Project "What was I Thinking" 68 SWB

[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.

[Lattimer]

Threads like this make me dread trying to do my own bodywork. Every time I start to think about it I read one of these and change my mind.

[Justintime67]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

Threads like this make me dread trying to do my own bodywork. Every time I start to think about it I read one of these and change my mind.

Haha that makes two of us!!

[knomadd]

Hey Keith, when you feel the fender along the edge, can you tell if the black is high? If so, knock it down some with a body hammer. Just don't bash on it. Light taps may be enough. It looks high just from how it's sanding out, but looks can be deceiving.
Keep at it. Don't let this discourage you. At least you're learning and you'll be able to say you did the body work yourself. Not too many people can say that.
I think you're doing a good job. Just keep it up. You'll get it in shape.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by Lattimer

Threads like this make me dread trying to do my own bodywork. Every time I start to think about it I read one of these and change my mind.

Originally Posted by Justintime67

Haha that makes two of us!!

Believe me I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have to. My only options are do it myself, let the truck sit until I can pay someone to do it which would be a long time from now or sell it. I'm choosing option 1, we will see how it turns out. It won't be perfect but hopefully will be pretty nice when done.

Originally Posted by knomadd

Hey Keith, when you feel the fender along the edge, can you tell if the black is high? If so, knock it down some with a body hammer. Just don't bash on it. Light taps may be enough. It looks high just from how it's sanding out, but looks can be deceiving.
Keep at it. Don't let this discourage you. At least you're learning and you'll be able to say you did the body work yourself. Not too many people can say that.
I think you're doing a good job. Just keep it up. You'll get it in shape.

Thanks Duane, yeah you could tell it was high on the top edge. I even put a straight edge across the top, that's why I decided to use some glazing putty on there. I didn't think the slick sand by itself would fill it in. I'll try knocking it down a little with a body hammer before I spray my next coat of slick sand. I don't think it needs much now after the glazing putty.

[mcbassin]

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 know it's frustrating, been there done that. I found sometimes you are better to walk away from one panel and go to something else for a while.

From the pic it really doesn't look too bad. You might try what Duane is talking about before adding filler. You are learning by trial and error. It will get easier, I promise. Flat black won't hold a candle to that bright red
You're truck is going to be so nice, just keep your eye on the prize.

[Bennett68C10]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I know it's frustrating, been there done that. I found sometimes you are better to walk away from one panel and go to something else for a while.

From the pic it really doesn't look too bad. You might try what Duane is talking about before adding filler. You are learning by trial and error. It will get easier, I promise. Flat black won't hold a candle to that bright red
You're truck is going to be so nice, just keep your eye on the prize.

Thanks Mike, I'm going to spray another couple of coats of slick sand on tonight and then set the fenders aside and focus on the cab. I really need to get the cab done before the winter hits because I want to be able to have it back on the frame so I can wire the truck up and get it running when the weather is to cold for bodywork and paint.

I'm not giving up on her but she seems to always be driving me crazy. Your right the fenders don't look to bad in the pic and they definitely aren't. I just got frustrated cause I thought they were almost ready and then got slapped in the face a little. But I guess that's bodywork right, I'll get it one of these days

[Bennett68C10]

Spent the weekend prepping and painting. I got the core support, bumper filler panel, hood latch and the grill center support sprayed satin black. I decided to use the SPI Matte Black I had so that it didn't go to waste. I figured since my radiator filler panel is Matte Black then it would look better if the core support and hood latch all matched. I was really surprised with how well it sprayed, flowed out nice and looks awesome.







I also repainted my radiator cover. I figured since the core support, the latch and filler panels are Satin Black then the radiator cover would look better Satin Black as well. So I sanded it down, reapplied epoxy primer on Saturday, blocked it out Sunday morning and sealed and painted it. It came out better then before because now it is nice and smooth with no waves or wrinkles in it.



One of the reasons why I decided to go with the black core support instead of Red is because I'm still trying to decide on whether I want to go with a White or Red grill. The black core support will look good behind both but a red one would have looked silly behind a white grill.

[Bhelton]

Looking like some great progress!!

[mcbassin]

That satin paint looks great Keith!
Very nice work!