After an exhausting, 27 hour weekend, it's done.
Friday Afternoon
I spent the afternoon building a "redneck" paint both in my garage. It cost me about $50 ($20 for the plastic sheeting, $30 for wood to make support frames for the bonnet and boot lids). The tarp was an old one and the tape was a donation from my dad. :) It took me about 4 hours to get it the way I wanted.
I think it turned out nice.
Saturday Morning
I was up early and worked from about 7:30 to 11:00 to fix up some defects I found and sanded the car down one more time. I also did a test fit of the hardtop I plan to restore... it fits pretty well.
Saturday Afternoon
After a break, I taped off everything I didn't want painted (like the wheel wells, the engine bay, etc.) That plastic sheeting worked like a charm. This only took an hour and a half... by 1:00 I was ready.
The day was hot in the morning, but then clouds moved in and I was afraid it would rain. I could smell the rain in the air and the wind picked up. But someone smiled on me, because the rain held off and the wind died down, but it stayed overcast. It made for a tolerable afternoon outside.
It was very satisfying to see the car all one color, even if it is gray.
Saturday Evening
After a nap and a little dinner, I got back to work at about 6:00pm. I block sanded the doors, bonnet and boot lids. It took a very long time to sand out the rough primer (the doors were only a little difficult, though, with small problem areas on each). I started with 180 grit and ended up at 400 grit. I ended up sanding most of the primer off, and through in a couple of spots. But it's high-build primer and did its job of evening out the surface.
I wrapped up about 9pm, took a shower and went to bed. Or at least, I tried. I was so keyed up with all the things I knew I'd have to do Sunday that I had a hard time falling asleep.
Sunday Morning
I was up at 3:30. I couldn't sleep. But I also couldn't get up. I dozed on and off until about 7 - past my start time - and then didn't make it out 'til 8.
Once I got my aching bones moving, I started in on block sanding the body shell, which went much more smoothly. Again, I sanded a good chunk of it down - but it is really even. I'm particularly proud of a couple of areas that were hugely damaged, and you'd never know it. I took a couple of breaks - it was much warmer and sunny - so I ended up working until about 12:30 to finish block sanding.
Sunday Afternoon
Then, it was time to fix up all the defects I encountered while sanding. There weren't too many, thankfully, but a couple of big clusters of pinholes and some low spots meant I worked until about 4:00 preparing for the next (last) coat. I needed many breaks. And I am a perfectionist.
Finally, it was time. And it came out great! By 5:30 I had pulled the plastic off and was cleaning up.
My paint booth worked great. There was very little dust outside of the booth. Some sweeping and a good wash and the garage was clean! Well, cleaner. Cleaner than when I started.
It took me until 8:00 to finish cleaning up and putting everything away. I was bone-tired.
The next step is to go around with one more block sand, starting at 400 and working up to 800 grit wet-sanded. There's a couple of dry spots but nothing nearly so bad. It should sand down nicely and be ready for paint by this weekend. My friend has access to a booth, so it will be nice to work in a clean, cool environment.
This chapter is almost over - stay tuned for the final episode!
