Restore my buick electra 1969 :)

[sebastienbuick]

Then with tape and flexible plastic I reproduce the shape to give to make a "mold"

 

 

 

 

Then I apply the fiber

 

 

 

I trace what exceeds to cut it with the dremel

 

 

Then I cut

 

 

Then I re-apply fiber to the outer part to sandwich what's left of the plastic.

 

 

Then I cut

 

 

Then I apply a new layer of the product with its hardener to have a thicker layer

 

 

 

 

Then after putting a second coat of the product on the other too, sanding and the panels are ready to paint

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then I had some paint left on the dashboard that I had had it redone in the original shade.
And so painting the right panel in the photo, we can see that the panel had yellowed, the color of the paint is the same on the inside of these panels which had not been exposed to light

 

 

 

and painting of the second panel

 

 

 

 

 

And then I took care of the shutter pulls

 

 

 

 

 

For fear of breaking them, I preferred to protect the panels and applied the GO CHROME spray in place.

 

 

 

Application of GO CHROME

 

 

 

 

 

Then once uncovered, and cleaned the carpet, the panels are ready to be reassembled

 

 

 

 

 

I'll post more pictures tomorrow  

[Buicknutty]

Wow, it sure is coming along great!

Keith

[sebastienbuick]

6 hours ago, Buicknutty said:

Wow, it sure is coming along great!

Keith

 

Thank you very much  , I'll post more pics today  

[sebastienbuick]

6 hours ago, Buicknutty said:

Wow, it sure is coming along great!

Keith

 

Thank you very much  , I'll post more pics today  

[EmTee]

Those kick-panels came out great!  If you were in the US, finding replacements would have been easier, but I don't think the final result would have been any better.  Nice work!  You will be rightfully proud of this car when it's all finished. 

[sebastienbuick]

7 hours ago, EmTee said:

Those kick-panels came out great!  If you were in the US, finding replacements would have been easier, but I don't think the final result would have been any better.  Nice work!  You will be rightfully proud of this car when it's all finished. 

 

Thanks a lot EmTee   ! , yes it's true that if I lived in America it would be easier for parts, but here in France parts for Buick Electra 69 are very rare  
thanks again  

[sebastienbuick]

Hello, here is the rest of the work, with the reassembly of the panels  

 

 

 

Then I took care of the handbrake system

 

 

 

Protection of the drawbar and the pedal, and sandblasting

 

 

 

Then application of a colorless varnish to keep the original sheet metal appearance

 

 

 

 

Then protection to paint the axle of the pedal and the pull tab

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then painting the lettering of the pull tab and cleaning

 

 

 

 

Then lubricate the mechanism and reassemble the relay support

 

 

Then reassembly, refitting its sensor and handbrake cable connected to the pedal, luckily there was my brother and my father to give me a hand to stretch the cable and put it in place, because it's not easy to do it alone

 

 

Then to finish, a friend made me this very nice gift :), this Buick manual. It is for 1971, but the code 484 for the custom model for Electra has not changed and various parts are similar to mine  

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for the Buick news :), I just received the loudspeaker for the dashboard and I will therefore be able to get back to reassembling it, but for that I will have to make a support because the original Fixing this done by the square magnet of the loudspeaker, and my new loudspeaker has its magnet which is round.

And a friend gave me a diode to allow me to adapt my new telescopic antenna . 

Here's what to expect for this weekend  

[sebastienbuick]

Happy Independence Day !
Here also in France we celebrate it

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

and enjoy your meal !  

 

 

 

 

With a little purely French alcohol, I don't know if it's known in America;)

 

 

 

have a good day !  

[sebastienbuick]

hello to all, here is the rest of the work  

I don't have any photos, but having my original speaker that no longer works, I bought a speaker for the dashboard with the same size as the original one with the magnet.

The problem is that the only attachment for this speaker is a bracket which is attached to the square magnet of the speaker, and the speakers now have a round magnet and not a square like before.

So I had to make a support for this new speaker with what I had on hand, so with two brackets that I cut out and a small metal plate, I made a support on the same principle as the one of origin.

