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1952 Pontiac Catalina


Guest GaWajn

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You are both right. The frame needs some very minor metal work on two of the body mounts ... a slight kink needs to be straightened in an X member ... I still have about 20% of the frame to sand blast, and because I did not apply any protection ... a light re-sandblasting is in order.

I got the painting supplies from Eastwood.

1 - A coat of Eastwood rust encapsulator ...

2 - I then plan to do some minor cosmetic (body filler) work on the frame. This is mostly because I am out of funds for the project, as is usual for me at this time of year. It also gives me something to do over the winter months, till I get some more cash together, for the project.

3 - Spray some polyester primer filler over the entire frame. (Not really needed, but I have the product ... and it is getting old (shelf life) ... also I will be able to practice my block sanding skills).

4 - Paint with Eastwood chassis black (glossy).

5 - Clean up rear end and front end parts ... paint and reassemble ...

I will be needing help getting the correct colors for the parts before reassembling. Who is the chassis color expert around here? Charles Coker?

It is indeed an exciting time because the dismantling is over! Now it's time to fix/clean/paint/put back together!

Edited by GaWajn (see edit history)
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... got the frame outside today for some final sandblasting ...

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... did some wire brushing ... just as needed ... not completely over every square inch ...

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... sprayed on the rust encapsulator from the Eastwood company. I am using my Sata minijet to spray. No need to reduce. The minijet only needs 30 PSI at the gun ... this means very little overspray. It works kind of like a Major League spray bomb. No need for a paint booth ...

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... this stuff dries to the touch in about twenty minutes ... to a flat black finish. I am going to let it cure for longer than that ... which means ... it will need to be scuffed (220 to 320 grit) before adding another coat of something else ... either primers ... or top coats ...

I have just done the front part of the frame ... I still need to do a bit of metal work before continuing to apply the finish...

Edited by GaWajn (see edit history)
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Guest GaWajn

I have been neglecting the project for some time now ... I think I have found out one of the reasons.

As much as I have tried to get to like the original colors of this car ... I just can't bring myself to like them. I DISLIKE green! Some people might ask ... why then did I get a green car? Well I got it because of condition ... not because of the color. I thought I might come to like them ... but I didn't.

I will now formally apologize to the purists on this forum ... because I will not be painting the car in it's original colors. THERE ... I said it ... now I feel better :) I know that one of the goals of the ACCA is to get the cars back to the way they were originally built and I can apreciate what the club is trying to do... but I just can't do it. I hope you guys will be understanding.

Now for the colors that I do like for this car. I like yellow and black. Why? Maybe because my dad had a fifties Pontiac that was yellow and black when I was a kid. Those colors mean something to me, and those are the colors this car will end up with. The top will be black with the bottom yellow.

Maybe now ... I will get back to working on the car.

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I'm just another poster here, but I believe in the will of the indvidual. Its' your car, your money, and you will be driving it, so paint it in the colours you like.

The only other point I'll make, is that usually when one sticks close to the original colour palette that was available on the car, the colours seem to look more correct on the car, especially if the restoration is otherwise stock. Rather than for instance if a modern colour chip, like from a 2005, something or another, is used. But, I still stand by my comment, its' your car, you make the choice.

Keith

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Guest GaWajn

On another topic ... some of you mentioned that an inline eight might not be compatible with the engine stand I bought. You were right! It feels very unstable and tippy. So last night I gave the stand away to a friend who had a use for it. I kind of like the idea of ''Paying it forwards'' ... like in the movie of the same name. Who knows .. I might get a little good Karma coming my way ... and Lord knows ... we could all use some good Karma eh?

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... this is sort of the color scheme I am aiming for ...

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... man ... look at that overloaded Pathfinder! Good memories :D ... with the rusty rockers and all ...

... I am having the Sherwin Williams people make me a sample to try out. Seems like 1965-67 Chevrolet yellow is pretty close ... that is their reccomendation anyways. We will see how close they get with it. I also agree with you Buicknutty ... period correct colors seem to work best with these old cars.

Edited by GaWajn (see edit history)
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Guest GaWajn

Probably cuz my dad kept checking the oil every time we stopped ... it was smoking some at that point in it's life ...

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Guest GaWajn

Looking at the label on the can ... they have it marked as ... ''1965-1967 Chevrolet Butternut Yellow''. Could be a mistake ... I will try to sort that out ...

