Started my first frame off - 72 SWB LS1, 6-spd manual

[tommys72]

Good god....that paint is awesome. Beautiful truck! And I dig the tv in the garage too

[68 Four on the Floor]

wow your truck looks amazing

[VA72C10]

wowza! nice!

[67ctener]

Paint looks great. I would get in TROUBLE driving that with a 6spd, its gonna be a blast!

[mcbassin]

Amazing work Mark!

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by trkfrk

Thanks Keith! Yes, at the last minute I switched to GM's "Torch Red" after seeing a Corvette at a local car show. The base coat went over a gray sealer. My painter had to use 3 coats of base to get good coverage.

I recently had the same thing happen, I saw a new C7 Corvette in Torch Red and it looked amazing in the sun, between that and seeing how awesome yours turned out, I am going to go with Torch Red too over Viper Red.

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by tommys72

Good god....that paint is awesome. Beautiful truck! And I dig the tv in the garage too

Thank You! I am really happy with the paint. I watch the most TV in the garage, I have a cool wife.

Originally Posted by 68 Four on the Floor

wow your truck looks amazing

Thanks!

Originally Posted by VA72C10

wowza! nice!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by 67ctener

Paint looks great. I would get in TROUBLE driving that with a 6spd, its gonna be a blast!

Thanks! My 15 yr old daughter, and 12 yr old son are already asking to drive it LOL.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Amazing work Mark!

Thanks Mike! It's been along time coming. I have had the funds 3 different times for paint, and something always comes up (kids in braces, sports, Xmas, vacations etc.) LOL!

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

I recently had the same thing happen, I saw a new C7 Corvette in Torch Red and it looked amazing in the sun, between that and seeing how awesome yours turned out, I am going to go with Torch Red too over Viper Red.

Thanks Keith, your truck is going to look awesome in "Torch Red" especially with the body trim. The red looks really good against a lot of chrome. I am really happy with it!

Here are more pics after spending the weekend buffing/polishing. This has been the most enjoyable/rewarding part of the build so far

[69CST-V]

Looks fantastic. Great work.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by trkfrk

Thanks Mike! It's been along time coming. I have had the funds 3 different times for paint, and something always comes up (kids in braces, sports, Xmas, vacations etc.) LOL!


Here are more pics after spending the weekend buffing/polishing. This has been the most enjoyable/rewarding part of the build so far

I just spread all my painting supplies and work out over 2 years. It was easier for me to finance that way. Still very expensive! Your finish looks great! How long did you have to wait to start polishing? What kind of material did your painter use? Very nice

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by 69CST-V

Looks fantastic. Great work.

Thanks!

[SeTx67]

Read your build over the weekend and very nice! There's a few of you guys with red builds going on right now that are absolutely gorgeous.

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I just spread all my painting supplies and work out over 2 years. It was easier for me to finance that way. Still very expensive! Your finish looks great! How long did you have to wait to start polishing? What kind of material did your painter use? Very nice

I started polishing immediately. Yes, your right on the expensive part.. I had to pick up another gallon and half of clear and half gallon of base coat on Friday for him to be able to finish the rest. This will be a total of 3 1/2 gallons of clear and 2 gallons of base on the complete truck. Everyone told me not to spare any expense on the clear coat which I'm glad I didn't.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by trkfrk

I started polishing immediately. Yes, your right on the expensive part.. I had to pick up another gallon and half of clear and half gallon of base coat on Friday for him to be able to finish the rest. This will be a total of 3 1/2 gallons of clear and 2 gallons of base on the complete truck. Everyone told me not to spare any expense on the clear coat which I'm glad I didn't.

That is some really good product you used. I have used the Chroma and was really happy with the results. And yes, it takes a bunch of material. I wish I would have had one more quart of clear right at the end of my spraying.
I ended up using right at 2 gallons of base and 3 gallons of clear. The only thing from my research about doing the cut and buff right away, if there is any sanding scratches under the base, they could come back after the paint complete cures. Which can take up to 3 months. That's the only reason I asked.
Your friend probably baked the panels, which speeds the curing process exponentially. My friend brought the booth up to about 107 deg after we finished so I hope I can start cut and buff soon. You are going to keep one or two steps ahead of me,
I can live vicariously through you build. It will keep me motivated....keep the pictures coming.

[knomadd]

That paint looks great!

