This is an original car with minimal rust issues and almost all original paint. The paint will be matched to this cars original Signal Yellow color. It is great to work on an unmolested car. I will be trying to keep as much of an original look as possible. They were not sprayed with a complete and uniform coat of paint as noted in one picture of the trunk.
(Click on any image below to view larger size.)
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- This car arrived almost completely disassembled. The owner is restoring every component before it goes back on.
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- There are small body line issues on this car.
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- Here is a typical rust area on targa’s. This is a very quick repair.
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- This small spot is due to water getting behind the undercoating and sitting. This spot can be seen from inside the wheel well. Rust usually forms where several layers of metal come together.
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- This is what is believed the original fit of the aluminum engine hood.
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- With some gentle persuasion, it lines up nicely.
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- The rust is cut away.
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- The patch is done in two parts. The top part is first to create the top body line.
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- The lower section is curved to match the contour of the body.
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- The antenna hole is the only area were someone altered the body. I used a much thicker piece of steel here to reduce the risk of the metal bending from tightening the antenna too much.
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- The metal is cut away to gain access to the inner structure.
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- Another typical rust area is around the jack receiver. Several layers of metal are joined here and are exposed to water thrown off of the rear tire.
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- First the inner structure is repaired and covered in zinc primer.
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- Now the outer surface can be repaired. The lead is melted away before repairs are made and a patch is made to fit the remaining metal.
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- It may be hard to see here but the paint in the trunk is very thin and uneven from the factory. I will need to replicate this as close as possible.
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- Another typical place for rust. The inner surface is repaired and coated.
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- There were just small rust holes visible at first. The patch size indicates how far back the rust had affected the metal.
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- The under body was in extremely good shape. It was extensively cleaned and a fresh coat of Wurth undercoating applied for a uniform appearance.
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- Gray epoxy primer is applied to the undercoating before the body color is sprayed.
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- The engine bay had a very even color to it in all of the visible areas. Behind the sound deadening pad was less uniform.
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- From here, the under body will be masked off as the outer shell is completed.
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- With the wiring harness bagged and the dash masked off, I am ready to paint the trunk.
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- Using Wurth undercoating, I spray several coats to build it up and blend with the original undercoating.
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- Epoxy primer is used to bond the paint to the undercoating.
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- One coat of single stage paint is used to give it an original look. The camera did not pick up how the paint is thin and uneven just like the factory paint was.
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- The trunk lid has been blocked and shows the variations that exist in the original body. Only a few mils of paint were needed to straighten the panel out. Three small areas needed a skim of filler to level them out.
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- Blocking the body brought out the same small deviations in the panels. After masking the underbody, it is ready for primer.
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- Priming the entire body is needed to fill any sanding scratches and nicks that may have been too hard to detect.
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- Final blocking with the guide coat will show every scratch and nick to be sure we have a nice straight panel.
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- This hairline crack was undetectable before priming. This is the rear threshold of the engine compartment. This was the only place I thought the original paint had issues. I feathered it all back until it seemed solid. This is the only spot that will need a little rework. Another benefit of priming first. There are faster ways to get this car in color, but details like this would end up in the finished paint. Quality is in the details.
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- After the final blocking it is wet sanded and remasked.
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- After a final cleaning and tacking, the painting begins with the jams and tight areas.
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- After three coats are applied, it is allowed to dry and tacked again before the clear coat.
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- Three coats of clear are used to allow enough material for complete color sanding and polishing.
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- With the body color sanded, it will then dry four weeks before final detail sanding and three step polishing.
