Day 96 - 6/24/12

It's finally roof paint day! More specifically epoxy primer day, but you get the idea. This is a very exciting day and part of this project since it kind of ties everything together, and you can get a little glimpse of the more or less finished product. Automotive painting is another one of my Dad's fortes so it was really fun for me to see him in action. On to the pictures!

The workbench is ready for paint.

More prep: wiping and cleaning.

Epoxy primer likes bare metal.

Washed the front and side interior rubber moldings today while Dad did his thing.

He likes to use lots of tape...

Entire roof is fully prepped and fully masked off and finally ready for paint!

GM black for around the windshield. 

As well as the rear glass, since they are both visible when the glass and moldings are installed. Why dark red oxide in color for the rest of the roof? It's one of the first batches of color for my Dad's '32 Ford roadster, and since the new vinyl will cover it all, why not use it eh?

Anddd done!

Day 95 - 6/23/12

Today is filled with more sanding and preparation. It's almost paint time...for the roof, not the whole car. Scared you a second didn't I? Here's some pictures:

Put on an incorrect yeared California black plate on for fun.

Lots more sanding, almost there.

Cleaned up the Titianium Putty and primed the A-pillars.

Washed the rear inside window molding as well.

Day 94 - 6/22/12

Back for another update! The last coat of primer for the rear window opening has been applied and we roll it outside to give it a breather and quick clean out/blow off. As well as we button some of the rear of the car back together, getting it that much closer to drive-ability time!

Sooo much dust it's crazy.

Hasn't seen the 'outside' for months!

Applied more Titanium Putty in the remaining troubled areas.

Doing a little inspect and detect.

It's all brand new! Well, almost...

Measured and drilled for the new studs that hold the molding clips on.

I believe I was polishing the lower quarter where the lower rear valence panel attaches...

Finishing touches.

Anddd, another day done. Seeya soon.

Day 93 - 6/20/12

Progress is being made! Today should be the final day of body filler application and I (we) are okay with that. The smell isn't the greatest, and dust just gets everywhere.

The filler is literally "green" as it has just been applied. A few spot coats of primer have been applied in-between coats of filler as well.

Final layer of filler cured, and sanded.

In getting ready to "throw" the car back together, I pulled the rear window out and started to clean and prep it for re-installation. It's good enough to reuse after all the caulk has been cleaned off. Side note: The windshield will be replaced with a new one...not sure if I've already said that before.

Day 92 - 6/16/12

Today is another one for the books, as I get to observe my father in his element from the old days of BPE (before Peter and Ethan). I'll let the pictures do the talking.

 The roof is all shinny and clean, literally as an array of solvents and cleaners were used on the bare metal to clean and prep it for the body filler. As you can see, we went straight to the line of where the vinyl roof was and will be again very soon.

It looks pretty thick here, but most of the filler will be grated and sanded off as necessary. Yes, that piece stained the quarter panel, and yes I was a little upset. This being the second drip I called a timeout. We taped some paper up to the line to continue to try to save the original paint as we have done up until this point.

Action shot: cheese grate time!

A few 'coats' over a period of time over the sail panel. Both sides were pretty bad, but I'd say this side was worse having the pit holes in the 'new' upper rear window piece and rust/pits around the quarter/roof seam.

Time for a little primer and inspection!

Day 91 - 6/14/12

Today is yet another cool day, as I believe it is the last day of metal work on the roof before it's body filler time! Dad crawls on inside the car to reach the awkward mid roof section and I tackle the body seam below the windshield.

The rear part of the roof was still a little uneven so it needed a little more love.

But wait, more rust! I started picking at this seam awhile ago and realized it needed to be looked at too. 

So I picked/wire wheeled all the original seam sealer out of the seam and prepped it for some titanium putty, new sealer and a coat of new black paint.

Day 90 - 6/11/12

Quick update today, doing some odds and ends while trying to keep everything moving forward. My Dad sourced some of this amazing stuff called titanium putty. It's a pretty amazing product, and for my application it seems to be working wonderfully. In a few areas of the roof the original skin is thin, but not enough so that we needed or wanted to patch pieces in. So, after a little grinding to clean up the spots, the titanium putty is worked into the surface and let to cure. After the putty is cured, it's as solid as a rock. It takes a grinding disk to shape it to the rest of the roof.

Only got a few good pictures of this step, but if you look closely the gray is the putty. Some had to be applied along the body line above the rear window on the roof side. Some rust/pitting took place above the roof/quarter panel seam and this is where Dad is sanding the putty down here.

Day 89 - 6/9/12

I changed gears a little today, trying to keep everything rolling at once. New rear bumper guard rubbers were gifted to me and I hand polish the tail lights to brighten them up before reassembly in the bumper.

The pretty decent repro pieces come straight and require being bent to my specific application. 

I started on the flat part of the plastic and got excited, so continued and the results are pretty amazing.

Day 88 - 6/8/12

Today we clean up the damage we caused on the roof (literally). The rear window needs a little more feather grinding to be smooth with the body and the sail panels are examined and ground a little. We also begin to sand, grind and work the roof skin that will eventually be covered up with vinyl. We're getting there!

If you look closely, we drew a sharpie line across the rivet holes across the trunk filler panel that we spliced into. This is where the molding went and will go again that covers the seam between the vinyl and painted surface. This is a point of reference, of what we can and will grind up to. 

Lots of rust from years of buildup and moisture that found its way in-between the vinyl and the sail panel.

The rust got extremely close to the visible paint line and this is a challenge we will have to continue to face.

You can see the original gray primer on the roof from when the body was dipped so many years ago.

We clean it all off however, to prepare for a clean surface to prime for the second time in its life.

Day 87 - 6/7/12

Today's a pretty cool day. We're almost done with welding and grinding on the window openings on the roof! All the Monte Carlo roof is spliced in front and rear, and all the little patch panel/pieces are in. The window moldings fit good, just as good or possibly better than factory!