Along came a spider......finally some progress.

[mdrburchette]

Looks like you're coming along on your car! We did mine a little at a time. Off and on, it took 10 years to get it the way it is now and it was only meant to be a solid weekend car, never a show car.
Doug, maybe you can make your trip around Dixie Fiatfest time and we can all get together.

[NCArachnid]

Another sunny warm (relatively) day and a little more progress.

I put 3 coats of high-build primer on the whole car, including my new plastic rockers. Overall it looks pretty good, however I did find a couple of areas that I will have to address with a little more filler. Block sanding will likely reveal a few more. The rockers came with a few casting marks and pits. I washed them with warm soap and water in our master bathtub (my wife was gone at the time ). I used a grey scotchbrite pad to scuff them at the same time. Next, I coated them with adhesion promoter and then the high-build primer. They look pretty smooth. I think after blocking they will be perfect.

Here are some pics.








I guess I already have my white Christmas!

[azygoustoyou]

It's Looking good! Where did you spray it?

[NCArachnid]

Brady,

I actually have been painting outside under a portable awning (keeps some debris out). Friday it was a balmy 55 deg with sun and no wind which is on the edge of being warm enough to paint. I figured it was my last chance before spring so I went for it. It sprayed on, as you would expect, mildly dry. I upped the air pressure slightly and moved the gun a little closer. I should have brought the primer upstairs for a few days to get it warmer, but I didn't think of that. I could also have reduced it slightly (didn't want high-build primer thinned ) or waited until it was warmer. The finish now is like a hen's egg but I'll have all winter to guide coat it and block it out. I think a majority of the primer will end up on the shop floor during that process.

For the last coats of the primer and the base/ clear, I will set up a booth in my shop to do a proper job of it.

[azygoustoyou]

It sounds like you did it right. I think high build primer goes on just like that.

[NCArachnid]

Another Spidey Update.....

I got the rear 2/3 of the car blocked with the guide-coat. The sides and doors looked pretty good. The trunk and back will need some more work. I had an "a-ha" moment as I was wiping on the wax and grease remover adding gloss to the freshly blocked door and 1/4 panel with no waves or ripples and could easily imagine it in gloss red.

Here are a few pics just before I sprayed 3 more coats of high-build primer. More guide-coat and blocking forthcoming.





Slow and steady wins the race.

[mdrburchette]

The worst part of bodywork is all the sanding. When you think you've had enough you're only halfway there. Keep up the great work!

[NCArachnid]

A little more of the same..... Got the front primed again today and will be ready for a final round of blocking after the guide-coat. It is amazing how much straighter the front of the car is compared to the rear. I must be getting a little bit better at this body work stuff as I go along; or it could be just dumb luck.

I've removed the deck-lid and will soon remove the doors and hood to prep the undersides and jambs.

Some just before pics:






And now back to all white.

[NCArachnid]

This thread should be entitled, "Along came a snail". I haven't done much to the car in the last few years and haven't posted my lack of progress. Life gets busy but I finally realized that I need to take some time for me (and my toys) or I would burn out.

I started working on the car again last fall. I continued with the sanding and dis-assembly (removed hood, doors, trunk, cowl). I got a real boost with the visit of my brother-in-law over Thanksgiving (He's a body guy in Texas). He gave me some great pointers and helped me finish up the body work and primer on the back half of the car.

I finished the front half by April and took it off to the paint-shop two weeks ago. They said it will be ready to pick up this Friday! I am so glad to be finished with body-work and on to re-assembly.

I will definitely need the help of those experienced Fiat mechanics here to remind me how everything goes back together. I labeled all the fasteners and took some photos but I realized I started this whole process back in the fall of 2008.

Glad to be back on the forum. Here are some pics of the progress.

Cleaned up the door jambs.....


Floor pans cleaned and coated....


Off to the paint shop.....


More pics to follow.....

[Exit98]

Jon,

Ah, I wondered what happened to you.

I was watching your progress back when then you disappeared. Since my son and his family live in Charlotte you were kind of a kindred spirit.

Your prep work looks amazing. She's going to be a beauty.

Maybe the next time we visit the Queen City I can stop by and kabitz.

[SoFlaFiat]

Better late than never and as Doug says, the prep work is outstanding!!

[mdrburchette]

Get that thing put back together for the Moonshine Rally! Looking good. If you need a car to go by, I'll bring mine by.

[Jimb]

It's really helpful if you use different colours of primer and study the body as you use very fine wet sand. That way you'll get a better feeling for where the ripples are.
Jim

[NCArachnid]

Thanks for the welcome posts. Just like I'm a newbie again.

Doug, would love to get together next time you are down this way. Pm me next time you're in town.

Denise, what are the dates for the Moonshine rally and Dixie Fiat fest this year? I need to get that on the calender.

Jim, you are right about the color. Having the white over the green made it very easy to see the high-spots. As I progressed then I had to rely on the guide-coat because I wasn't breaking through to the green coat.

My brother-in-law kept preaching "work the panel not the dent". I finally got the idea of what he was talking about as he helped me with the rear clip. I also learned a trick of coating the freshly sanded panel with Naphtha which gives you about 2 minutes of gloss to see what the panel will look like in glossy paint (wetting the panel during wet sanding does the same thing).

Been cleaning up hardware, brackets and chrome. More pics this weekend. Hopefully of a painted car back in my garage...

[mdrburchette]

Another trick is to splatter little dots of a different color on the primer coat then when you're block sanding, you can find the low spots because the dots will still be there.

The Moonshine Rally is May 31st in Elkin at 10 am. I haven't done a Dixie Fiatfest since 2012 due to time constraints. It seems I can't get the NC people interested in any events. We need to light a fire under their rears.