Markeb01 Build Thread

[glos55]

You'll get it Mark and it will be Awesome!

[CRGRS 66]

hey markeb, I kind of like the chrome center in the grill bar better than the horn button. wonder what a chromed horn button would look like...

[markeb01]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys. Yesterday I picked up a new small stripper disc so I could get the rest of the powder coat off the inside of the hub. Applied two coats of DPLF white epoxy primer and left it to cure overnight. This morning I sanded it down and applied a tiny amount of Rage filler to a couple of spots.

This afternoon after sanding the filler I coated it again in UPol 2K high fill primer and am leaving it overnight to cure. Hopefully tomorrow the only thing left to do will be to block sand the whole thing (again) and shoot the paint. I’m getting to know this one part a lot better than I ever wanted to!

Craigerrr - I’ve also decided I like the chrome center better than the horn button. It looks more universal like a Cal Custom accessory, and I like how it improves the shape of the center hub. If the horn button had been stainless steel I would have at least polished it up to see how it looked, but it was just an old dull chrome finish so I lost interest.

Normally I wouldn’t feel so rushed but my stepson and his family are coming in from out of state. I need to get this finished before they show up or it will never get completed in time for the Goodguys show next weekend, and I’d still like to find time to meet up with McMurphy and his wife if possible.

[CRGRS 66]

Originally Posted by markeb01

I’d still like to find time to meet up with McMurphy and his wife if possible.

That is so cool, hope you guys manage to hook up! If you do, raise a fine Ale to all of us! Have a waiter/waitress take a picture of you guys raising that Ale, and post it up... Please

[markeb01]

This morning I block sanded the 2K primer and washed the grille bar down with wax and grease remover one more time. Last time at the store I noticed Rustoleum now offers Professional High Performance enamel, which is probably the same paint in a bigger can, but one advantage it offers is a high output spray nozzle that delivers 50% more paint. It actually applies paint more like a spray gun. Two medium mist coats and one heavy wet coat did the trick. No dust or bugs got in the finish, and it stretched out into a nice high gloss.



I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to paint the inside ring of the hub black which will require masking. I’m certainly enthusiastic to get this all back together and be done with this project.

[aerotruk63]

Man you have patience!

[64shortbox]

Mark,
Since you're planning on masking & paintiing the inside ring black - does that mean you plan on baking the piece in the oven while your wife's away?
I do it all the time, my wife can never figure why the house stinks so bad when she gets back home. She got real mad when she found out I was washing car parts in the dishwasher.

[markeb01]

I used to bake freshly painted exhaust manifolds and anything coated in wrinkle paint in the oven, but the results were not always consistent and the smell was really obnoxious. My wife is very tolerant of my hobbies but as I got older I had a lot less tolerance for the smell of the fumes in the house. So I started experimenting with heat lamps and now depend on them for all my small painting projects. I have two permanently mounted over the painting bench and two more portable lamps to cover bigger projects. They work great and keep both of us happy.

The worst paint smell I ever initiated was back when I was about 17. I sprayed black vinyl dye on a late model bench seat to put in my 54 Chevy, downstairs in the rumpus room. Being young and stupid it never occurred to me to open the windows or wear any kind of mask. The seat turned out looking like factory upholstery, but the hideous fumes smelled like ether mixed with lacquer. By the time I finished the seat I barely made it out of the room, and found the smell was so bad upstairs everyone had fled to the front yard where they remained for several hours!

[markeb01]

The grille project was finally completed this morning. I carefully masked the center rim of the hub and painted it black. The chrome emblem was centered in the housing and bolted in place. With the help of my wife holding the bar in place to prevent scratches, it was reattached to the truck and the fog lamps reinstalled. I really like the way it looks, but I’ve had enough “fun” with this thing to last a long time.

[LostMy65]

Honestly, Mark,
I didn't like this look you had before:





Maybe if you had used a chrome horn button:


But I have to say, I like this look:

Originally Posted by markeb01

[64shortbox]

Mark,
I like it a LOT!!! Fantastic!!!

[Alan's Classic]

Very cool!!

[likaroc13]

looks great Mark...blacking out the area behind the chrome really makes a difference

[markeb01]

Thanks for all the feedback. I thought the horn button looked okay up close, but once installed on the truck I quickly started disliking the way it changed the shape of the hub. The chrome version seems to accent the hub instead of messing it up.

I had so much trouble painting this thing I was tempted to try and get away with leaving the inside bezel area white to avoid possibly messing it up. But without the black accent if looked really cheesy, like the owner was too lazy to finish it right!

Again thanks for looking and offering your thoughts.

[Ta2Don]

Great Attention to Detail! Awesome Job Sir!

[Corts60]

Wow! That looks killer Mark. Great work!

[piratexpress1369a]

that is way cool..great job

[CRGRS 66]

Mark, grill bar looks outstanding. Nice work.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Perfect!
Like it was always meant to be there.


Hmmmmm...
Just got a thought.

[markeb01]

Outstanding! Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad you found the information helpful.

[markeb01]

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a die cast front end from an original 1/25th scale 1955 Buick promo. Being somewhat lazy the last couple of days I decided to update the model of my real truck by adding the grille bar to match recent addition on the 1/1 version.



After a session with the Dremel cutter the grille bar was cut loose and installed in the truck. A gas cap was used to simulate the center emblem. Here’s a shot comparing it to the original 1960 I built many years ago:



I was impressed with how decent it looked with very little effort. After more modification the fog lights were refitted to the model, and since they are actually too big to be in scale, I decided the model looked better without them. Now I’m thinking the real truck might benefit cosmetically by removing the lamps. Here’s a shot of the truck as it sits, followed by a rather poor photoshop without the lights:





I don't really want to remove the lamps, but I’m also thinking their elimination really cleans up the front of the truck, and makes the grille look more linear and interconnected. As always opinions are welcome.

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by markeb01

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a die cast front end from an original 1/25th scale 1955 Buick promo. Being somewhat lazy the last couple of days I decided to update the model of my real truck by adding the grille bar to match recent addition on the 1/1 version.



After a session with the Dremel cutter the grille bar was cut loose and installed in the truck. A gas cap was used to simulate the center emblem. Here’s a shot comparing it to the original 1960 I built many years ago:



I was impressed with how decent it looked with very little effort. After more modification the fog lights were refitted to the model, and since they are actually too big to be in scale, I decided the model looked better without them. Now I’m thinking the real truck might benefit cosmetically by removing the lamps. Here’s a shot of the truck as it sits, followed by a rather poor photoshop without the lights:





I don't really want to remove the lamps, but I’m also thinking their elimination really cleans up the front of the truck, and makes the grille look more linear and interconnected. As always opinions are welcome.

That is so cool - you also making those changes to the grill on the scale model.

I think I like the look without the fog lites also. It showcases the grill better.

[likaroc13]

i see what you mean...when i scroll up & down between the pics, the one with the lights looks good but does break up the overall appearance of the grille...then you scroll down, & it does look like a cleaner appearance that flows together nicely

[pdxhall]

I think the addtion of the grill looks great and when I first saw it I thought it would look better without the fog lights but I didn't want to offend you by saying so. I'm happy you made the change. I think it looks fantastic.

[Bazooka]

I think the fog lights look cool!