Paint Supplies Arrive

I've been collecting body and paint supplies over the last 4-5 months. When I can find a good deal on the internet, I buy it... I've finally found a bunch of good deals and I have assembled almost everything I need. I had to wait for warm weather because my paint was shipped in from the East coast and I didn't want it to freeze on the way here.

I ordered a pint of color - VW Gecko Green Metallic - in PPG's Deltron 2000 DBC. I haven't seen the color in real life (only in photos) so I figured I'd order a small amount and shoot the hood or something small to see if I like the color. I'm also going to use the test panels to the upholstry folks so I can figure out what materials and colors will go with the paint.

I did a quick drop of paint onto the fuel lid... I like what I see. I'll take it out into the sun tomorrow to get a better idea of the color. I'd like to paint the hood this weekend, but I seriously doubt I'll have enough time to get everything prepped and painted before it's time to go to work on Monday morning.

All my new supplies: Evercoat, Deltron DBC, DC3000 Clear, MP3-HS 2K high build primer, norton 80 and 180 grit PSA, U-Pol Raptor Tintable bedliner (for the wheel wells), filters and sticks.

Beginning Bodywork

After a LONG time away from the car, I started the bodywork this weekend. Last time I touched the car, I was squirting on a gallon of polyester primer in hopes it would save me some headache when it came to surfacing the car out.

Once again, I have learned there are no shortcuts or easy ways out. I began my weekend by visiting my friend Brian. He has built about half a dozen cars in the time I've been working on the Ghia. I asked his advice on block sanding and prepping the car. In his explanation, he gave me some great pointers and sent me home with a box of long blocks to try out. I already have a 16" body file, an air file and a couple small sized blocks. Brian lent me a flexible 12" block, a 24" block and a couple small pieces of flexible rubber.

The first thing I did when I started to work was to spray the car with a guidecoat of black rattlebomb paint. After the paint was dry, I went to town on the rear quarter with the long block. I figured I would have a lot of paint to sand through before I'd hit the epoxy primer... WRONG!!! I hit the primer and went down to the metal all over the place. Judging from all the low and high spots in the guidecoat, you'd think the car had been in a hail storm. HOLY COW!

I figured I'd bust out the filler and start filling the low spots, well after a couple hours of filling lows and sanding through primer, I figured I'd stop and start asking questions... I'm wondering if I am doing something wrong, so I am halting operations until I can talk to someone who can either confirm I am doing itright or can tell me what I am doing wrong.