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So, last week I picked up a shell and I have to paint the whole thing, which is not a problem. I just need to know how much primer and paint I will need to paint the entire car inside and out. I am going with the original dark blue color.
I also need to know the best way to strip the paint off of the bumper covers front and back as well as the ground effects. If anybody can help me out that would be great I just want to do this all myself. But, I want to do it right.
Last edited by DontBlnkBadWolf; 08-13-2022 at 02:31 PM.
Reason: Spelling
So, last week I picked up a shell and I have to paint the whole thing, which is not a problem. I just need to know how much primer and paint I will need to paint the entire car inside and out. I am going with the original dark blue color.
I also need to know the best way to strip the paint off of the bumper covers front and back as well as the ground effects. If anybody can help me out that would be great I just want to do this all myself. But, I want to do it right.
sorry I’m just seeing this.
Primer amount is really hard to say. Hell even paint amount is hard to say, different brands will cover better or worse and have different mix ratios. I can tell you it’s a full gallon of the base I used and more than a gallon of clear.
if I was doing it again I wouldn’t completely strip the car unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you only need to strip the car down to metal in a few spots you’ll save on whatever primer you use for DTM.
I can tell you it probably cost triple whatever I thought it would cost. All the materials add up and prices have double in the last year or so.
Primer amount is really hard to say. Hell even paint amount is hard to say, different brands will cover better or worse and have different mix ratios. I can tell you it’s a full gallon of the base I used and more than a gallon of clear.
if I was doing it again I wouldn’t completely strip the car unless it’s absolutely necessary. If you only need to strip the car down to metal in a few spots you’ll save on whatever primer you use for DTM.
I can tell you it probably cost triple whatever I thought it would cost. All the materials add up and prices have double in the last year or so.
Thanks for your reply, I want to also try and keep the costs down. What's good for stripping the Ground Effects and both bumper covers? I want it to look as professional as I can get and just painting over, what I think is, 3 layers of paint won't do. I know it needs stripped.
Thanks for your reply, I want to also try and keep the costs down. What's good for stripping the Ground Effects and both bumper covers? I want it to look as professional as I can get and just painting over, what I think is, 3 layers of paint won't do. I know it needs stripped.
I’ve used chemical stripper (aircraft) on plastic parts with no problems. I also used a heat gun and a razor blade to remove paint on my plastic bumper. I mainly did this so I didn’t dust up my shop.
if you want to completely strip the bumpers I’d do one of those. Heat gun method is not fast though, and chemical stripper is very weak now days. If you use stripper, apply the product then cover with plastic sheeting so it doesn’t dry up. Even with chemical stripper you’ll probably need to finish stripping with sandpaper.
as far as materials, if you’re stripping to metal I’d start with a galling of epoxy and a gallon surfacer. I used summit racing for the most part for primer, it’s cheap and worked well.
this first receipt is pre-covid cost for 1 quart of surfacer+hardener.
this 2nd receipt is the exact same purchase from a few months ago. Pre covid price for my base coat was $250, 3 months ago they wanted over $400 for a gallon of base only.
I’ve used chemical stripper (aircraft) on plastic parts with no problems. I also used a heat gun and a razor blade to remove paint on my plastic bumper. I mainly did this so I didn’t dust up my shop.
if you want to completely strip the bumpers I’d do one of those. Heat gun method is not fast though, and chemical stripper is very weak now days. If you use stripper, apply the product then cover with plastic sheeting so it doesn’t dry up. Even with chemical stripper you’ll probably need to finish stripping with sandpaper.
as far as materials, if you’re stripping to metal I’d start with a galling of epoxy and a gallon surfacer. I used summit racing for the most part for primer, it’s cheap and worked well.
You, Sir, are a wealth of knowledge and a GIANT help. I want to do this right & with your input I feel like I will not be too afraid of trying it. Got to save money where I can in the current climate of prices. I do have to strip it down to the metal as the Shell still has the original paint w/clearcoat, I have a media blaster to use on it, going with a light media with even passes to keep from pitting.
Originally Posted by Billgluckman
this first receipt is pre-covid cost for 1 quart of surfacer+hardener.
this 2nd receipt is the exact same purchase from a few months ago. Pre covid price for my base coat was $250, 3 months ago they wanted over $400 for a gallon of base only.
That's nuts
Last edited by DontBlnkBadWolf; 08-18-2022 at 07:56 PM.
