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chevynut
05-27-2015, 12:06 PM
We finally hauled my frame to the paint shop yesterday morning as scheduled. My brother and my son helped me load it onto my son's 20 foot trailer and the rotisserie BARELY fit on it. We even had to take off one lift jack to get it forward enough that the rotisserie tires fit on the back end of the trailer. I put some "off-road" pneumatic casters on it and it made it a lot easier to push around on gravel.

After we delivered it to Matt's shop we all went to lunch since it took us til around noon to get over there and unload and shoot the bull a little. After lunch we went over the frame with some 600 grit sandpaper again, catching some spots I missed. Even after 3 weeks of working on priming and sanding, there were still some spots I feel I should have worked on more. Matt told me I should have used guide coat, since he does that on everything. He says that will also tell you where you've sanded and where you haven't. I sometimes lost track of where I saw defects so I wish I'd done that. I just thought it was overkill at the time...for a frame.

I really wish I had not done any finish work on the frame until recently. If I'd left it in epoxy primer it would have been easier to finish it now and I could have done the welding I wanted to do without the mess. Matt showed me some "one-step" waterproof high build primer he uses and currently is using on a very valuable 60's Maserati. He says it's better than anything he's tried before and doesn't need epoxy under it like Slicksand does, doesn't shrink, and sands easily. He's used it for several years now. After all of this work, I have convinced myself that using the SPI epoxy or Matt's high-build primer product is the way to go. Using epoxy, slicksand, then K36 is a pain in the ass and it's expensive...way more expensive than either of the other products. I had to be careful I didn't get sand-thrus and then I had to fix the ones I got and keep re-sanding. With the "one-step" products you just spray, sand, re-spray, and keep doing it until it's finished to your liking. And it's a lot cheaper.

We finished the sanding, and Matt blew it off with high pressure air very carefully getting into every nook and cranny. The we wiped it down with oil and wax remover, and Matt shot the white DBC base. After that we started shooting the color. The paint seemed to cover well in just a couple coats, better than I expected, but we put more than that on. What I noticed was that it was really hard to get paint into closed areas or tight areas like the side body mounts, inside the k-member, and places like that. We also painted the transmission crossmember and the radiator support. We looked the frame and parts over carefully after shooting the basecoat, then started spraying the clear. We finished around 10:30PM after taking about an hour off for dinner. It really does look good. ;)

After we finished, I realized this painting was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Matt is a very talented painter, and he still had a hard time painting every surface due to all the angles, brackets, holes, etc. He said a frame is a lot harder to paint than a body for that reason.

I took some pics with my phone inside the booth but they're not very good. We left the frame there for a couple of days to cure, then I'll bring it home.

Here's a picture of a panel I had Matt paint along with the frame to give me an actual paint sample to use to choose my other colors. It really "pops" in the sunlight. I'll post pics of the frame when I get some good ones.

4452

And here's the newly sprayed panel with my interior colors:

4453

markm
05-27-2015, 01:42 PM
I like it, looks a lot like the color of my dads 56 & 58 Impala and my 56., Sierra Gold.

chevynut
05-27-2015, 01:54 PM
Mark, this is a lot more orange than Sierra Gold. Mt Nomad was originally Sierra Gold/Adobe Beige and I wanted the same color scheme but more modern and jazzed up. ;) I really wanted a coppery/burnt orange color and I looked at many of them before settling on this one.

chevynut
05-27-2015, 02:03 PM
Matt just sent me some pics...:)

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL97/465705/12624445/411303462.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL97/465705/12624445/411303463.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com:80/VOL97/465705/12624445/411303464.jpg

Troy
05-27-2015, 03:31 PM
Wow, like everyone always says... too bad you have to cover it with a body!!!!

Rick_L
05-27-2015, 06:30 PM
A frame is a lot harder to paint than the body, avoiding missed spots while avoiding runs too. Did you say he was painting the frame with single stage?

Anyway it looks nice in the photos, but we all know photos don't tell you much on a frame. I'm sure it's fine.

Looking forward to some color on the body.

chevynut
05-27-2015, 09:06 PM
The frame is BC/CC just like the body will be. You're absolutely right about it being a lot harder to paint than the body. I just watched, but it was easy to see the difficulty. I primed the whole thing several times but painting it is trickier.

carls 56 (RIP 11/24/2021)
05-28-2015, 05:18 AM
doesn't get any better, that's beautiful. :cool:

Custer55
05-29-2015, 06:43 AM
Your frame looks great! :) I like the color, it should look really nice with the Corvette parts on it.
What is the name of the high build primer your painter uses?
Brian

destroyertta
05-29-2015, 02:54 PM
Are you painting the corvette parts or just leaving them

MP&C
05-29-2015, 04:27 PM
Looks awesome Laszlo!

chevynut
05-29-2015, 04:52 PM
Thanks guys. ;)

Not sure what I'm going to do with the vette suspension parts yet. I thought I was going to polish and bright anodize them but I can't find anyone in Colorado who does bright dip. I'm not even sure it's necessary if the parts are polished to a mirror finish.

