Project "What was I Thinking" 68 SWB

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by SuperC10Tex

Looking good Keith!! I see you have the "Red Bug"

Thanks, yeah I love Red, I wrestled for a long time with painting it a different color cause my 72 was Red but this is a totally different truck and a brighter shade of Red. I wouldn't be happy with anything else.

Originally Posted by PowerdbyChevy79

sweet...

Thanks, she's getting there.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looking good! Slick sand is a great choice.
All polyester products seem to go off in this heat. Make smaller batches and work quick.

Thanks for the tip Mike, I'll definitely try smaller batches of it. I may have mixed to much hardener in as well. It's kind of a pain to mix compared to regular primer and paint that you can easily measure out in a mixing cup. This weekend is supposed to be cooler so hopefully it will work a little better after I block it out for the first time.

[superflysteiny]

looks good

[Justintime67]

It sure is going to be a head turner once the red is laid down. Great job! !

[jlaird]

That's awesome you are painting it yourself. I'm sure you will be happier in the end knowing you did it, even if there is a flaw or two.

[trkfrk]

Looking good Keith I can't wait to see more Red.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by Hart_Rod

I like that color, .

Thanks Rob, when are you going to finish that beast

Originally Posted by trkfrk

Looking good Keith I can't wait to see more Red.

Thanks Mark, all you have to do is go out in the garage to see a lot of Red wish mine was as far along as yours, I can't wait to see the cab in Torch Red

[mx289]

Looking good Keith.

[knomadd]

Congrats on a great job with the base/clear. Looks great!

I'm not familiar with slick sand, but is there a retarder you can add to keep the product from drying so fast in the heat?

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mx289

Looking good Keith.

Thanks Tom, I spent the better part of the weekend blocking out the fenders. I can tell you that I am already sick of it

Originally Posted by knomadd

Congrats on a great job with the base/clear. Looks great!

I'm not familiar with slick sand, but is there a retarder you can add to keep the product from drying so fast in the heat?

Thanks, the real test will be the cab. If I can manage to not screw that up I should be in business

Slick Sand doesn't list anything on the data sheet. It just says maximum pot life is 45 minutes at 75 degrees and considerably less in warmer temps. I can tell you this stuff works really good, just wish it had a longer pot life.

[Bennett68C10]

Spent a few ours yesterday and just about all day today blocking the fenders. The Slick Sand worked like a charm filling any little imperfections the fenders had.

[Bennett68C10]

After I finished blocking with 320, I decided that the fenders are really really close to being ready for paint. So instead of spraying more slick sand and blocking that again, I decided to lay down some white epoxy. Mainly because the epoxy is a lot easier to work with and doesn't set up in the gun. Pot life is about 2 days in a covered container. I plan to finish sand the epoxy and spray a sealer coat, then the fenders will be ready for some Red.

[Bennett68C10]

....

[jlsanborn]

Looks great man! I've been lacking on my read-time around here. So you've decided to paint it yourself? I saw the radiator cover you shot but didn't know you were going for the whole enchilada. I could use some inspiration!!

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Looks great man! I've been lacking on my read-time around here. So you've decided to paint it yourself? I saw the radiator cover you shot but didn't know you were going for the whole enchilada. I could use some inspiration!!

Thanks, yeah I'm going to give it a shot and see how it turns out I don't have the space to paint it all at once so I have to do piece by piece and put it together. Hopefully it turns out decent and the Red matches on all the panels.

[mcbassin]

Looking good Keith. You are bringing back some fun memories

[jeh]

Glad to see ya making some nice progress. Won't be long and you'll be "REDy" for some paint...

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Looking good Keith. You are bringing back some fun memories

Thanks Mike, good memories for you are nightmares for me I'm already tired of blocking. I scared myself yesterday when I lifted up the cover and looked at the cab. I have my work cut out for me

Originally Posted by jeh

Glad to see ya making some nice progress. Won't be long and you'll be "REDy" for some paint...

Thanks Jason, the fenders are really close but after looking at them today it looks like they will need another round of slick sand after all. I'll find out after I block them again. The plan is to set the fenders aside for now so that I can focus on the cab, I need to get it off the frame and start working on it. After I get the cab finished then I'll finish the fenders and hopefully the rest of the front clip before the weather turns cold again.

[jlsanborn]

Are you using a guide coat when you block? I found some aerosol stuff at the Napa paint store that worked great for me.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

Are you using a guide coat when you block? I found some aerosol stuff at the Napa paint store that worked great for me.

Yeah I'm using the 3m powder guide coat, I have three very minor spots on the drivers fender that I thought I got but I am going to have to block again.

[mikeleeshields]

Can't wait till you get some color laid down on it.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mikeleeshields

Can't wait till you get some color laid down on it.

Thanks Mike me too. I'm going to wait on painting the fenders until the cab is ready for paint but I plan on painting the core support and some of the miscellaneous brackets for the grill and core support in the next couple of weeks.

[mcbassin]

Have you looked at THIS thread? It is a very informative thread about block sanding. He explains the step by step process to getting nice crisp lines on your panels.
He also recommends starting with 80 grit to get the panel dead flat, then going up from there.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Have you looked at THIS thread? It is a very informative thread about block sanding. He explains the step by step process to getting nice crisp lines on your panels.
He also recommends starting with 80 grit to get the panel dead flat, then going up from there.

Thanks for the Link to that thread Mike, lots of good info there. I guess the mistake I made was I started with 180 instead of 80. Oh well it's all a learning experience right they are pretty close and if it wasn't for a few minor spots, it would be perfect. I'll shoot another round of slick sand on the outside and reblock

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Bennett68C10

Thanks for the Link to that thread Mike, lots of good info there. I guess the mistake I made was I started with 180 instead of 80. Oh well it's all a learning experience right they are pretty close and if it wasn't for a few minor spots, it would be perfect. I'll shoot another round of slick sand on the outside and reblock

I wouldn't say it's a mistake at all. I used 180 on almost all my blocking. I didn't find that thread till after I was done with many of my panels. 80 grit is pretty aggressive, but it will cut the high spots off.
In my opinion, as long as you keep sharp paper, 180 will do the same. You really can't conserve on sandpaper. I went through many rolls on my paint job. It's expensive, but so is everything else for a good paint job.

The main thing you are saving is the labor cost, which isn't cheap. You will have so much knowledge by the time you're done with this one, you can paint all your own in the future

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I wouldn't say it's a mistake at all. I used 180 on almost all my blocking. I didn't find that thread till after I was done with many of my panels. 80 grit is pretty aggressive, but it will cut the high spots off.
In my opinion, as long as you keep sharp paper, 180 will do the same. You really can't conserve on sandpaper. I went through many rolls on my paint job. It's expensive, but so is everything else for a good paint job.

The main thing you are saving is the labor cost, which isn't cheap. You will have so much knowledge by the time you're done with this one, you can paint all your own in the future

Thanks Mike, this is what I'm dealing with on the fenders. Both sides have the same wrinkles/low spots on the rear top edge. This is the drivers fender which is the worst of the two. I decided to wipe some glazing putty over it first before I spray some more slick sand. I should have just stuck to my original plan of satin black because you couldn't even see these low spots before if I spend anymore time on just two fenders I'm going to be wishing I could pay for that labor cost.