Golden Goddess heart surgery

[Cheapsunglasses]

Turns out not as bad as thought…amazing what sleep does. Other than the bug tracks, got a couple pin holes a rough spot and some weirdness near the drip rail

 

[Cranky]

Well it works well if you’re not under the sun in Texas, in August. I thought waiting until 9:00 would help, complete fail, it dried as soon as it touched metal and could be wiped off by hand.

So because I get tunnel vision when I set my mind to something, especially when I’m angry at something. I am going to start punishing myself and getting up really early in the morning and spray. Who needs sleep, she has a date 200 miles away in 3 weeks, and needs her best dress and pearls on

Sounds like maybe you have too much hardener? And waiting until 9pm here only makes me need to use more hardener!

I like to mix with the metal “spreader” but I prefer to spread the filler with the more flexible plastic ones.

I mix with and apply with plastic....

The only fix is to scrape off what will not harden and apply another layer that is mixed with enough catalyst to set up within 5 minutes.
I wish that there was a way to make the rate of hardening a bit longer. The stuff I use stays soft for a few minutes then once it starts to firm up, it sets up really fast. I would prefer to have a little more time to shape or spread once I feel it is starting to set up.

Got to experiment with how much harderner you use for the humidity.....

If I scuff and shoot again, will those spots be visible, and will the dead bug spots go away

View attachment 1712880

It depends how much 'oil' the dead bugs have in them lol. Also, you might try hanging some plastic around the car....sort of a poor man's paint booth. I've done pretty well shooting early in the day with a damp floor (to keep the dust down) with the doors down for minimum bugs....but I also have a cross flow with window fans and a large AC filter in one of the windows.

 

[Kern Dog]

I’ve never had to adjust for humidity, just temperature.
It would be a bit of an adjustment for me if I ever leave here.

 

[Cranky]

I’ve never had to adjust for humidity, just temperature.
It would be a bit of an adjustment for me if I ever leave here.

I have both including bugs. Haven't done that much painting but 'learnt' pretty quick what to do. Following the destructions and making a bit of an adjustment helped a lot!

 

[Kern Dog]

I’ve had small bugs land in paint. Add to that … eyebrow, eyelashes or arm hair and sweat droplets. I’ve painted when it is in the mid 90s. Wearing gloves, my hands and arms will drip and it is the worst when I’m painting hoods, roofs or trunk lids. I’ve had to go back and pluck out bugs and hairs and sand out craters that form when sweat drips into fresh paint.

 

[khryslerkid]

I was painting a '67 T-Bird one night, in a garage, with ventilation. It was a metallic burgundy. I did three coats on that car and it turned out beautiful. Just finished spraying and all of a sudden a large june beetle came flying in from who knows where, did a back flip right in the middle of the hood! Man was I pissed. Grabbed a pair of needle nose pliers and pulled it out but left the wings behind. So I got an exacto knife and surgically removed them. Then there was this mess about the size of a fifty cent piece. I needed to shoot that spot with a little paint to get it to flow out. Thing was, I was out of paint. A little thinner in the empty paint can, and in the spray cup made about a half of an inch in the bottom of the cup. Tried spraying the gun and nothing would come out. Started shaking it and suddenly one burst of paint came out and hit the defect perfectly. It flowed out and you couldn't even find it anymore. That car was sharp looking with the metallic burgundy, white vinyl top and white interior.

One week later I ran into a car sitting in the middle of the road with no lights on, dark out, just started raining and the driver of the car was drunk as a skunk. I can still hear the sound of the fan hitting the radiator. Arggg!

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Bunch of spots needed cleaning up. Funny I stood back and looked at it, even though the primer is thin in places, there’s filler everywhere, I’m no longer repulsed by it, I’d almost run it as is

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Well unsuccessfully successful I guess?

