Let the painting games begin!!

[damoroso]

Well, got step 1 done to paint my car, the paint is stripped from the front end. Used a combnination of stripper, a putty knife and a razor blade. I found at least three layers of paint on the passenger side, but there only seemed to be two on the drivers side. What I'm not sure about is the additional white coating that was under most everything including the bumper. It was over the last layer of primer, and when the stripper hit it, it melted. This is a Bowling Green car and that white stuff didnt' react the same way to the stripper. I think the car may have had a front clip put on at one time, maybe one from a St. Louis car? They used a different paint in St. Louis right? Oh, and there was a skim coat of filler on the tops and rear of the fenders, almost the entire surface. Took alot of work to get that off!

I knew there were problems under the paint and I knew the car had been hit in the left front corner. The left fender ridge line had been sanded out towards the bumper cover and there were cracks in the paint or ridges that showed and just so happen to be right where repairs were made. The issues that showed up in the paint were at the front left corner, the top rear of the fenders and along the end of the fenders by the doors.

Next I'm thinking I have to remove the bondo to see what's under it particularly in the corner where the most damage was. Then decided how to atually fix it. The left head light door needs some work too, looks like the two front corners were bent just a bit too.

I don't see any problems over the rest of the car, but I'll probably strip the paint off still, just to be sure. It's been over 20 yrs since I've done this, so we'll see what happens!!

 

[JeffP1167]

how come there isn't any bondo seam filler on your fenders?

 

[damoroso]

I don't believe bondo was the normal method for bonding fenders from the factory. If I recall, they were bonded with adhesive, a bonding strip, more adhesive and then primer. But I could be wrong. There are no seam issues on this front end though, that much I do know. :sweat:

 

[mrvette]

Can I get you 2 do mine??

:hissyfit::beer:prrtt:

 

[denpo]

Man, I love those fender vents :twitch: :blush:
Always wondered if they actually do something apart from being awesome.

 

[JeffP1167]

I don't believe bondo was the normal method for bonding fenders from the factory. If I recall, they were bonded with adhesive, a bonding strip, more adhesive and then primer. But I could be wrong. There are no seam issues on this front end though, that much I do know. :sweat:

either yours is wrong or mine is ... Mine has this filler on each side though or do you have a 1 piece replacement frontend on yours?

 

[damoroso]

Jeff,
I think that's a common repair, using bondo on the bonding strips, but I don't think they came from the factory like that. Hell I might have a replacement on it, with what I found under the paing, anything is possible!

I looked through the AIM and Service Manual, the only thing I could find was for repair and replacement of a body panel. They show the bonding strip, but it's a B&W pic, so not really alot of help there. In the instructions they use an "epoxy solder-adhesive" for the bond and filler. They don't mention body filler at all. All that said, I'm not sure it really matters as long as the finish is smooth, clean and the paint sticks! :thumbs:

Gene,
I'd be happy to HELP you do yours, wanna trade for doing the back door for my garage??

Denpo,
At this time the vents just look good (to some of us!) they're not open to any thing, not even letting water out of them!! I will be opening them up though to let air out from the wheel wells. I doubt I'll ever notice any difference in performance, but the water won't sit there anymore! :thumbs:

 

[Belgian1979vette]

You should have a seam there. That is a strange one. Is the inside of the panels smooth ?

 

[JeffP1167]

you can also heat strip yours, that is how I stripped my 82. Just use a putty knife and heat gun with large diffusor.

 

[damoroso]

You should have a seam there. That is a strange one. Is the inside of the panels smooth ?

The insides of the panels are pretty smooth though you can feel a bump where the seam should be...maybe there's more crap on here than I thought. I can see what looks like the bonding strips in a couple places and they seem to be grey. As I recall, the last car I did (long ago and far away) I didn't see bondo on those bonding strips either. It was a Bowling Green 81 too...

Curious, but I don't think it's an issue??

 

[MYBAD79]

When i stripped my 79 I did not see any obvious bondo patches at any of the dour fenders, i don't believe ny of the panels has ever been replaced... It was a virgin until i started cutting stuff up ....

 

[damoroso]

Okay, got some more sanding done on the front end. Yep, there were mulitple layers of primer, paint and bondo, but the majority of it's all ground off now (still not down to the bonding strips though! ), and I can see what needs to be done. I think I'll have to build up the fender ridge on the drivers side first (using a profile gauge) and that'll give me a reference for the work around the left side headlight. It has to be built up about 3/16th's of an inch to get the contours right and that'll also bring it to the hoods corner (which I couldn't match when I put the hood on, go figure). I also have to remove the bumper cover, the mounting strips under it are AFU, I can feel bumps at the ends of them, so I suspect they weren't fixed/replaced in any of the repairs that have been done. No worries though, it'll give me a chance to get the fit like it should be. Couple of other places that need work too, at the fender louvers and the tops of the fenders back by the windshield for some reason were repaired, but not well.











