Sue's 59 Corvette project....

[WagonCrazy]

Fantastic progress here!

[TrifiveRichard]

The doors, hood, trunk and deck lids are on the car. All are adjusted and in final position except the deck lid. We have a little more alignment work to do. In addition, the center compartment between the seats is yet to be installed.

IMG_1089.jpeg

IMG_1088.jpeg

IMG_1090.jpeg

Next up after finishing the body panels, we will install the door strikers and internal door latch assemblies, along with the trunk latch, hood latch and deck latch. At that point, we will be ready to water sand the exterior in prep for final paint.

[BamaNomad]

It's looking good Richard!~ like a speedster the way it sits.. no windshield..

[TrifiveRichard]

Thanks Gary, seems like we’ve been doing body and paint forever! Won’t be much longer.

[BamaNomad]

Richard... examining my calendar.... hmmmm... ?.... It HAS been (almost) forever!
Ohhh.. wait.. only 5-1/2 yrs.. October 2017 when I helped Sue unload it from the trailer..

[TrifiveRichard]

Thanks for reminding me, Gary. Lol

[BamaNomad]

I'm worse Richard...

[chevynut]

Thanks guys, hopefully, the body will be painted with in 2 weeks. Spent the day mounting hinges, still some to go.

It's been almost 4 weeks now and I was hoping to see that beauty in paint. Is everything okay Richard?

[BamaNomad]

Richard was expecting it to be sprayed with color today, but paint day is generally a long one.. so maybe a bit later tonight he will provide an update?'

Richard sent me these two images last night... saying it would be painted today!

It looks ready to spray in these photos...

IMG_1118.jpg
IMG_1119.jpg

I received a text from Richard this evening. He says: 'Sue likes it. I'll post after removing the paper and putting the wheels back on.'

[TrifiveRichard]

We'd planned on painting the body a couple weeks ago, but Trey, the painter, was down with a bad back so we were delayed a bit. We finally made it happen yesterday. It was a 12 hour day, but the body is in final color, having sprayed a total of 9 coats of paint. First coat was PPG K36 sealer, followed by Custom Paints base coat color (white touched up and orange applied), then PPG 2021 clear coat.

Before applying the sealer, the underside of the body panels were papered and taped off to the paint booth floor. We didn't want overspray on the underside of the body, which has already been painted, or on the chassis. Foam tape had previously been applied at the jambs and seams to protect the areas that have already been painted.

IMG_1125.jpeg

At this point, the base coat was applied. We had some touchup to do on the Shasta white coves, then covered them, and applied 4 coats of the Hot Lava orange to the main areas of the body. You can see Sue in the following picture 'supervising' our work on her Corvette, LOL!

IMG_1131.jpeg

After letting the base coat dry for a little over an hour, clear coat was applied, a total of 3 coats at about 20 minute intervals.

IMG_1138.jpeg

IMG_1136.jpeg

IMG_1137.jpeg

IMG_1143.jpeg

IMG_1139.jpeg

IMG_1141.jpeg

Next the body will be water sanded with 1500 grit wet or dry paper, the buffed out and polished. We decided to leave the foam tape and paper in place at this point to minimize the cleanup later. The sanding and buffing creates a bit of a mess, so this way, it's easier to cleanup.