[dataway]

If I had to do all over again ... no question I'd be doing the rolling restoration. But I'd have to go back about 40 years in time to prevent the disassembly

[MUSLCAH]

A guy I know ..just had a 1970 GTO “Humbler” restored ,with a team of guys at a restoration shop , 2 years to complete. That’s a lot of man hours

[MUSLCAH]

Originally Posted by dataway

If I had to do all over again ... no question I'd be doing the rolling restoration. But I'd have to go back about 40 years in time to prevent the disassembly

Well…..we can all see you haven’t given up yet !! Keep swinging !

[roger1]

I don't know, maybe I am an anomaly. I enjoy the heck out of doing complete restorations on my car projects. With my present '69 GTO project I am trying to make it my best one yet. I am going for as close to show quality as I am able to get and wont be to be afraid to drive it. Within reason though as I'll try to avoid bad weather if I can.
Sure, as the car gets used and ages, it will start to get some defects. So be it. Will I wish I hadn't put all the effort into this restoration? Nope. Nothing can ever take away the satisfaction of having done a job to the best of my ability.
I say go for it Skidmark!

[dhutton]

Rolling restoration or full frame off really depends on the person. Some folks need to take it all the way down while others just want a nice driver. Do what appeals to you. Personally I’m not happy with a rolling restoration. I need to take it full frame off.

Don

[tjs72lemans]

Another reason many of us that have gone the frame off resto, lies in the condition of car too. I have done two, because it needed new body bushings, suspension items, rust repair in hard to get areas, etc. In Skidmark's situation, he has a pretty good piece to start with and may not warrant all the extra work. It may not look as pristine underneath when done, but most people don't look there anyway. Do a great job above, what does show and I think you'll be happy.

[Skidmark]

Thanks Guys,

In summary my take away on how someone approaches their project is

"different strokes for different folks"

That works for me. If I could afford it I would most likely have 4-5 cars in varies stages of completion from trailer queen to needing panel replacement and anything in between.

I've taken all the advice in this thread and have a renewed interest in my car that has been missing for a couple years. Hearing from everyone is what I needed.

I received my stripping discs and some wire wheels for different areas on the car.
I've been reading old threads on this forum and on the SPI forum as was suggested by a few of you.

My thanks to everyone who has taken the time to respond.

Chris

[455abody]

I think you should get a few more quotes, your car looks really nice good solid starting point. I found a really good painter who had a full shop in a barn setting at his house. He painted my 77 Trans Am did a very nice job for $4700.00 won some trophies. This was 9 years ago but I am sure if you look you can find someone. Best of luck! Brian

[kenelder]

Having painted quite a few muscle cars over the years, there are several things that are worth repeating:

Air supply to the spray gun must be dry and oil free, I have tried many different filters/dryers and finally went to an oil free compressor. Moisture is difficult if you live in a humid environment- the compressor will concentrate that humidity. I have always struggled with moisture and went through an amazing number of traps trying to get rid of it.

Breathing clean air while you are painting is much more important than you think. Don't skimp on clean breathing air! Years ago I ended up in the emergency room after painting.......young and stupid!

It will indeed take longer than you think, but if you keep at it you'll be finished before you know it. Don't rush the preparation- when you have it in primer it's a good idea to spray a very light coat of silver lacquer on the panel you're working on, that will show a lot of imperfections you won't see in the primer. And sanding the panel again may show any low spots you might have missed.

You can indeed do it yourself. I still have a car I painted in my front yard in 1982 with acrylic enamel- it still looks good even today.

[einstein]

Originally Posted by dataway

If I had to do all over again ... no question I'd be doing the rolling restoration. But I'd have to go back about 40 years in time to prevent the disassembly

Forty years? I'd be embarrassed... Wait, I AM embarrassed. Took my 69 Firebird Sprint convertible apart in '78. Nice to know I'm not alone in life getting us away from things we enjoy. Even hobby related pursuits such as other cars and potential projects kept me from the car of my teen years.

