Build Thread '83 T-top Coupe - Cliff Notes Edition

[Davedacarpainter]

So i did something, i got the jamb sanded down. Tomorrow i'll reseam seal it.:

I'm really close to painting it, i just need to block the topside with 320 and it will be ready to go.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Masked for seam sealing. I used flowable seam sealer this time. It's so much easier to use.

I've already flipped the hood and started blocking the top side.

Who knows? Maybe paint this Friday?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

It's blue. I'll get a picture in the sun on Friday.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

In the sun, I'm thinking about painting the middle of the hood like a GT with the accent color and semi-gloss clear. What do y'all think?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Btw, shiny underside and another top

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Ok, back to Robby.

I got a GT sticker that goes on the '83-'84 GT hoods and some trace paper.

This weekend i'll sit down and do some drawing and come up with a GLX overlay that i can use to stencil it on the hood when i paint the center grey.

I think i'll color sand the hood flat afterwards so you can't feel the GLX, then go back and spray semigloss over the middle. I like how my red car's hood turned out doing that.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Finally got back to the yard yesterday. I was going to get the driver's door, but daylight was gone about twenty minutes after i got there.

So, i did the quick stuff, I took out the rear seat and removed the quarter interior trim and the quarter louvers. i used my phone's flashlight and got the passenger side kick panel out.....then it was just plain dark. Tossed this stuff in the bed of my truck and brought it home.

I'm going to scrub the plastic pieces with three different soaps this morning and some rubbing alcohol. I'll be using a red scotchbrite to do the cleaning.

I'll take them to work next week to paint. I'm going to use my new black dash pad to match the black. I'll use a satin clearcoat on top of the black base to see if that might help a little bit in the long run with future UV damage.

Pictures:

College conference championships today, so, at 11:30 my time, nearly all progress on Robby will stop for the rest of the day. I will, however, make some progress with a few of these

 

[Davedacarpainter]

So, here's the stuff i used to clean and scuff the quarter trim. I started with the USP 90, it's a paste that has grit in it plus soap, I've heard it called blend prep with other systems. It's like soft scrub with no bleach. I used a red scotchbrite with all I'm doing here. The grey ones are there to look pretty, I guess.

So i used a little water, and a dollop of the goo and cleaned the entire part. Then i rinsed it off with a hose. Next i used the aqua prep (a deep cleaner that gets rid of old sht like armor all). Then i rinsed it again.

Here the parts are, dried out and ready for a final wiping with a water based wax and grease remover and also an alcohol based cleaner as well.

See this bit of UV rot? I think i might fix it. Though the yard owner has a panel in another coupe that he has. Why do i have to do things the hard way? IDK.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Ok, my interpretation of a GLX sticker for the left front of the hood (like on a GT).

Be critical and tell me what you think, I'm obviously at the stage i can change it, but i'll probably spray the hood on tuesday.

@Noobz347 , tell me what you think, i don't know why i value your opinion here, but.....

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Ok, look at my high tech modification drawing and see what you think.

Or just connect the top of the G to the L?

Alright @madmike1157 , i know you don't like the idea, but what do you think of my GLX transfer?
Or you @mikestang63 ?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Ok, before and after, what do you think now? I didn't bridge the G to L in this rendition.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I'm finished with the template. Got it all cut out and covered with more tracing paper. I know that a couple little bits are off, that's just alignment stuff i'll take care of once it's stuck to the hood. The little wobble in the upper part of G i will trim then as well. The center stripe will be masked totally separate, so the template for that part won't be used.

I was thinking that green i posted in mike's thread about what not to do to a fox would be a nice accent for the center stripe.....

Tomorrow is all customer cars, tuesday i'll paint the grey on Robby's hood.

Tomorrow i'll get the left quarter interior trim patched and hopefully in primer.

So, here it is:

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I was thinking more like this, maybe I'm partial since it's mine lol. This is painted on not the standard sticker

Yeah, that's like my '86. '85 &'86 had a little different GT. It attaches to the color on the left side of the hood and doesn't have the stripe running through the middle. Different font as well.

I'm really thinking about stepping out and putting a whole different color in the strip that cuts through the middle of the letters. Like a green. You might like the whole green on a mustang thing!

 

[Davedacarpainter]

I got a little time to work on the UV rotted section of the quarter trim today.

I used 80 grit to sand the area first. Then took my die grinder to put some heavier scratches in the plastic.

I used that dry wall mesh i used to repair the rear bumper again. That plus some panel bonding adhesive to rebuild the plastic.

I started by building up the under side and then let that harden for about six hours. This picture was right after i put the PBA on the mesh, about three hours later, it was a very thick goo that allowed me to push the mesh into the shape of the panel and would hold itself in the shape.

About fifteen minutes before i went home tonight i removed the yellow tape i used to support the initial application of the PBA in place and applied another coat on top to level it out.

Tomorrow i'll cut the repair to the original shape of the panel, sand it smooth and put Polyflex in any voids i may have. I started sanding the rest of the panel to remove the dried out plastic, what a powdery mess. Bright side is that there is lots of solid plastic underneath. I really think i can make these panels almost new looking.

I'll cover the rest of the steps as i go along.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Getting ready to shoot the hood again

 

[Davedacarpainter]

One coat of clear

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Two coats

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Finishing up the UV damage repair, I'll sand this down with some 180 and then primer the whole panel. Maybe today.

I'll go back to the hood tomorrow, I want to let the clear harden up for a day or two. Who's for a silver stripe in the middle of the green GLX?

 

[Davedacarpainter]

So I got the driver's side 1/4 trim in primer. Yes, black primer.

I'll sand it down with 400 grit tomorrow and spray the rocker guard on it. I might even paint it tomorrow.

 

[Davedacarpainter]

Got the rest of the 1/4's interior trim in primer.