I’m going through a divorce so I’m not living where the car is. Haven’t been able to do much but it’s looking more like car…anyone ever mount a hatch solo? Sketchy situation
I’m having trouble getting the hatch to actually latch. Will have to do some adjusting.
Car looks great, nice work. Ive done the solo hatch install. Put some big square boxes on the carpet area and several blankets around the edges. Good luck with the uncoupling.
Car looks great, nice work. Ive done the solo hatch install. Put some big square boxes on the carpet area and several blankets around the edges. Good luck with the uncoupling.
Is that hoist up against the bumper?
lol no I was an inch or so off the bumper. I couldn’t get it close enough to drop it in place. I ended up on my back laying on the cargo “hump” area using my hands and feet to line it up. Didn’t scratch anything though.
I actually installed the hood the same way.
With everything that’s been going on I haven’t taken pics but I painted the door handles, hatch trim, and hood latch parts with the same hot rod black I used on the grille. I still need to paint the gas cover, 1/4 panel ground effect, and mirrors.
I drug the car out to try to get it put more together. It’s running rich as hell for some reason, I’ll have to check into that.
so right now the interior isn’t finished and I still have a lot of work to do but I’m curious how people are valuing these cars with ls swaps? I may end up selling it once it’s road ready, I really don’t know.
The paint looks very nice, in the Photos, "Billgluckman"!
Some questions, Who did the paint? Type of paint? Were the mirrors, door handles and rocker ground effects(GX) removed? If so, How was the rear most nut, in the rocker panel GX removed? I spent 40 minutes trying to remove the rearmost nut, with negative results!
The paint looks very nice, in the Photos, "Billgluckman"!
Some questions, Who did the paint? Type of paint? Were the mirrors, door handles and rocker ground effects(GX) removed? If so, How was the rear most nut, in the rocker panel GX removed? I spent 40 minutes trying to remove the rearmost nut, with negative results!
I did the paint. Brand was “autobahn”, base/clear.
and yes I removed all the ground effects…I’m not sure what the issue is on that but, it should be pretty straight forward. The only tip I can give you is maybe you need to pry the nut while you turn it so maybe it will grab and come off. I assume you are talking about the little “speed nuts”?
I think that nut is mostly an issue on the verts. Not so much with coupes. At least on my 84 it was way easier to remove. Probably due to the reinforcement on the verts anyway.
I think an ls conversion on a base Camaro can't hurt the value too much, if at all. Less that base car was flawless. It's on the irocs/z28s, especially if they are well optioned and/or with TPI that you can somewhat hurt the value/appeal quite a bit more often than not.
I think that nut is mostly an issue on the verts. Not so much with coupes. At least on my 84 it was way easier to remove. Probably due to the reinforcement on the verts anyway.
I think an ls conversion on a base Camaro can't hurt the value too much, if at all. Less that base car was flawless. It's on the irocs/z28s, especially if they are well optioned and/or with TPI that you can somewhat hurt the value/appeal quite a bit more often than not.
yeah I doubt a 4.8 bumps the value too much but it’s set up for whatever someone would want to drop in, which was my plan eventually…swap to a 6.0. The market is all over the place from what I’ve seen. I see some stock turds (shot paint, ragged interior) going for 3-4K occasionally which blows my mind.
I don’t want to sell the car, and refuse to until I fix some things, but it may happen. I definitely have to cut and buff the paint, install a windshield, and get tires for the matching wheels(c6 wheels). I would think those things would make a big difference vs sell it it “as is”
I dont think an LS would hurt the value, except maybe for the purist types. If you do all those things and dont spend a small fortune. You should be fine, just wait for the right buyer.
They look great. What you gonna do about the crack?
Nothing. Lol
i plan to replace them once I find a good set at the junkyard, there’s just no 3rd gens in the inventory at the moment. Just needed something to get me by. I had the clear already, I’ve got no money in it.
I have a real nice pair that I thought about selling on Ebay. Then I realized that between Ebay's fees and the IRS I'd pretty much be giving them away so I made some wall art with them. Turned out pretty neat at that:
I have a real nice pair that I thought about selling on Ebay. Then I realized that between Ebay's fees and the IRS I'd pretty much be giving them away so I made some wall art with them. Turned out pretty neat at that:
man I’ve been wanting to do some cool wall art. I’m just not much of an artist…but there’s a guy on YouTube who has a few channels, diy auto school, my friend Pete, and a couple more I think…but he does some awesome stuff
Last edited by Billgluckman; 01-13-2024 at 07:17 AM.
06-17-2022, 07:05 AM