Then I got to thinking that polished aluminum wheels are often clear-coated so maybe that would work. I'm not sure if it's just clear urethane or powder coat. I heard the powder coat yellows over time, and it's nearly impossible to remove. Seems like a good clear urethane over polished aluminum might work. I sure don't want to be polishing aluminum all the time, and I don't want to pay $$$thousands to chrome them.

Here's a couple more pics after I got the frame home. We got caught in rain and hail on the way here, but it looks like it survived just fine. :) It looks a lot nicer in the sun than it does indoors, but it looks good indoors too. Also a pic of the radiator support and transmission crossmember.

4455 4456 4457 4458

rockytopper R.I.P 5-13-2017
05-29-2015, 07:36 PM
Looking good!!!!

567chevys
05-30-2015, 10:59 AM
Looks awesome Laszlo and very Nice !
Glad you found a good painter .


Sid

JT56
05-31-2015, 07:13 AM
Looks great!

Bitchin'57
08-10-2015, 12:38 PM
Paint looks good! I didn't see you mention the paint color. It looks like Atomic Orange to me. Is it, or another color?

chevynut
08-10-2015, 12:50 PM
It's "another color" ;). A lot of these oranges are similar with subtle differences. It actually looks different in person than in the pics.

Rustaddict
08-10-2015, 01:29 PM
I really like your frame. I can't imagine how well it will look assembled. I will definitely be watching.

NickP
08-10-2015, 04:12 PM
Congrats! Looks very nice. Once the whole chassis is assembled it will be sweet looking.

NickP
08-10-2015, 04:20 PM
Thanks guys. ;)Not sure what I'm going to do with the vette suspension parts yet. I thought I was going to polish and bright anodize them but I can't find anyone in Colorado who does bright dip. I'm not even sure it's necessary if the parts are polished to a mirror finish.Then I got to thinking that polished aluminum wheels are often clear-coated so maybe that would work. I'm not sure if it's just clear urethane or powder coat. I heard the powder coat yellows over time, and it's nearly impossible to remove. Seems like a good clear urethane over polished aluminum might work. I sure don't want to be polishing aluminum all the time, and I don't want to pay $$$thousands to chrome them.Here's a couple more pics after I got the frame home. We got caught in rain and hail on the way here, but it looks like it survived just fine. :) It looks a lot nicer in the sun than it does indoors, but it looks good indoors too. Also a pic of the radiator support and transmission crossmember.I'm not certain you will ever get the compound off the aluminum for paint. I know they're forged but AL is still porous but maybe not bad enough to hold the compound. I'd lean toward bright powdercoat.

WagonCrazy
08-10-2015, 04:22 PM
How did I miss this post? Been wondering if your frame got stuck in paint jail. It looks fabulous. :cool:
When's the body coming back from paint?

chevynut
08-10-2015, 06:13 PM
Paul, the frame has been "curing" while I've been working on the console, valence, and installing the new A/C unit. :)

I'm just about ready to bag it on the interior work and will probably finish the console later. I can do a lot of the remaining console work outside the car now that I have the front portion constructed. I have the valence and dash drilled for the mounting screws, but still have to do something with the ends of the valence where it meets the doors. Then I have to finish fiberglassing the door panels and rear side panels. Once that's done and everything fitted I can strip it all out and resume blocking the body.

My life outside the shop is about to get busy, though. I've been working on starting a business with my brother and that's taking some of my time getting designs done, legal docs filed, bank accounts set up, prototypes made, and moving toward tooling production parts. Once all that's done I hope I don't have to do a lot but collect a check. ;)

I have a CO elk hunt coming up at the end of August off and on through mid-September then a New Mexico elk hunt coming up mid-September for 10 days. October might be a time to get stuff done (I have to finish a C4 frame) but November is toast right now. Months go by and it seems like I'll never get this car done. :(

WagonCrazy
08-10-2015, 10:32 PM
Months go by and it seems like I'll never get this car done.

Well now, there's a comment nearly all of us can agree with (regarding our own builds). :p