Comments: Restoration of GT series 2

[opelspyder]

I reread your post BlancoJP, and now understood what you meant. I thought about cutting out the panel and hammering it back out, and then putting on a english wheel to smooth out. Only problem is that that causes the metal to stretch out way too much, without relief cutting or using heat. Then you still have to refit. Why not use what the factory already did for you, and use a used nice piece, and know the lines will work. Its actually pretty time consuming to cut and beat out and english wheel out. Kinda like polishing a turd all day-at the end of the day, you still got a turd.
Keith

[blancojp]

I reread your post BlancoJP, and now understood what you meant. I thought about cutting out the panel and hammering it back out, and then putting on a english wheel to smooth out. Only problem is that that causes the metal to stretch out way too much, without relief cutting or using heat. Then you still have to refit. Why not use what the factory already did for you, and use a used nice piece, and know the lines will work. Its actually pretty time consuming to cut and beat out and english wheel out. Kinda like polishing a turd all day-at the end of the day, you still got a turd.
Keith

It all depends on what type of wheel you use and how much pressure you apply to the panel. No matter how you do it, using the dolly method will also strech the metal.

[Sparky73]

If that is all the area that is bad, then dont go to the trouble and expense of replacing the pan; just repair it. with that little area bad it should be easily repaired with new sheet metal. My pan was about like yours in bad area and it was easily repaired.

I have considered this a few times, but like opelspyder said, sometimes it's just easier to replace. As you can see in the pictures, the belly pan is basically dented beyond repair. You cannot even tell what the original shape is supposed to be LOL. Plus the whole front end is where the rust is the worst, so much will have to be worked on with the belly pan removed. I really don't think I want to try to work with the Opel GT Source pan. I'm sure I have the skills to make it work, but I'd just rather start with something that needs a little less work.

But this is a thread for OpelSpyder's project.. so I will keep it like that

[Sparky73]

Project's lookin good! I definitely notice a different with the front kit. Really bring me back to my first GT that I also put a full body kit on. Aren't those side skirts FUN? .

[2 Fast 4 U]

Keith, this is looking very good, can't wait to see when you smooth the welds out with filler

[opelspyder]

It will be coming up real soon, I still have to do some metal repair down low from damage??? Not sure what happend there, but a few little things and I will be pounding the filler...ha. Kind of like Talledaga Nights but I call it "Cave and Pave"
Well I don't really have any caves to pave, but will probably skim the whole car to make sure it is as straight as I can make it. I apply 100% filler, then sand off about 98%-fun dusty job too
Keith

[RallyBob]

Can't help but notice the 'spray booth' you're using...the EPA and CT's own DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) would crucify me if I ever did such a thing at home!

Bob

[BQS4]

Can't help but notice the 'spray booth' you're using...the EPA and CT's own DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) would crucify me if I ever did such a thing at home!

Bob

We can do things like that, here in the South. Keith can have his "paint booth" as long as he don't say nuthin about the "still" down the road...

[opelspyder]

Yes, the booth is a little iffy, you are still seeing it in the works. I just got the larger fan and what I will be doing is building a large wooden suction chamber that will sit outside. I will put filters in it, so it will be a little more professional. It will be where it can be disassembled for storage. I don't like just the fan at the door either, but for primer, it works. I will run three fans to suck enough air through hopefully. Basiccally it will look from the outside like a vacuum cleaner sucking up the underside of the door. Also notice the Manta in the background of the pics-Thats Daves that will be next to get painted, so I have to upgrade the ole' southern paint booth.
Keith

[Phoenix]

Once again, your doing what I'm doing, at the time that I'm doing it.

If you don't think that your project threads help, they do! You were building the front suspension when I was building mine. Here your doing bodywork while I'm doing mine.

[2 Fast 4 U]

In your thread "Cut in paint" I saw that you mask taped the outside panel parts of the doors and hood before you spray painted the insides of the doors and hood, I was asking my self for what reason did you do that??

[opelspyder]

Cutting in paint, or jambing as they call it is when I want to paint the insides of the doors and hood and such. I tape off the other side because when spraying into crevises and such, sometimes dust particles fly out and spray patterns are altered and can cause overspray on other adjacent surfaces. I want the entire outside of the car to be the same shade of yellow. So when I paint the body surface, I will paint the hood and door surfaces the same time with the same amount of coats. Unless I hang the hood, I can only spray one side at a time. In a nutshell it eliminated one thing more to screw up a paint job by a spray blemish or debris blown out of a crevis. Not to say you cannot paint the entire car, doors and hood inside and out in one whack, you can do that as well.

[2 Fast 4 U]

This is awesome, very nice paint job eventhou yellow isn't my color it looks great

I've heard that metalic colors are hard to spraypaint, do you have any experience and/or tips??

[newman27]

Great job Keith as usual! The car looks great. As you may recall, Yellow was one of my top three color choices when I was trying to decide what color to paint my car. It looks great and the owner has to be impressed! You look like an astronaut in that paint suit!

Matt

[opelspyder]

I tend to stick to solids and honestly have only painted a metallic paint in acrylic enamel, which was a single stage. I have not had much experience with a base clear, except for at work we do it all the time, I always used single stage, as it is easier, and a lot less time consuming. But in answer to your question, your gun setup is critical, and air mixture needs to be a constant, metallic runs together easily, and you should use a wider spray pattern when shooting them. Also on a single stage, you have to watch that you do not wetsand the metallic out of it. I shot a TR7 in a dark metallic pewter color. I didn't mix my paint well (should have reduced it down more) It came out of the gun and dried as soon as it hit the surface, so it was textured, and way too much to sand out...needless to say I learned what I did wrong, and painted it the next weekend. Not a perfect job, but good enough to sell as finished 3 days later. So practice on a panel, I know it isn't very cost effective to practice with expensive chemicals and paints, but sometimes if you know a shop, they may sell you leftovers cheap to experiment with. I would do smaller test pieces myself before I painted a whole car not knowing.
Keith

[2 Fast 4 U]

I tend to stick to solids and honestly have only painted a metallic paint in acrylic enamel, which was a single stage. I have not had much experience......... .......... but sometimes if you know a shop, they may sell you leftovers cheap to experiment with. I would do smaller test pieces myself before I painted a whole car not knowing.
Keith

Thanks for the info!!

[Phoenix]

As this project get into the real interesting stuff, you might want to put a link to the comments thread in you signature.

I'd like to see what you do with the door panels. There aren't too many people who show indepth interior work on the site. Also, nice to see a non-black interior.

[opelspyder]

I will try to add the link for the ccomments section. Your right about the interior, most are not suppling info on that, so we will see. I have some ideas on the door panels for incorporated speakers, but nothing final yet
Keith

[newman27]

Keith - if you have the time, please post detailed pics and text on the install of the "Oil Temp. / Volt Gauge" from OGTS. I assume you are putting it in place of the clock...

Thanks!

Matt

[markandson]

Very nice work indeed, I may have to try my hand at painting next time. I do believe I could get the use of my friends paint booth which would be very sweet. The process you are going through now is the most tedious part of the rebuild but is also the difference between a car that looks just pretty nice vs. one that looks awesome. Be careful with that dash cap, others have said that it warps in the sun.