Glad I popped onto your thread, Skidmark. Nice car, great project.

PS to roger1: I used your build thread to show my wife how involved a complete resto is. There's a 69 LeMans convertible waiting for the 69 Firebird to be finished, she bought me the LeMans as a wedding gift just before we married 15 years ago, so your GTO had that familiarity to her.

The 69 'bird didn't seem to need a lot of metal repair, but I thought better, looked deeper, and considered the questions my non-car-guy son asked about pinholes in the trunk floor, "aren't you going to replace that?". I was only going to change the quarters, as my previous repair years ago was making patches from 69 Camaro skins. But it blossomed into complete trunk floor and extensions, inner/outer wheelhouses, tail panel, deck panel, inner braces and so on. I've learned that spot welds are basically a one-time zipper to assemble the car when built, not hard to unzip, just tedious.

[MUSLCAH]

Just remember….they come apart a lot faster…than they go back togethah…

[cheese country GP]

I painted my GP in my garage back in the late '90's & still looks great. I put finishing nails along the ceiling & bought a roll of plastic sheeting to hang down the walls. That way you'll cover all the equipment & keep the paint area clean too. Change the plastic after a couple painting & sanding sessions. Remember the end result is only as good as the prep work so take your time.
Base/clear is the best/easiest way to go for us novices (I've painted several cars over the years but am no pro). It's more work afterwards wet sanding to get it smooth but for $10K or more, I'll do the work. You're paying someone else's labor, why not do it yourself & keep the $'s for improvements on the car? For sure strip it to bare metal, you'll get a much better paint job. Painting over old lacquer can lead to future problems like spidering. That paint shrinks with age.
I used an angle grinder with a steel cup brush to remove the paint. It's noisy but cleaner than stripper & less costly than DA paper.
When doing the body work, use your hand & turn your head away. You'll feel the imperfections that you can't see. Good luck.

[arbys]

I always figured there were a few steps in painting,
1 Remove what you don't want painted or to get to easily
2 Surface prep
3 Priming and painting (you could hire a friend to do this)
4 Buff and cut
5 Assemble.
A lot of people know someone who can paint for you for a couple of hundred. Also you may be in for a surprise when you remove the vinyl top.

[jrunner]

You can do it. I hope you flipped off that lunatic $20 grand that’s his way of saying get lost or be my sucker. Please post pictures along the way you sound very qualified to do the job and YOU will do a better job because you love that car. Happy Holidays

[einstein]

Twenty grand quote = "we really would rather not have this job, please go away".

[dhutton]

Some guys here are completely out of touch on the cost of materials and amount of labor to properly paint a car.

Just sayin,
Don

[Hoosierdude]

If you drive your car in public,you run a risk.
Kids, mini vans, grandpa, etc.
Sand it and paint it a forgiving satin color and drive.
If it makes you smile, it’s perfect.
Any real friend would say it.

[kuik02]

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL...u_cUCzJJ7nNwie


This is how I learned how to paint a car

[Skidmark]

Thanks for all the positive replies.

I did finish removing the vinyl top. Good news, the sheet metal is perfect just needs filler at the b post since factory leaves that somewhat unfinished.

Does anyone know if Pontiac Lucerne blue is considered metallic, the 72 paint chip sheet I have looks sparkly. I've read metallic is a bad idea for a newbie to spray. Just wondering.

The other question I have pertains to metal prep. After I remove all of the heavier surface rust that I can with wire wheel etc. like under the drivers door and the back corners of the hood (I included those in the pics I posted at the beginning of the thread). I'd like to treat those areas with something before epoxy primer

Barry over at SPI has a post on their site that says don't use pretty much anything like rust neutralizer, fast etch etc. How do you get all remnants of rust that you can't get to in the cracks and crevices?

Thanks.

[roger1]

I blast areas like that. The SPI epoxy primer is all the treatment you need after that. I will brush it on and allow it to seep down into places that spraying can't get to.
I have photo detailed that kind of thing in my build thread.