So once the support is done, installation of the loudspeaker and connection to the car radio.

Then I took care of the dashboard  

It's nice to take it out  , so cleaning the inside and outside of the dashboard and applying Rustol (colorless rust remover) inside the dashboard to block and protect the sheet metal

 

 

And reassembly of the dashboard !  

 

 

 

 

The dashboard is taking shape . 

Then I took care of the fairing under the steering wheel

 

 

cleaning

 

 

And reassembly

 

 

Then the inside of the glove box

 

Cleaning

 

 

And paint the screws

 

 

And reassembly

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then I took care of the glove box door

 

 

 

You can see that the previous owners had it covered with fabric, probably because it's damaged underneath.

 

 

And indeed it is damaged underneath

 

 

Removal of fabric and cleaning of the original imitation leather

 

 

 

They had this door covered with fabrics because there are a lot of blisters under the imitation leather, either the glue that is loose or the metal support that has rusted and is creating blisters under the imitation leather.

 

 

 

 

 

To clean the imitation leather, I also cleaned the one in the cigarette lighter compartment, and it's the same

 

 

 

I think I will have to take off the imitation leather, repair the support and put new imitation leather.
Do you know if I can find this faux leather new ?

Thanks  

[usnavystgc]

27 minutes ago, sebastienbuick said:

Do you know if I can find this faux leather new ?

I do believe that SMS fabrics can provide the exact match faux leather for you.

[sebastienbuick]

1 hour ago, usnavystgc said:

I do believe that SMS fabrics can provide the exact match faux leather for you.

 

Hello, ok thank you  
The company is called "sms fabrics " ?

[usnavystgc]

Its actually SMS Auto Fabrics.  https://smsautofabrics.com/

[sebastienbuick]

1 hour ago, usnavystgc said:

Its actually SMS Auto Fabrics.  https://smsautofabrics.com/

 

Thank you very much  !   it's a very good site, I'll send them a message  

[sebastienbuick]

Hello everyone, I'm back from a 3 week vacation in the Americas (it was great, I loved it! and I want to go back now !  )
Here is the resumption of work on the Buick  

 

To start, last weekend went to see the saddler to fit him the glove box door as well as the ashtray / cigarette lighter door and he told me that it was not imitation but molded thermo and that the only solution was to put a coating on top after sanding the support so that the blisters disappear and everything comes back to zero.

And then he will apply an imitation or a leather with a grain resembling the original one, and then paint it with the same shade as the original.

But first you have to do a shade search, and I have to make an appointment with this person

 

Then I took care of the underlay for the "tub" of the floor where you put your feet once seated.

I make a pattern with newspaper, then cut

 

 

 

And installation of the first piece at the front on the driver's side

 

 

Then I continue the same for the rest

 

 

 

 

and now the other side

 

 

 

 

 

Then set up double-sided tape just so they don't move too much, and it's over for the underlay  

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then I took care of the inside pillars of the windshield

Cleaning

 

 

 

 

And reassembly.

As you can see, my Buick has two colors for its interior.

A dark color (brown/green) for the dashboard, ventilation panel under the dashboard and the carpet, and a light color (beige/sand) for the bench seats, door panel, pillar between doors, windshield pillar , headlining and rear parcel shelf .

And this is original  

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then I took care of the floor carpet.

Cleaning with liquid soap and plastic bristle brush and rinsing with karcher, it runs well brown  

 

 

 

 

 

The carpet which is in two parts is only for the visible part, there is no carpet under the rear seat, and the two parts do not cover under the front seat

 

Reassembly

 

 

 

 

Then clean the accelerator pedal

 

 

and reassembly

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then to finish, I started to take care of the amounts between the doors.

You can see that they have yellowed a lot over time.

 

 

 

 

 

You can't see it, but cleaning plastics

 

 

As well as carpet

 

 

Normally these amounts are the color of the door panels, so I will have to paint these amounts in their original colors.  

[GARY F]

Great. Better  than new.

[EmTee]

Interior is looking beautiful - the carpet cleaned up nicely.  Those plastic B-pillar covers always discolor with age.  If you paint them to match the front kick panels they will look as new.  You're getting close to the finish line! 

