American in Austria 83 Build

[st1]

REALLY nice work. Keep posting...

[44boggers]

Originally Posted by st1

REALLY nice work. Keep posting...

Thanks buddy. Trying my best.

Anyone have any idea what the discoloration of the metal is on top of the roof. It almost looks stained . I took original paint off the top of the roof.

Thanks

Paul

[44boggers]

alright guys, metal work is a lot harder than you think when you dont know what youre doing, or your teaching yourself as you go. So I went from a roof that had some good amount of oil canning and low spots, to a complete **** show from the work I did. I took a break and thought it through a bit and started to figure out how to actually move the metal where I want it to go. I got rid of 80 percent of the oil canning and most of the low spots but also created a big low spot in the process. But at least now I have a much better understanding of how to move the metal where I need it to go. I have been using the stud puller to bring the low spots out which I dont really like because you are left with a lot of tiny little "high spots" and its not so easy to create a 100 percent smooth panel, well at least my skill level cant at the moment. But at least I am making good progress and any low spot i have is .023" or less, so about 1/64" low. So nothing extreme. My biggest goal is to get rid of the oil canning. But I have run out of time as I am going to New Zealand tomorrow for 6 weeks and I needed get the cab in epoxy since everything was stripped down to bare metal. I spent easily around 20 hours between stripping the entire cab to bare metal and working the roof. I probably could have left a lot of the orignal paint and scuffed it and then epoxied but I figured I have gone this far into the build I might as well make sure all of the metal is clean.

So today I finally got 3 coats of Standox epoxy on the exterior. This is my first time running a paint gun so that is a learning process. (well I did the underside of the cab before, so this is my second time using a gun)

Overall I think everything laid down well, no runs and it seemed to lay down flat. The only thing i saw was that the roof seemed to have a rough finish than the sides and back of the cab. Maybe its overspray that fell into the epoxy or my technique is off. i need to research that a bit. But like I said the sides and back of the cab laid down very smooth.

When I get back from new zealand I will finish the roof so all the low spots are gone along with the rest of the oil canning. Then onto completely finishing the firewall with final base and clear to I can put the cab back on the frame before the winter hits in the end of october.

Any insight on the dry spray on the roof would be helpful.

Thanks guys

Paul

[44boggers]

Couple more pics with the epoxy. You can see on the roof some tiger striping. It actually isnt there anymore now that everything is dry, but it still has that dry spray feel. It doesnt really look dry just feels a bit rough.

[rideair]

Looks to me, you got the level of perfection wanted, learned something in the process and can now help others in the future, can't ask for anything more!

"Doing your own thing in your own time, you should be proud" (Easy Rider)

Enjoy,

[44boggers]

Originally Posted by rideair

Looks to me, you got the level of perfection wanted, learned something in the process and can now help others in the future, can't ask for anything more!

"Doing your own thing in your own time, you should be proud" (Easy Rider)

Enjoy,

This is def. a learning process. I am excited to see my level of metal skill by the end of the build, or at least my knowledge of moving metal. Other than the passenger side door the body seem pretty straight without any other oil canning.

When I get back from New Zealand in Sept. I will finish the roof so i am 100 percent happy with it and then start on spreading some filler and getting to making things very straight.

Talk to you then, any insight on the dry paint issue on the roof would be helpful. I feel like I might have been too close to the panel, not sure if that would cause a dry spray, or its simply just overspray landing on the roof, because it is the same on the rear window sill where its flat, a bit dry and when i rub my fingers over it this morning it seems to smooth out like I am remvoing the overspray. But other wise the epoxy seemed to set down nice and no solvent pop or fish eyes going on.

Paul

[44boggers]

Finally back to work on the cab after 7 weeks away. My focus now is getting the firewall completely finished by november so i can put the cab back on the frame and make room in my garage. Then I can do the rest of the body work while the cab is on the frame.

So the last two days I spent pretty the firewall and the inside of the cab (but that will be painted later on). Lots of sanding, wirewheeling and cleaning. I was trying to skip the step of washing everything with soap and water again, thinking i could get away with just using the degreaser but it was never ending brown/black on the paper towel. So I busted out the dish soap and got to work. I tell ya, that is the only way to go in order to get the metal spotless. After that I went over again with the degreaser and tack cloth and got spraying.

3 coats of epoxy primer. The first coat I think I thinned it out too much, so the 2nd/3rd coat I only reduced by about 5 percent and it seemed to lay down a bit nicer and seemed darker (blacker) than when i sprayed the rest of the cab last month.

I am still struggling with having some spots lay down silky smooth while others have a bit more orange peel or a slight rough texture. I feel like my speed is the same but maybe the smooth parts I am laying down more paint?? I really dont know as this is my first time using a paint gun.

Anyway. Next step will be to lay down filler on the firewall to get it as flat as I can before some slick sand.

If anyone has any tips about my uneven paint texture please chime in.

Thanks guys

Paul