I thought 2 cans would be enough, but it wasn’t. I have more 2 cans coming but delivery was suppose to be yesterday, they won’t get here until this afternoon. I already had the day off scheduled so I went for it, I haven’t found anything on recoat time, but having the paint thin in spots does make it seem like it’s been there a while and sun burned like the rest of the car. That’s why I don’t know if this was successful or unsuccessful

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

****, went to look at, and apparently the tape didn’t hold the masking paper at the bottom

 

[ckessel]

Buzz can paint doesn't have a lot of solids in them, otherwise they'll plug up the nozzle.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

2 more cans and she’s done. I’m going to get on another soap box and get a little serious again, because I feel I represent the young broke “kids” that are doing their best with what they have. It’s not perfect, but I didn’t set out for perfection. I set out to make it look like a couple of guys in the 70s took the vinyl top off and did a backyard paint job, because well a couple guys in 2024 did just that. It’s not perfect, but I didn’t set out to do that, I learned a new skill, I got off my *** and I did something and I’m ******* proud of my work. You can sit in your recliner and say “someday it’ll be perfect” or you can get off your *** and say one day I did it. I’m lucky I grew up on Roadkill, pole barn garage, Vice grip garage, and all the “hacks” that realized these cars are about FUN! It’s not about a 3 million dollar car on Barrett Jackson, it’s not about how much money is invested.

Thanks @5.7 hemi for taking my seeming relentless questions and everyone else that chipped in advice

 

[Black_Sheep]

Don’t make it too nice or it won’t match your patina. Nice work though, are you still planning to do some graphics?

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

That’s the other reason I didn’t make it too nice, and the reason I put a layer of red primer on. I left a couple dents alone, and I’m going to sand through some of the paint in areas to match the rest of the car.

And then It needs to fully cure before taping, hopefully Saturday is enough time. Then I’ll be playing with the air brush

 

[Kern Dog]

I have no time nor patience for snobs that will criticize me or any of my friends for building a car LESS than as a show winner.
Lucky for us, the guys that appreciate a budget effort seem to be in greater numbers.
When I drive Jigsaw out and about, I get all sorts of positive responses and stories from others. People can relate to stretching a dollar to get things done.
I do love well restored cars with a perfect appearance but for me, a car like that is not something I'd feel at ease driving in heavy traffic, parking in a public lot, leaving it out overnight, humming on a dusty road or even leaning up against.
Cars like this Plymouth look like what guys my age drove in high school in the early 80s. These cars were 10-15 years old then and had multiple owners. Some of them still had original paint and engines. We did what kids did then....air shocks, big tires in the back, a low budget AM/FM cassette player and 6 x 9 speakers below the back window. Some of us had Cheapie headers from Super Shops. We drove them like cars because that is exactly what they were. We didn't buy them as an investment.
Some of us messed up things and learned about cars along the way. Some of us are still doing that.

 

[dadsbee]

I'm just glad you're here, reminding me of my teen years! I've been there... still have one of two cars that I did similar too back in the day.

 

[Black_Sheep]

I have no time nor patience for snobs that will criticize me or any of my friends for building a car LESS than as a show winner.
Lucky for us, the guys that appreciate a budget effort seem to be in greater numbers.
When I drive Jigsaw out and about, I get all sorts of positive responses and stories from others. People can relate to stretching a dollar to get things done.
I do love well restored cars with a perfect appearance but for me, a car like that is not something I'd feel at ease driving in heavy traffic, parking in a public lot, leaving it out overnight, humming on a dusty road or even leaning up against.
Cars like this Plymouth look like what guys my age drove in high school in the early 80s. These cars were 10-15 years old then and had multiple owners. Some of them still had original paint and engines. We did what kids did then....air shocks, big tires in the back, a low budget AM/FM cassette player and 6 x 9 speakers below the back window. Some of us had Cheapie headers from Super Shops. We drove them like cars because that is exactly what they were. We didn't buy them as an investment.
Some of us messed up things and learned about cars along the way. Some of us are still doing that.

One of my good friends has done a couple of patina projects, people tend to gravitate towards them because to the average guy they seem more attainable than a “show winner”…

 

[71RRHI]

The Golden Goddess is looking great. I really enjoy your posts. You showcase what I think this hobby is all about. Having fun, driving your car, making improvements and learning new skills.

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

I knocked down most of the over spray with 800 and 1k. I can’t go further than that right now because I have to blend a couple of places, so no point doing all that work and doing all that work again

I knocked down the roof with 800 and 1k grit to prep for paint tomorrow. Installed the trim for reference and just to look at it

Then it was really worrying me about the paint so I had to do the first buffing step to ease my mind

 

[Black_Sheep]

Are you going to do something about the white below the vinyl top trim? Personally, I’d sand the tape line out and dust in some single stage gold touch up paint. Even if it’s not a perfect match, it would clean up the lines and possibly add to the patina look…

 

[Cheapsunglasses]

Yep, exactly what I’m doing. There’s 3 spots below the rear window and on both sides below the trim where I got carried away with the sander.