[sebastienbuick]

On 8/26/2022 at 11:45 PM, GARY F said:

Great. Better  than new.

 

Thank you very much !  

[sebastienbuick]

18 hours ago, EmTee said:

Interior is looking beautiful - the carpet cleaned up nicely.  Those plastic B-pillar covers always discolor with age.  If you paint them to match the front kick panels they will look as new.  You're getting close to the finish line! 

 

Thanks a lot !
I'm going to contact the person who made the door panels to find out if he found the color, so I could paint the uprights  

[sebastienbuick]

Hello everyone, I will give news of the Buick soon  
But here is a link to a topic I just did, a car parts sale I did, and a car show I'll post soon

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Hello everyone, Here is the rest of the work on the Buick

It's been a while since I've posted pictures, because I was doing several steps at the same time and some of which I had to have people do and I was waiting for the steps to be finished so I could post the pictures. .

So here's what's next

 

To continue, here is the glove box, which had in the past been covered with a fabric that was not the same color as the original dashboard, and not the same structure

I had already posted it's 4 photos but it's to remember how it was at the beginning

 

Tissue take-off

 

 

And below, as we had already seen previously, the original upholstery is blistered everywhere

 

 

The back

 

 

With its original sticker

 

 

Once cleaned, I take it with the ashtray door to the car upholsterer next door to see what he can do.

I'm thinking of removing the imitation leather to put another one back on, except that the saddler tells me that it's not feasible because it's molded thermos and it's only one piece and the blisters come from the glue below.

And the solution is to sand the two trays of the two doors to return to a flat surface to stick a tinted leather to the original color on top.

The saddler works with a colorist who works and restores the leather, she makes a lot of Ferrari seats and at the moment she is also restoring a Ferrari sofa from Toulouse which must go to Spain,...

So before sanding my two doors, I go to this person and take this to him.

Then some time later I went to retrieve them, she took a leather that is close to the structure of the dashboard and she tinted the leather

 

 

 

Now that I have the leather ready, I can start sanding the two doors.

And I who love the origin, it was not easy to say that it was necessary to sand these panels  

 

 

For this, being a house painter, I took a small orbital sander with 80 grit paper.

 

 

 

Well, here we go, you have to sand it down  

On the right sanded and on the left original

 

 

 

Then sanded panel

 

 

 

The different colors on the doors are due to the reduction of the irregular material due to blisters, when touched the rendering has returned smooth

 

Then the same for the ashtray / cigarette lighter door

 

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

the panels are ready, but the inside of the ashtray / cigarette lighter is not in good condition

 

 

 

 

So disassembly of the 3 parts of the door

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation for sandblasting

 

 

I wanted to take off the original sticker which is not in great condition, except that it is a print on a metal support and as soon as I try to lift an angle to take it off, the paint cracks and starts to peel. leave

 

 

So I will try with tape to protect this sticker, with the pressure the sand will pass underneath and damage the sticker a lot:/

 

[sebastienbuick]

Sandblasting

 

 

 

So I will end up taking off the sticker and I will sand where there was the tape.

 

 

And sandblasting of other parts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And now I'm repainting, and I'm starting with the door.

The part of the font is original in the color of the sheet metal and the upper part is black.

And given the location I decide to do with "Rustol" which is self-leveling and I will apply it with a brush, school brushes and for the very fine places at the bottom, while looking for how to do it I find on the ground a my feet, a bird's feather, and it will go very well to apply the product well to the bottom  

 

[sebastienbuick]

 

Then the time it dries, I take care of the other parts

Protection of the part which must remain sheet metal color and application of a zinc-based anti-rust primer

 

 

 

Then black paint

 

 

 

And while it dries, I take care of the last piece

It was original in sheet metal color, so I will simply apply a clear varnish

 

 

 

Then once all dry

This piece is finished

 

 

This one is finished for the black color but it will remain to do the sheet color part

 

 

 

 

And for this one, the Rustol being dry, I protect it to be able to prime what is still on the bare sheet

 

 

 

And application of the primer

 

 

 

Then apply black paint

 

 

 

[GARY F]

great work.

