Cato

A reminder; good wishes are wonderful but the best possible way to support Harry is to contribute to his fund. Not only is he battling this most serious disease, but he's also battling staggering costs and a health care system that is not worthy of the name. Red tape and huge costs everywhere he turns. Help all you can. C

PM sent.

To the four members who've contributed to Harry's Fund, sincere thanks on his behalf. But as of now that leaves 91 others who have viewed this thread and not contributed. C'mon guys. It was very difficult for him to get up here and reveal the plight he's in. As web pals of his, I think we can assist the courage he's shown in a material way. Many of you have whole rooms stacked with stashed models - quite an expense over time. We're talkin' the price of a kit - from a SnapTite to a Pocher which can help Harry fight his disease and the red tape 'the system' puts him through. Anything you can or will spare is vital. He's not putting a hot tub in his backyard with this Fund... Many of you have your own medical issues, I get that. Me too. But maybe you can spread this needy work by contacting fellow forum members you're pals with and give them the Fund link. Think of all the years and all the guys Harry has helped out. I for one, want him around here only another whole lifetime. PM me with what ever you can spare. C

Some of you may have seen his earlier thread; Harry P. has been diagnosed with a serious disease. He is having difficulty with not only the disease but with getting affordable treatment. And time is of the essence. Since Harry has helped countless numbers of us with model related ideas and methods, let's also remember that he has been the nuts and bolts guy on this site on a daily basis. His work has been inspirational every time he posts. Being an 'extended family' of Harry's, we can help and support him in this time of serious need. Any of you interested in materially helping Harry to fight this disease, please send me a PM here and I will provide contact information that may be crucial to Harry's well-being. Let's return the favor of all the work and entertainment he has provided.

Thanks man. Long way to go but means a lot coming from you... C

A little daydreaming...

The next phase... Having sorted the headliner the big step of body paint is now under weigh. Holes were drilled for the running boards and spotlight and everything sanded to 600. Then masking of the upper (red) area. Three coats of white Mr Surfacer 1000 left a very nice and smooth base. Then these three coats of Krylon Sweet Cream. It layed down surprisingly well with nearly no peel. Tomorrow, weather permitting, another stronger coat of cream to provide depth of color and complete coverage of the door sills. Then unmasking and curing for about a week before fine grit color sanding.

Great to see all OK and just busy. Looking forward...

Headline news... Quite awhile back in the thread I mentioned that I had an idea to make the headliner for the interior from the textured dryer sheets used to soften clothes in the dryer. Some ideas you get turn out not to be good. Because my roof is radically cut and seamed I needed to conceal those marks. Also the Pocher 'ribs' had to be ground down as much as possible and concealed. So through a process of trimming and fitting, I got it to fit with just one pleat at the inner corner curve. Here is is glued down with contact cement. I just wasn't happy because it had a texture like stucco when painted. I turned to Dave Cox for advice and he generously shared his headliner method with me. Since virtually all of his Rolls tops are chopped it was the answer to my situation. Using sheet styrene you fab an inner 'shell' with one long piece making both sides and one simple flat one for the top. It took a great deal of time making patterns for the parts and trial fitting. Then removing and shaving or trimming some more. Cut too much and you need a new one. Have a nice supply of sheet goods on hand. The idea is that the back corners curl so you don't have a ripple or seam in the corners. Keep the curl to a minimum so that the seat will fit deep within and touch the back roof wall. And the real secret is the three cats used as a 'fence' to support the bottom of the vertical piece. Because the piece is so long side-to-side, I had to let in a central addition because the Evergreen sheet I have is only 12" long. Now don't try this if you're in a hurry - it eats up hours if you want a perfect fit. The seam where top meets side will be hidden when this is covered with fabric. I will use a light color on Dave's advice because it gets dark in there when all assembled. I'm too chicken to put in vanity or courtesy lights. Besides, starlets work best in the dark - I'm told. Here is a placement of the seat, which I had to modify at this late stage. I had to trim off the ''package shelf' area attached to the Pocher seat back so it would sit deeper in the interior right under the rear window. Yes, the seat back will be at the window's bottom - this is just stuck in there. This can now all come out for painting of the body shell. But some holes to drill in it first...

Yes I thought shellac too. Thanks Bill.

Bill, what do you thin the Zinsser with for airbrushing?

Then pipe a bottle in the Mustang...

Lay off that nitrous oxide Doc....

A little more bling... After removing the tail lamps from their storage crypt, I realized I could do the same up front. I dug out the Pocher front fender lamps, assembled them (after a dip in Future) and mounted them on the fenders for good. Feels good to see bright bits going on slowly. All this while waiting for some prep work on the interior headliner to dry. More soon... Using flash appears to light the lamp...

Hmmm. that's interesting. I'm guessing the Spaz dies into the softer enamel then gets hardened when all cured. Lacquer hardens much sooner and the Spaz may just lay on it without penetrating. Total speculation on my part so fire away...

Bruce! Where are you?; it's almost September. Hope you're good and have progressed further here.

Lipstick on a Pig... Or in this case, jewelry on an Old Crock. Bugatti tail lamps on a Rolls-Royce. Just before the fenders go for a months-long nap, I assembled and mounted my brainstorm from last year. You have to trust me on this; they look smashing on the car next to the trunk. But you are certainly entitled to not like them...

One thing leads to another... While waiting for the chrome bits to return, I turned attention to getting the bodywork finalized. I removed the body from chassis in preparation for drilling the lowers for the running board mounts. For (many) months now, I've had them as well as all four fenders in a storage box, lovingly wrapped in microfiber cloth. Out of harms way and all set to attach the gleaming bits when the time comes. The fenders were painted over a year ago, color sanded and the clear was applied at least three months ago. So everything well gassed-out and very hard finishes. I now needed to mock-up fenders for running board clearance. I decided for a little change of pace, to final-polish the clear since they were all out. Careful inspection showed a few slightly coarse spots in the clear - the dreaded very fine 'leather finish'. Not quite peel. So using 6, 8, and 12,000 grits I wet sanded them out. Then 3 stages of compound; coarse red, Meguiars Ultimate compound and Micro-Finish White as an overall leveling finish. This really brought out the depth of the red. The final touch was 1:1 carnuba wax. Finally, it's very satisfactory. No lollipop kustom kar gloss but very much a well done 1932 period enamel (or nitro-cellulose) look, even though all paints here are lacquer. The challenge now is to get the awkward-to-handle body in a matching state. These will now be stored in this plastic bin, not touching anything or being touched. Until that glorious day (I hope) when they get final-bolted on. Took them outside for some natural light and hung one fender indoors for a little inspiration. It's been covered so long, I forgot how excited it makes me to see it.

Can only speak for the leather I use. LocTite Gel and Bondini do not bleed. Marvin uses Bondini and Cox sometimes uses d/s tape.

Using the same techniques and similar materials but leather as Harry mentioned, here's the rear seat of my Rolls. The pleats are scratch built from craft sticks and foam and leather adhered with CA Gel. The Gel will not bleed through. The methods apply to a variety of Pocher upholstery options:

What are you using them on and please show it here Skip.

How about now? Postman ring twice??

Yup -me. Some cans sit on shelves for years before you buy them...

While waiting... Anxious to see the chrome so finally finished the second inner door panel. If I guessed right, these will mate to the outer skins with the frames and glass sandwiched between at just the right angle to meet the cowl. Knowing me, that's a slim chance...

This company is reasonably close to you Thierry. We have a company called Eastwood that supplies a nickel plating kit and other supplies for plating. Marvin Meit of MMC plates chrome on brass and bronze for his customers which I am surely one. The work is very good.