Very nice. So epoxy, filler, epoxy, light filler, 2+ coats of high build and sanding/blocking.
Are you planning on a separate sealer coat after the blocking?


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I've generally had issues with base coat not appearing consistent if the coat it covers is not uniform.  So, yes, a sealer coat to provide the consistent foundation.  Primers used so far have been:

Epoxy: 801-703

High build: 285-50

Water based base coat or solvent? I am using water based. And what sealant do you have in mind? I am nearing the sealant stage too and am little confused as what to use. I want it to be a perfect seal coat that just needs a tack rag before base.


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28 minutes ago, wheee! said:

Water based base coat or solvent? I am using water based. And what sealant do you have in mind? I am nearing the sealant stage too and am little confused as what to use. I want it to be a perfect seal coat that just needs a tack rag before base.


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All my stuff is solvent based.  For sealants, I've not had good luck reproducing factory in the past.  They don't smooth out enough unless I go over them with some lacquer thinner within a few minutes of applying.  I will look to 3M products and see what is currently available.  Also, unless I spray primer over it, I think I run the chance of the base coat not looking the same wherever it is covering seam sealer.  The concern is areas like inside the rain gutters, the quarter panel to rocker cover seams, and the quarter panel to tail light panel seams.  I'm going to put a really small amount in these places just to fill the gaps, then cover with the primer/sealer.  I am not worried about the seams inside on the floor, or underneath on the floor.

Edited March 17, 20205 yr by inline6

After the two coats of high build primer, this is how things look.   The camera doesn't like focusing on this light color - ugh.?

I will need some more light filler in some spots (will it ever end?!).  Will likely do that and some more high build filler in strategic spots, such as: where the body line meets the front fender arch contour... and along the fender arch on the driver side, as examples.

 

Edited March 17, 20205 yr by inline6

Interesting. My body shop supply house wants to go over a few products with me. The owner is an experienced painter. He wants to help me get a nice base sealer on before the paint.


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5 minutes ago, wheee! said:

Interesting. My body shop supply house wants to go over a few products with me. The owner is an experienced painter. He wants to help me get a nice base sealer on before the paint.


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I'm all DIY, so, definitely not a pro.  By a "nice base sealer", I wonder if he is just saying that he wants to apply a sealer over everything including the seam sealer.  That would be my guess.  

My plan is to continue doing the body work for the next month or so... and then let it sit for another month: 1) because it will take a while for me to get it as good as I want it, and 2) to give the filler and undercoats time to dry and settle.  At that point, I will hand it over to a pro to finish however they see fit to.  It will be damn close to being ready to spray.

Yours is looking amazing so far. I think your final result will be beautiful.


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It is really past time for an update... 35 pics of body work follow - a lot of work to resize and upload and format ?.  As always, clicking on the images gives you a large version.

Passenger side door (upside down - front door gap to fender is the vertical gap) - cleaned of primer, and touch up weld to fill gap (center pic):

    

Fiberglass headlamp housings had not been primed yet - they were just sanded down.  You can see the original primers that were used, first red, then dark grey.  Following shows after guide coat and sanding of the two coats of high build primer.  I broke through in lots of places.  The panels were not nearly as straight as they needed to be.  

    

I switched to a higher quality, fine body filler for the areas that needed it, like the passenger door:

    

Again, and I can't stress enough, if you want to spend less time and less aggravation on body work, spread your filler across large expanses of the panel (even the whole panel) instead of a little bit here and a little bit there like I always think I can get away with.  

    

Left rear quarter panel, one of the straightest panels on the car, needed some filler in places at this "late" stage of the game.  Imperfections of literally a thousandth of an inch can be seen when looking at a glossy panel.  Using proper sanding technique is also very important to achieving a panel without waves. 

  

3+ more coats of high build primer applied over the weekend.  Places that I knew were not 100% right got an extra 1-2 coats, for a max of 5 in certain areas.  I am hopeful that guide coat and sanding process will get me where I need to be, but I suspect that the car will still require another round of primer and sanding after this one is worked down.

    

Body lines are kept really sharp at this point in the game.  They can be softened and made consistent later.

    

The body line above the rear fender appears to be a bit light to me, indicating the area is a touch low.  We'll see how things take shape (or don't) as the next round of guide coat and sanding progresses in this area.  Damaged rear edge of rear quarter panel looks much better now:

    

Door gaps (to fender, to quarter, to rocker, etc.) and alignments of all panels have to be done before you get to this high build primer stage.  You can't be yanking and tweaking metal now.

    

   

    

I am letting the primer dry for a week so shrinkage can occur.  I may leave it for two weeks, and then do the guide coat and sanding process.  Plenty of other work that can be done in the meantime.

    

Edited April 7, 20204 yr by inline6

Great attention to detail.

I went down the same road as you about 6 or 7 years ago.

I also let a professional do the final fine work.

Happens to be my brother who has had his own shop for 30 years.

He even made a roof that was dented look perfect

The finished product will be great.

Canada does not allow solvent based paint.

We ordered the paint from the U.S.

Good luck

Casey

 

7 minutes ago, Casey_z said:

Great attention to detail.

I went down the same road as you about 6 or 7 years ago.

I also let a professional do the final fine work.

Happens to be my brother who has had his own shop for 30 years.

He even made a roof that was dented look perfect

The finished product will be great.

Canada does not allow solvent based paint.

We ordered the paint from the U.S.

Good luck

Casey

 

Is your car silver too?  What brand of paint did you use?  Glasurit (what I have used for undercoats) doesn't seem to have a paint mix code for 1971 Datsun silver.

Another metal replacement project tackled yesterday - replacing the metal that had been cut for speakers by a previous owner.  This is the luggage riser area:

    

Though pictured is a die grinder with a cutting wheel attachment, most of the cutting was done with a 4.5 inch DeWalt hand grinder with a cutting wheel.  That cuts way faster... I picked up that knowledge from watching various Youtube channels.  It seems to be the way to go, but it can be harder to control the cuts for sure.  For more precision, I switch to the die grinder when needed.  Pretty much have been using the die grinder and cut off wheels for decades!  But, I am not sure about the extent of harm to the lungs from using these cut off wheels (they slowly turn to dust as you use them).  Definitely eliminate the possibility - wear a particle mask!

      

Leaning in through the door and twisting to do all the work related (cutting, filing, fitting and tack welding), made my lower back sore, so I am giving that a rest from continuing with the remaining work on these for a bit.

I have started on the dash.  I pulled the Vintage Dashes reproduction out of the box and mounted it on the cleaned metal frame.  I power washed the frame, dried it, and then touched up areas that were spray painted black from the factory, such as the areas that can be seen when looking at the defrost vents.   

  

As body work starts to come to an end, I will have to organize the work to be done elsewhere.  There are many different aspects of work to schedule and do, so some dedicated time spent on planning (writing out) seems very prudent at this point.  Suspension, transmission, differential, the rest of the engine build, interior, electrical... lots of things to consider.

Edited April 13, 20204 yr by inline6