[6t7goat]

I finally got the shell for my 78 T/A painted today. Did it in the garage with a makeshift booth made of plastic sheeting. I was really sweating the body work because of the black finish. I had to replace the lower passenger quarter panel and had to do a repair to a bad dent in the driverside wheel opening. I actually did the wheel opening twice because I wasn't happy with my first attempt. I wound up cutting the bad section out and welding new metal in. Then lots of blocking and priming. here are a few pictures. The rest of the car I painted piece by piece. This is the 1st car that I did all the paint work on. Next will be installing the engine and trans and then reassemble the sheet metal.

[J.D.]

looking good !! i remember when i put the first coat of black on my gto. was really happy i did all that priming and blocking. makes ya proud doesnt it !!

[vidguy]

Wow that is so cool. Bigger photos. Come out here and paint mine! What equipment and paint did you use?

[69Customs]

Looks Great!! I know I worried about how straight mine would be after blocking. But turns out I worried for nothing. Wasn't hard at all to get straight.

[6t7goat]

Vidguy I used Diamont base and SPI universal clear. I sprayed it with a Devilbiss 670 plus gun. Did it at home in the garage. I made a makeshift booth out of plastic sheeting and kept the double door wide open and put a fan in the window on the other end to keep the air mooving. Also wet the floor down to control the dust. Man was my wife mad!! Keeping the door open and having the box fan at the other end evacuated the fumes quickly. I used a new 3m cartridge mask that I will toss after all the exposure to Iso's. It has some dust in it but not bad at all. It should wet sand out easy. Here is another larger picture. Thanks for the kind words.

[T A 70]

6t7goat, glad you are happy with the results. Although you took some precautions against ISO's I do not recommend shooting urethanes without a fresh air breathing apparatus. You won't even be able to smell the paint with one; if you can smell it you are being exposed.

People buy and sell them all the time and you can usually get a used one for 1/2 the cost of new. Yes, they take some getting used to with the breathing tube and hood/suit, but these paints can do permanent damage quickly. And...ISO's can be absorbed through your skin as well...

BTW, I preach this all the time when someone decides to do their own paint work. Use the masks for the blocking/sanding portion to minimize dust exposure.

Good luck with your project.

[2002Z4CSS]

Nice work!

[6t7goat]

TA 70 good point on the health end of it. If I do anymore like this I will get a fresh air system. I did wear a full suit with a hood, and gloves also used a brand new mask and checked it for leaks. I did not smell the 1st paint fume. I realize that the disposable 3m masks are not the best choice but as I understand they do have the ability to filter the iso's for a short amount of time the problem is you don,t know when they stop filtering. A fresh air system will be on the list for the next job.

[mrtonegto]

Looks like all the prep work payed off - looks great.

[paint guy]

Originally Posted by T A 70

6t7goat, glad you are happy with the results. Although you took some precautions against ISO's I do not recommend shooting urethanes without a fresh air breathing apparatus. You won't even be able to smell the paint with one; if you can smell it you are being exposed.

People buy and sell them all the time and you can usually get a used one for 1/2 the cost of new. Yes, they take some getting used to with the breathing tube and hood/suit, but these paints can do permanent damage quickly. And...ISO's can be absorbed through your skin as well...

BTW, I preach this all the time when someone decides to do their own paint work. Use the masks for the blocking/sanding portion to minimize dust exposure.

Good luck with your project.

To all concerned: please heed this advice as it is very accurate concerning exposure. Just because you can't smell solvent fumes thru a filtered mask, does NOT mean you are not being exposed to atomized isocyanate. It just means that you cannot smell the solvent it or the paint was cut in. As a practical matter, if you have good air movement (as the OP stated), one exposure probably won't be enough to "sensitize" you to isos. If you ever do get sensitized, some people react much like they do to other allergies, only much more severe, in some cases. Other long term effects include asthma-like symtoms and decreased lung function. Sudden exposure to high levels can cause death in short order (such as what happened a couple of decades ago in Bhopal, India.) As an aside, isocyanate compounds are relatively harmless when being poured from one container to another, for example, unless, of course, you spill it on you. The danger comes when it is atomized (sprayed).

[6t7goat]

got the doors on it today with some help from my brother.

[First Bird]

Beautiful work man. That is a big challenge you took on and the results are very nice to look at.

[6t7goat]

Installed a new boster and master cyl this week end. Also got the inner wheel wells and passenger fender installed. Not totally happy with the gaps yet will need to do a little more adjusting but its on an it looks pretty good plus I didnt scratch it putting it on.

[vidguy]

Fantastic work. If you got the fender and door on without scratching anything, then in my book, the gaps are fine..

[The Boss]

Looking really good!

[DarthBubba]

Looking great!

Now about that snorkle..........

[62cat]

nice job