Most collision centers that I've dealt with or worked for, have typically cut and buffed the paint within a day of baking the paint in the booth. That's because they really want to get the vehicles in and out as quickly as possible. When we did classics, we weren't in as much of a hurry (usually) so they'd bake it longer and let it set for a couple days before cutting. In a few cases, we'd cut it within the first day and let it sit overnight so the chemicals could breathe.

When I did my GTO, I let it cure for about 3 months before I cut and buffed it. It was a lot harder to buff out because the clear was harder, but the results are still there today. It's definitely harder to buff the longer you wait, but less likely to finish curing and texture again.

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by SeTx67

Read your build over the weekend and very nice! There's a few of you guys with red builds going on right now that are absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mcbassin

That is some really good product you used. I have used the Chroma and was really happy with the results. And yes, it takes a bunch of material. I wish I would have had one more quart of clear right at the end of my spraying.
I ended up using right at 2 gallons of base and 3 gallons of clear. The only thing from my research about doing the cut and buff right away, if there is any sanding scratches under the base, they could come back after the paint complete cures. Which can take up to 3 months. That's the only reason I asked.
Your friend probably baked the panels, which speeds the curing process exponentially. My friend brought the booth up to about 107 deg after we finished so I hope I can start cut and buff soon. You are going to keep one or two steps ahead of me,
I can live vicariously through you build. It will keep me motivated....keep the pictures coming.

It sounds like we used about the same amount of product. It's amazing the increase in prices since 3 years ago, when I first started purchasing the primers.

The cab and all of the sheet metal I picked up were painted over three weeks ago. I was surprised how much work it took to get the fine scratches out from the wet sanding. My painter has been doing the cut/buff process this way for more than 15 yrs, and has had no issues. He has a 56 Ford pick up he painted over 10 years ago and looks like it was painted yesterday.

Your build is looking really good and I look forward to your updates.

Originally Posted by knomadd

That paint looks great!

Most collision centers that I've dealt with or worked for, have typically cut and buffed the paint within a day of baking the paint in the booth. That's because they really want to get the vehicles in and out as quickly as possible. When we did classics, we weren't in as much of a hurry (usually) so they'd bake it longer and let it set for a couple days before cutting. In a few cases, we'd cut it within the first day and let it sit overnight so the chemicals could breathe.

When I did my GTO, I let it cure for about 3 months before I cut and buffed it. It was a lot harder to buff out because the clear was harder, but the results are still there today. It's definitely harder to buff the longer you wait, but less likely to finish curing and texture again.

Thanks Duane. I appreciate your input.

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by SeTx67

Read your build over the weekend and very nice! There's a few of you guys with red builds going on right now that are absolutely gorgeous.

Thanks for taking the time to read through my build. Red seems to be a popular color in some really nice builds right now.

[SeTx67]

Originally Posted by trkfrk

Thanks for taking the time to read through my build. Red seems to be a popular color in some really nice builds right now.

The ls swap threads always catch my attention since that's what I'm currently doing . There's so many nice builds on this site that's its hard to keep up with all of them

[mcbassin]

What grits wet sandpaper are you using? I started working on the inside of my cab tonight and wasn't too happy with my results. I'm thinking I may need to start at 1000 or 1200 instead of 1500. Your panels look great. And yes I love the torch red too. I think that's the same color as my 77 was.

[mcbassin]

more pictures???

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by SeTx67

The ls swap threads always catch my attention since that's what I'm currently doing . There's so many nice builds on this site that's its hard to keep up with all of them

Yes, there are a lot of nice builds. I have been watching yours for a while. You have made a lot of progress in such a short time. I may need some advice later on the fuel system.
Thanks

Originally Posted by mcbassin

more pictures???

Hey Mike, Thanks for checking. No updated pics yet. I'm still waiting to get the rest of my panels back from my painter ( I don't want to rush him lol).

[trkfrk]

I finally got the rest of my sheet metal back from my painter. Everything is painted, minus the bed floor. At the last minute, I decided to switch to a wood floor.

This past weekend I had my wife and two kids help me hang the front fenders and grill. It was a very tense family moment, but everything went well LOL!👍

[trkfrk]

Pic 2😜

[screaminchevypickup]

Looks good!

[trkfrk]

Originally Posted by screaminchevypickup

Looks good!

Thank You! More pics

[trkfrk]

Another pic😁