an outpatient procedure done and the next few days I spent on rental property stuff. So that left Sunday to do some more sanding. I have another 1-2 days of sanding and it will be done. I will need to do some spot spraying in a handful of small areas and sand those down, but that will be nothing compared to the work done so far. That's just so I can have complete coverage in 2k primer for peace of mind.

I am actually thinking of waiting until spring to spray color/clear for two reasons. 1) I can spray when conditions are more ideal since it's in the 70s and low humidity in March/April and 2) I can spray EVERYTHING, not just the shell. Since the car is garaged it should not pose an issue to wait a few more months. I will finish sanding the shell and go directly to work on the doors/fenders/hood. I think the likelihood of this happening is pretty high.

This is what I did tonight - the tail area is not a huge concern but I still took time to prep it properly