Saturday, February 15, 2014

Yeah...those things no one likes...

Well I finished installing 'the things no one likes' this afternoon. This will FINALLY allow those pesky quarter windows that have been out of the car for 15 years to make their appearance. I had to open up the trim holes from .201" to .25" before installing. Put a dab of silicone behind each washer to make sure I had a good seal with the body. I'm still happy with them despite the reception. A cool industrial look. 

Before I got too carried away, I decided to buff/polish the areas where they installed so that I didn't have to work around them when buffing the entire car. Which obviously should be done before any hardware is attached but due to some upcoming events, I'm in accelerated-mode to get as much of the car reassembled before the end of March.

Sven recommended going with a 3 step process called Perfect-It from 3M. I bought 3 bottles of the stuff from the inner-web and did a trial run on the rear valance. Stage 1 is rubbing compound, Stage 2 coarse polish and Stage 3 fine polish. Pretty much idiot proof. Squeeze the stuff onto the matching foam pad and have at it with your D/A. I was very happy with the results. I had a slight tinge of red to the rubbing compound pad which confirmed I was skimming a bit of color off the top - then diminishing color residue in Stages 2 and 3. If the rest of the car comes out as well as the valance, I'll be a happy camper. For a daily driver shot in single stage Dupont Centuri acrylic enamel, I can't ask for too much more.

Once I got the valance buffed/polished, I flipped it over and shot some truck bed liner on it just to protect the inner surface. Got the back-up lights out of  storage and dropped them in just for looks. Ended up media blasting the back surfaces and clear coating before installing. I'll get the gaskets installed then mount permanently next time I'm in the shop. Once that's done, the rear valance should be ready to mount. Will be nice to see some sheet metal going on the car rather than coming off of it for a change!!!


There's a quarter window track hiding inside that quarter panel !



Rear valance moving towards completion


Saturday, February 8, 2014

Bad Day at Black Rock Canyon

Why, oh why, oh why did I hurry today ?!!!!!! Powder coating...it's easy...but it is still a form of painting and as such requires proper prep and execution. I choose to do neither today and have paid the piper for it. Arghhhh....

Decided to head to the shop after getting some early morning skiing in. Have been working the rear of the car lately, trying to get the valence, taillights and trim installed. Today I wanted to get the rear taillight buckets media blasted and prepped for installation. I hadn't decided if I was going to powder coat, re-zinc plate or just leave them natural.

I first wanted to see what was under all that dirt and grime - then make the decision afterwards. So swapped out the blast garnet for walnut shells as I didn't want to abrasive-blast the zinc-plated surface if there was a chance I could save it. The first bucket came out great. I couldn't believe how nice it was. I thought, if the other one looks this good, I'll just hit them with some satin-gloss clear powder coat and be assembling them in front the TV  tonight while watching the Olympics. 

But as all things in car restoration, nothing goes as planned. The second was dreadful. Under all that dirt, were a bunch of oxidation patches, deep scratches and discolorations. Always the story with zinc-plated parts. Here you have 2 buckets that have lived their entire lives, just 3 feet away from one another. One is pristine, the other a disaster. What to do? Decided, since the second was unsalvageable surface-wise, there was no reason to not powder coat it argent silver. Not my favorite option but for a part typically hidden from view, I just decided for the sake of efficiency and getting the car done before my wife is 80,  to press forward with that. So back to the blast cabinet - swap in the garnet and go after all the oxidation patches. An hour later, the zinc-plating now obliterated, it didn't look too bad. Cleaned it with solvent, pre-heated it to eliminate any outgassing from the oxidation areas and coated it with argent silver powder. And this is where the train came off the tracks. I typically like to preheat a part to at least 400 deg or a bit higher to get rid of any potential outgassing but the part looked so clean, I only preheated to 150. After a 20 min cure, I pulled it from the oven and was already patting myself on the back for a flawless surface....and then I turned it over. Noooooooo!!!!!!! Blisters all over the backside of the part. Then, like Dennis and his deck lid, God and I had a short, but intense discussion regarding my powder coating technique. Oh fudddggggeeeeee.....


argent silver


blister city




Disgusted but undeterred, I swapped out the silver powder in the gun for satin clear, figuring I might as well  finish the other bucket while the oven was hot. In then end, it was the direction I wanted to go anyway. Long story short, another disappointment. The gloss was uneven and there was a slight yellowish hue to the clear. So 4 hrs in the shop - score 0-2. I cleaned myself up and went home with my tail between my legs. I now have 2 fubar'ed parts coated in impregnable powder coat - totally unusable for the moment.


satin-clear with just a hint of warm yellow :(

I have 2 more spares in the basement, so I might try and media blast them and see where they stand - then pay attention to my prep and execution and get my head out of my butt and focus on what I'm doing. Double fudge....

 

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Zen and the Art of Sandblasting

Sandblasting is one of those car restoration tasks that typically falls under the 'necessary evil' column. Right there with rust repair, undercoating scraping and fixing things under the dash while upside down and backwards. But occasionally...when one has had a stressful week of work - complete with angry customers, unmotivated employees, a leaky roof and a sky that hasn't seen the sun in 10 days - sand blasting can actually be a welcomed relief. Today was such a day. 

Woke up early, got my bike ride in and headed directly for the shop. Gathered up a handful of parts that have been waiting in the 'to-be-sand-blasted' pile, set the compressor at 60 psi and fired up the blast cabinet. Went with a my favorite blend - 80 grit garnet from GMA Abrasive. Not too harsh with a subtle hint of holly and evergreen. 

I always like sliding into the blast cabinet. Reminds me of those science fiction movies from the 60's. You got your respirator on and those cool looking rubber gloves that are built into the cabinet face. Easy to imagine you are operating on some poor monkey that has been infected with Element-X - or manipulating nuclear pellets needed to defeat Godzilla. Unfortunately today it was nothing more exciting than a couple of front grill brackets and a quarter window regulator track....so Godzilla is safe for at least another weekend.

Other than taking a nice uninterrupted 1 1/2 hrs to complete, nothing much to report. Hit the foot pedal, point and squirt, repeat as needed. As mindless as it can be, it's a great way to unwind - especially if the radio station is playing a nice grouping of Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones and The Who. Once I had everything blasted, I went over them all with some solvent to remove any traces of oils/waxes in preparation for powder coating. Went with satin black for the grill parts and argent silver for the regulator tracks. There is probably a better color for the tracks but I've used it before on other tracks. It is a close match, looks good and I typically have it is stock - so that's what goes on.

I've been a bit unhappy though with Eastwood's black powders as I can't seem to get any repeatable stock of what they call 'satin black'. Sometimes it comes out flat, sometimes glossier than I like. This used to not be a problem but I've noticed the last 2 or 3 batches have been inconsistent. This go-around then I tried ordering what they call 'semi-gloss' black. Which is normally the same as satin. But since they are discriminating between them, I thought I'd give it a go. Happily this time, it came out exactly the color/gloss level I was looking for. For now then, I'm going with semi-gloss rather than satin for underhood / chassis parts. 

So hopefully with the track powder coated, I'm ready to assemble the driver's side quarter window. I've read over Alex's instructions a couple times and printed out the factory assembly diagram so I think I'm good to go. Will be nice to have that assembly back together as it has been apart for at least 10 years!!!