I've also been trying to find a way to let air out from under the hood, we all know it get's hot and the cars tend to get alittle lite in the front end if you go fast enough. I'm thinking of opening up my hood where I've marked in pencil, I know it's a matter of lower air pressure over the hood vs. the air pressure under the hood. I think (since I don't have a clue what the pressures and flows actually are) opening and screening here will evacuate hot air from the engine compartment. I've seen L88 style hoods opened up on the back side of the V area, but the area I've marked is farther behind the radiator. The other area is just about on top of the radiator. Thoughts?

 

[mrvette]

Hey Dave, gimme a call when you can, I got a couple pickups and maybe a boat to help with this weekend....so dunno what going on....

your door project there I thought by now you had it done.....glad to help, no sweat....but I not having much of a positive attitude to the paint work on my vette, just the way it is....did find the squeek coming from under the dash on irregular roads though....laugh your ass off....grease the hood hinges, you know, to keep them from squeeking and since the right side hings used stock latch mounting, it megaphoned some noise through the HVAC ducts, and of course drove me KRAZY.....the R&R on the tranny went well enough, the O ring and converter did solve the lockup issue....also pissed off earlier this week on the left power window took it apart yet again, and corrected the spring....it was on upside down, and so it was hurting the window going up...and assisting going down....:hissyfit: maybe I shoulda, coulda, woulda LOOKED at the operational right window and seen the position of the spring....damnit...

:hissyfit:

 

[damoroso]

More damage found

Okay, the front end is apart and now I know what kind of damage there really was, and I think what parts I need. I removed the front bumper cover, cushion and bar, the left side support and the headlight assemblies. I can now see the extent of the repairs that were made (badly) to the left fender. The bumper cushion is missing the left end, and the bar is broken/cracked in four places making it very flimsy. A repair was obviously attempted before, but it wasn't very good. I think I should replace these parts and have a source located here in FL (not Ecklers), I'm having a hard time finding used parts, and the cost of what I have found isn't too far off of what the new would be (except for the support bracket).

Now I think I can start doing the glass work... Wish me luck, any tips are welcome, it's been a long, long time!!

 

[MYBAD79]

that front impact ram looks way different than what I had on my '79 .... looks heavy though.....

 

[Twin_Turbo]

it is heavy but only the triangle and large plate in the middle are steel, the rest is just a filberglass piece.

Surprised to see you still have the lower spoiler attachment on the front, most of them are crooked. I ran mine off on a speed bump

 

[damoroso]

Yeah it does look like a ram doesn't it? And it is pretty heavy, but it only protects the front middle of the car. Like TT said, everything else is fiberglass including the bumper brackets that hold the rest of the front to the frame. Even the rebar is only bolted to the bumper brackets and not to that battering ram. I ordered parts from Davies Corvette in New Port Richey FL, I've never used (or even hear of them before) customer service has been very good so far and parts have already been recieved. I'd use them again based on the expereince so far.

I ordered a set of profile gauges ( a 5, 10 and 15 inch) from Eastwood, so I can use the right side as a guide to rebuild the left side. They were on back order till today (so they say, we'll see....) once I get them, I can get back work on it. I'm thinking it makes sense to start by building the fender ridge on the left side, then I can use it as a reference for the rest of the work. I'm thinking of using Westmarine resin, hardner and high density filler for the work. Anyone know if I'm on track with this thought??

 

[JeffP1167]

watch out for repro impact bars. I had bought one for my 90 vette and holes were a bit to large for the original bolts so larger sizes had to be substituted.

 

[damoroso]

Thanks for the heads up Jeff! I've received both the rebar and brace now and the rebar has no holes in it, they all have to be drilled. The brace has the holes in it to mount to the frame, but needs to have the holes drilled for the rebar. I'm happy with the quality and will order parts from these guys again.....now the real work starts!!

 

[MYBAD79]

I'm thinking of using Westmarine resin, hardner and high density filler for the work. Anyone know if I'm on track with this thought??

as long as its SMC compatible you're good to go... on those areas that are stripped down to bare SMC I'd hit it with 60 grit for maximum "grip" and then use the resin on that rough surface.