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Guest GaWajn

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The rest of the frame was blasted this AM, and the rust encapsulator from Eastwood was sprayed onto the frame ...

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... should be ready for some bodywork this PM ...

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Guest GaWajn

I used some sprayable polyester on the frame pits ...

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... I quickly realised that this stuff will work best as a finisher. The pits on the frame are too coarse for this stuff and will need some real body filler ...

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... it did fix some of the smaller pits though ...

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Guest GaWajn

I did my paint test also ...

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... I like it ... pretty darn close to what I am looking for ...

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here you see the test card after three coats ... the yellow color seems off because the camera has a hard time with shadows ...

Looks like I will be needing four coats over a white primer sealer ... for good coverage ...

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Looking at the label on the can ... they have it marked as ... ''1965-1967 Chevrolet Butternut Yellow''. Could be a mistake ... I will try to sort that out ...

No it's right. Butternut. Buttercup would be closer to lemon yellow.

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Guest GaWajn

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Two small spots needed some welding filling ... got that out of the way ...

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... there was a smallish kink in the X part of the frame ... got the hydraulic gear to sort that out ...

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... didn't need much of a push to get everything lined up again ...

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Guest GaWajn

I had wanted to spray the paint myself ... but I quickly realized that if I wanted a good paint job ... then someone with more experience than me should do the spraying ...

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... first coat was very glossy ... I didn't care for it so we added some flattening agent to make it a semi gloss ...

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... it is still wet ... but you can notice it becoming duller as it dries ...

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... We are going to leave it to cure over the weekend and wait for Monday morning before moving it.

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Guest GaWajn

The information I have found is that the factory did indeed paint the frames a gloss black, but that the paint quality was such that it dulled in a short amount of time. Many sources have told me that both gloss and semi gloss are both correct and simulate a factory finish ... although with a modern gloss paint ... it will remain glossy for quite as long time, and not dull like the original.

Just because I found this information does not mean that it is 100% correct. Even though I will probably never have this car in a judged event, I wish someone who is a judge would chime in here and give us a ruling as far as what the judges look for in this case. Are both gloss and semi accepted in this case? Is the information about the factory gloss painted frames I have found correct also?

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Guest GaWajn

Next up on the program ... get the rear end restored, to be able to install into the newly painted frame.

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... looks like a seal will need replacing ...

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... U bolts came off easily enough ...

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... next up is the removal of the leaf spring covers ...

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... I lightly tapped the locking edge over to open it up a bit ...

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... then used a screwdriver to pry the lip upwards ...

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... the burlap material is pretty much toasted ... leafs are in good condition ... even the covers are not too bad ...

... the options open to me are ...having the rear springs re-arched ... or buy new units ... which mean that the covers will not be reused. I need to do this because I will be getting new coil springs for the front, and if I do nothing for the rear suspension ... the back end of the car will be significantly lower than it needs to be ...

I am off the the spring specialty shop to find out what is possible ... availability of new springs ... prices etc ...

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Guest GaWajn

Just got back from the spring specialty shop ... oddly enough ... named ''SPRING SPECIALTY''. I talked to the old fella about re-arching my springs. He told me he would be glad to take my money and re-arch my springs ... but ... from his experience ... the re-arching process does not last. He said that within a year or two ... the re-arched springs lose about half to 3/4 of the re-arch. It does not last. He talked about changing the main and maybe the second leaf ... that would get me in the ball park. His recommendation was to get new springs, especially when you factor in the cost involved in reconditioning the old ones. I had looked online at some prices and here is what I found.

First place ... $430 US plus $190 shipping (WHAT???) to Maine ... does not ship to Canada. So I need to drive six hours total to go get them and cross the border. So that's about an extra $80 in fuel. TOTAL = $700 US aprox.

Second place ... $559 US plus $94.50 shipping to the Maine border ... same deal ... does not ship to Canada, so tack on $80 for fuel and a wasted day. TOTAL = $733 US aprox.

My local Spring Specialty shop will sell me a pair for $534 CAN plus $70.00 tax (shipping is included). And the springs come from the USA. Dayton I think. TOTAL = $604 Canadian, and didn't waste any time and supported my local shop. They are ordered and will be here in a week or so. They will also custom make some new U bolts for me at a reasonable price. It's all good.

Edited by GaWajn (see edit history)
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