StevenGuthmiller

No. Mostly rod and strip. Steve

My understanding is that the rear window was plastic. Steve

Thanks guys! Began some of the piping and side window seals this afternoon. It's beginning to take shape! Steve

A little more progress on the convertible up top. Added the top bows, filled with glazing putty and sanded. Also added the "beading" along the rear bow ahead of the rear window opening. I will still be adding the piping, or beading around the window openings, and then removing the portion of the top below the rear window before I prime to see what I've really got so far. Looks a little like a mess at the moment, but the shapes are looking fairly good as far as I can tell. Steve

Steve

Epic! Steve

That is true. It feels a lot like wax paper. Something makes me think not really compatible with paint. So far, I’m still thinking a couple of coats of primer filler is my likely avenue. Steve

Sure. Whatever works. I just use eBay because I can shop according to who has what at want at the best price so I don’t have to search through a dozen different sites. Just easier for me. Steve

If he needs some, I'll just let you send them. Makes more sense to mail more than one. Steve

No. Any high gloss base will work just fine. As a matter of fact, it doesn't even need to be black. Many use gloss blue as a base to give it a little different hue. Steve

Never too late. Always open to other suggestions. Thank you! Steve

Chances are good that if you find one of the colors that you want on eBay, if you click on the seller's link, they'll carry other colors as well. As an example, there is one that I just checked out by the name of "Mark Twain Hobby Center" that appears to have all of the colors that you requested above, as well as many more. You should be able to order them all at the same time and combine shipping. By the way, the gloss black base is really only necessary if you want a highly reflective finish, such as their chrome, or polished aluminum, and even then, any gloss base will do just as well. (I use black primer and Testors clear enamel) For most other metal finishes, a base of primer will work fine. Likewise, the clear is not really necessary, and though I've not used this particular clear, it's advisable to avoid clear coating the reflective coatings such as chrome anyway as it will cause it to dull. For the other finishes, you can get by with another clear. (I use Testors clear lacquer) Anyway, just food for thought, and I won't try to deter you from using the black base or clear, but I find it easier to use a spray can for those operations. Oh, by the way, pick up a bottle of the "Pale Burnt Metal", if for nothing else, just carburetors. It's the perfect shade for carbs! Steve

I can't even begin to imagine how many of those clips I've thrown away in the past 20 years. As a matter of fact, I threw one away yesterday! Luckily the garbage can in my shop was just emptied recently, so I was able to dig it out. Yours if you want it. Steve

Is there one in particular that you're looking for? As a rule, I find everything I need on eBay. Most of them come from various online hobby providers, so you're safe in ordering, and it's a "one stop shop" where I can find everything that I need. Steve

Looking good so far John, but if I may make a suggestion for future projects? Whether using tape for the top or some other method, you might want to more closely investigate the placement of the top seams. As a general rule, the seams should be placed much further "outboard" than what you have done here. In most cases, the seams are placed within a few inches of the corners of the glass, front and rear. Not meaning to be critical, but I find it very useful throughout the course of my builds to receive a bit of constructive criticism or suggestions. I don't know everything, (far from it) so I am always open to any help that others can offer for my projects. I hope I haven't stepped on any toes here. If so, forgive me. I wasn't able to find any clear photos of the seams on the '65, but these from a '66 would have been placed in roughly the same vicinity. Steve

I couldn't agree more. All that this thread does is ask for our opinions, and opinions are all that you're gonna get. There is no right or wrong answer. At this point it only gives people the opportunity to keep beating each other over the head expecting to sway others over to their way of thinking, but I think we all know that that will not happen. But, I digress. Carry on gentlemen. Steve

I'm pretty sure that we've all already voiced our opinions. I know I have. This debate has been going on for over 2 months. I think we've all had ample time to answer that question in our own way. Steve

We can beat this horse until it's dust, but I don't think anyone is going to change their position. Some believe it is, some believe it isn't. End of story. Steve

And they look very nice! Although they may have taken some time, skill, and thought to do, you'll never have to worry about the finish rubbing off or dulling like is common with virtually all of the chrome paints. As long as I still have other options, I'm going to avoid the chrome paints as much as I possibly can. I just don't trust them much. Especially Molotow! Everyone seems to have leapt onto that bandwagon, with little or no thought at all as to what the long term viability of it is. It was never designed to be a permanent thing, So I can't imagine that it would have permanent properties. It's going to be quite a surprise to a lot of people if ten years down the road we begin to see the stuff oxidize and turn green or purple, or whatever else might go wrong with it. Excuse my rant. I just try my best to urge people towards taking the time to learn to use BMF instead of taking unknown short cuts and using products like Molotow that have an uncertain failure possibility in the future. You're Caddy pictured above proves that with some experience, you can do virtually anything with foil. Although I might not even try to go to that length with it, it obviously can be done. Steve

Thanks Greg! I missed the thickness on the package. Thanks for pointing it out. Filler primer? Jees!! Why didn't I think of that?!! Once the rest of the modification work is finished, I could just mask the sides of the roof and spray however many coats of filler needed to create the thickness I want down the center! GENIUS! Thanks Greg!! I think we may have a winner! Steve

Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm investigating this option, but I was wondering if you, or anyone else knows of the thickness of this product. I can get a package of this on Amazon for about $10.00. Steve

Absolutely! They carry a pretty large array of not only metal finishes, but a number of candy colors, primers, etc. Of course these are all air brush paints, pre-thinned and ready to apply. I use a number of different Alclad metal finishes, including “white Aluminum”, “Polished Aluminum”, “Steel”, “Exhaust Manifold”, “Pale Gold”, and my favorite for carburetors, “Pale Burnt Metal”. Steve

Well, I guess my first question would be, what’s “accurate”? There are many different metals and finishes for exhaust parts, and there are numerous directions that you can go for weathering as well. Just the soil color alone in a particular region can make a big difference. But that’s probably a little further into the weeds than you would prefer to go. My process is to of course remove all mold lines, replace or modify whatever requires it, then prime and finally paint with Alclad paints. As a rule, I’ll use an aluminum shade for the mufflers, and a darker steel shade for the remainder of the exhaust pipes. Then my general practice is to decide on how much rust I want to portray. My simple rust technique consists of spraying a very light mist of red oxide primer from a couple of feet away until the desired affect is reached. I at some point will usually add a single light coat of clear to protect the Alclad from rubbing off in spots from too much handling, either before or after rust. Finally, I just use a combination of washes and dry brushing of acrylic craft paint to achieve the desired weathering. Here’s a couple of shots. One very lightly weathered, and the other more heavily. Steve

Yes, I had heard that his health was failing, and that there was apparently a buyer that had backed out. Too bad. I had hopes that it might continue. Steve

Seriously, If you use the method with the tape as I described, You'd have to be almost trying to cut through the tape and into the paint. If it's a concern for you, there should never be a circumstance where you should have any problems such as that using tape as a guide/guard. Steve