[sebastienbuick]

7 hours ago, GARY F said:

great work.

Thank you very much !  

[sebastienbuick]

Then once dry, this piece is finished too

 

 

 

 

 

Then application of a colorless varnish on the third piece, and here it is finished too

 

 

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

So afterwards, I took the two doors to the upholsterer with the leather so that he could cover it with the leather.

There will remain for the part the compartment of the ashtray, to see for the cigar lighter which does not work because of rust.

I want it to work because it was originally functional and because it is very useful for charging the phone.

Looks not too bad

 

 

 

But inside it's not in good condition

 

 

So I looked to see if it could be found new, but except for modern models, I did not find a remanufacture.

So I decide to sand the inside

And so as not to damage the aluminum strapping, my brother finds the idea of putting a spark plug key inside and sandblasting it inside.

 

 

Then sandblast

 

 

[sebastienbuick]

Then to complete this compartment of the ashtray, I just miss the ashtray, I never had it.

And the ashtray is present in my second Electra, and as for the moment it is my first Electra that I take care of, I recover it.

Before taking the photo I emptied it, it was filled to the brim with cigarette butts and a sardine can capsule.

And despite having emptied it, a thick layer remained inside

 

 

 

 

Sandblasting and surprise..  

 

 

 

 

It is therefore necessary to do some sheet metal work for this ashtray

 

Cutting of part of the bottom of the tank

 

 

Welding and grinding

 

 

 

Then sanding and priming

 

 

And as this primer is very close to the original sheet metal color of the ashtray, I apply a satin/matt varnish over it

 

 

 

The ashtray is finished and can be reassembled as soon as I have recovered the two glove box doors from the saddler

[sebastienbuick]

Then the saddler calls me to tell me that everything is ready And so I went to get it back  

 

 

With a beautiful seam for returns  

 

 

 

 

But before reassembling all that, dismantling the hinge and compasses of the glove box for painting

 

 

 

 

Then while it dries I take care of the ashtray door for reassembly

 

 

The sticker that received sand while sandblasting  

 

 

Slide ball lubrication

 

 

 

And reassembly of the whole

 

 

 

 

And installation of the ashtray

 

 

[EmTee]

Nice work (as usual)!  I have to say that I have never seen someone 'bodywork' an ashtray before.  You certainly have perfected your MIG welding skills! 

[sebastienbuick]

2 hours ago, EmTee said:

Nice work (as usual)!  I have to say that I have never seen someone 'bodywork' an ashtray before.  You certainly have perfected your MIG welding skills! 

 

Thank you very much for your answer, it's nice
I try to do my best by working on all parts of the car  

[sebastienbuick]

then I take care of the sticker, compared to a photo I had taken, I print the sticker at its original size (2.6 cm), and I reproduce it.

I don't know why, the black background is very light compared to the original, yet my printer is fine and so is the ink.

 

 

Cutting and installation on very thin double-sided tape

 

 

 

Then re-cut and place a colorless shiny adhesive on top

 

 

My sticker is ready

 

 

 

And installation, the black of the sticker is clear, if I find a new one I will change it

 

[sebastienbuick]

 

 

So the ashtray / cigar lighter door is now finished and will be ready to be reassembled, it will only remain to reassemble the cigar lighter

And in the meantime the paint on the hinge, compass and screws of the glove box has dried, so reassembly

And as the original sticker was in good condition, I applied a transparent glossy film over it to protect it

 

 

Then reassemble to the dashboard  

 

 

 

 

At the same time, I took care of the interior panels between the front and rear doors, which over time had yellowed a lot.

 

 

I took it to a friend for me to repaint them in the original colors, but the plastic being porous and crumbling, they were damaged when he worked on them.

He still painted them to block the support.

He returned it to me and I applied a white product to it to redo a grain

 

 

 

Then I took him back to have the shades have the original color, and here they are finished  

 

 

 

I reassembled it after reassembling the front bench seat to avoid damaging them

Edited October 19, 2022 by sebastienbuick (see edit history)