Painting the 60

[TWHawk]

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. Nate got called out of town for business, and I gave him my computer for the trip. That also means there will be no more pictures posted until he gets home.

Helen is currently covered head to toe in a black "band-aid" paint job. All the people who were telling me not to take that entire car to bare metal, and that the sanding coats would smooth everything out were obviously smoking something, or didn't realize just how many layers of old paint I would be working through to chase down the myriad little rust spots. Currently she looks like a pack of wild monkeys armed with hammers had a go at her.

I have decided to to drop my summer classes, as they had nothing to do with my degree, and instead use the summer to work on my car. I am getting some estimates for media blasting for the purpose of taking all of the new paint, and the rest of the old paint off of the car. My friends at Sale's Oil are working with me for shop space.

I put enough of her back together to safely and legally take her to Hearse-Con, and I am so glad that I did. The meet and greet was earlier this evening, and getting her out from under the shop lights, and just driving Helen helped. The reception we recieved upon arrival made me feel so much better. She is still an interesting and beautiful car, even missing most of her chrome and lights. I have not done any damage to the car - She's just a bit ugly for the time being. Zack gave me a hug and assured me that he's made all the same mistakes that I am making now. Richard parked his bondo and rust covered hearse next to me so that I'd feel better. It was a very sweet gesture. Overall, in the short time I was there, I got a lot of encouragement. I am so pleased to be a part of this community.

Also - The meet and greet gave a quick preview, and there are some really cool coaches showing up tomorrow. I can't wait!

[randyaz]

You guys deserve some bigtime respect points for taking this project on yourselves. How did you handle the rust out spots?

[TWHawk]

Guess the warehouse space came through. Way to go ZBH! Considerable amount of effort you've done in a short period of time shows Traveler.

Which is more sore from sanding - you or Nate? Spill.

Actually, that's the back room at my buddy's shop, Sale's Oil.

As for who is hurting more, I am going to say probably Nate, as he's had to take on anything heavy, and he's the one more experienced with the paint gun, so he's done all of the actual painting.

We have two coats of black down, and Helen looks pretty bad. I am regretting following the advice of all the people who told me not to take it to bare metal. It would have taken a couple of more days at the outset, but no ammount of sanding primer is covering the ripples, and I don't know what to do about it. Nate is beating himself up because he thinks this is somehow his fault. I am thinking it's the fault of inexperience and a lack of time. Also, the initial goal of keeping the rust from spreading has been met. She is solid. I am ok with leaving her as is (no finishing coats) and trying again at a later date. We are out of time for now, but with the assurance that she's not going to rot away, I'd be willing to call a do-over.

I forgot the camera today.

[60Crown]

Guess the warehouse space came through. Way to go ZBH! Considerable amount of effort you've done in a short period of time shows Traveler.

Which is more sore from sanding - you or Nate? Spill.

[hotroddwayne]

DAMMIT! I should have bought stock in 3M before you started this project... there's now a worldwide shortage of masking tape & 3M executives are wondering whose suddenly buying their product by the case! LOL looking good you guys...

[TWHawk]

Yesterday was spent sanding. Today will be spent spraying another primer coat, and the first layer of black.

[TWHawk]

Yesterday the summer semester started, and then Nate and I put in 12 hours doing final prep, masking and spraying the primer coat. Helen has never looked uglier.

Last night after putting our tools away we spent some time walking around the car with me rather distraught, and him assuring me that she's supposed to look like that covered in sanding primer. Nate's really excited about how everything is going. I may muster up some enthusiasm once I have consumed a quantity of coffee.

Onward.

[R U INJRD]

Thanks Atti!

It's also here under the thread I started labeled "1960 Superior" on the second page. It's one of the pics Zack took the day I brought her home.

Hmmm.... I know I've been through that thread before, I remember the sword. It is the last picture to load on that page though, and I have a slow connection so I may have bailed prematurely...

Anyway, I feel complete now.

By the way, a year later and still no new valve stems?
I'm just kidding, that's one of those things that sounds real simple to fix on the surface, then ends up being a giant pain in the ass that you end up paying someone to do while you sit in a waiting room for an hour...

[TWHawk]

Thanks Atti!

It's also here under the thread I started labeled "1960 Superior" on the second page. It's one of the pics Zack took the day I brought her home.

Also - I have the coolest friends in the world. Zack was trying to get me space in a warehouse to paint Helen, but can't seem to contact the guy. I called my buddy shawn who proceeded to clear out the back half of his family's shop and get me set up with a lighted space big enough to walk around Helen with her doors open, completely enclosed, well ventilated, with air, electricity, water, everything. We'll move her hopefully today, getting her out of the rain. We still have a bit of cleaning up to do as far as prep work, but we'll probably be shooting by Wednesday.

[60Crown]

Have to super-sleuth livejournal to find it.

[R U INJRD]

Bite your tongue.

Hey, since we have a dialogue going here, where is the larger version of your signature pic? I've been through all your pictures and haven't seen it anywhere. For some reason it bugs me that I can't see it larger.

[STODD]

Have you considered white with a red stripe, yellow and black safety tape, and dryer vents for the roof?


That seems to be all the rage these days...

Someone's looking for a beatdown...

[TWHawk]

Bite your tongue.

[R U INJRD]

Have you considered white with a red stripe, yellow and black safety tape, and dryer vents for the roof?


That seems to be all the rage these days...

[TWHawk]

At this point, I am not sure about the color. Really, the project is more about preservation, so choosing the final color is in the works. Today Nate and I took a break from working on Helen directly, partially due to continuing rain, and partially due to some general bitchery that I'm sure was the result of six straight days of this crap.

So, today we started playing with particulate pigments, mixing and layering and playing. I don't remember how many combinations we tried on my poor motorcycle today. We'll go back and look at them when the sun shines again, and hopefully pick one.