Ferbz

Thanks! That was my goal with this project from the outset. So glad you approve!

Wow! You were around during the 'golden age' of customs....very cool!

I've been using the Plastic Wood for over 20yrs now. And while it seems the formula has changed over the years, it's still a product that I trust when needing to do major custom body modifications. It doesn't shrink or swell, which is one of the main reasons why I like it. Another reason why I like it is that I dont have to fiddle with a separate hardener or wait hours for it to harden. With proper paint prep my lacquer paint jobs don't affect it at all. My process involves thinning it very slightly with acetone so it spreads nicely. It doesn't take very long to harden; I would say within half hour to an hour I start to knock it down and shape it with 180 grit. Once I have it rough shaped, I start to fine tune it with finer grits stepping down quickly with 240 and/or 320 and 400. You're right about the coarseness in the sense that it will need primer and some glazing putty here and there (I've used both the red bondo brand spot putty and the green 3M glazing putty for this) to remove pin holes and fine sanding scratches, which I find I would have to do whether I used Plastic Wood for custom mods or not. With any technique or product you have to spend time with it and learn how it works and how you can get it to work for you. I guess Plastic Wood 'resonates' with me since it's been my go-to filler all these years. Here's a pic I posted in another thread where I show a little step by step on how I used Plastic Wood to shape and form frenched Buick headlights on a Merc and the end result:

Thanks! All in all, things are going fairly smoothly with it too!

Here I moved my attention to the interior for a bit. I cut away the door panels so I could more easily get to sanding away the factory details on the panels and seats. I then added .080 half round rod for tuck and roll patterns on the seats, door panels, as well as the rear window package tray. This will get covered with primer, white pearl paint and satin clear, then black spark plug wire will be used for piping:

Project update! Here are some mockup pics after I sprayed a quick coat of primer just so see how the bodywork is shaping up. Rounds of glazing putty, sanding, primering ensues from here on out until bodywork is good enough for paint:

Thanks! What rendering? lol

This is amazing! How are you bending it?

Thought I'd share a bit of an update: I cleaned up the A and C pillars and cut/fitted the windshield and rear window. Glass fitment is super important on chopped tops so there was quite a bit of cut, sand, file, check, repeating going on. There's still some fine tuning needed but it's looking pretty good me thinks 🙂 Also in these pics you can get a better look at how I extended the front fender character lines farther into the doors (the factory fender lines stop right at the front door gaps) using half round rod and super glue/baking soda. In the grand scheme of things it's a small change, but one that will make a nice overall impact when combined with all the other custom mods. The devil is in the details right? (whatever that means lol) 😉

Love this idea!

Yes I did! (I should've mentioned that at the start lol) No, I'll keep it free of any trim on the sides. This body style has so much 'space age-y' design elements and stainless trim, I felt like removing the body side trim(and factory badges)would simplify it a bit and let the overall body design speak for itself and make the visual impact a traditional, shaved full custom usually does. Thanks! 🙂👍

I thought I'd share how I built out the rear fender bulges so that they match the Revell 59 Impala tail light bezels. I first glued some half round rod and shaped/sanded it to the quarter panels. These were used as guides to help me determine how much putty to use to fill out the fenders. I then added Plastic Wood putty and let it harden before I started sanding/shaping with 100 grit and work my way down a couple grits to 320 grit. While I was at it, I also decided to extend the front fender line into the doors(Why this factory line stops at the front door gap is a mystery to me lol It's a small design change, but one that will make a nice overall impression in the end I think!)by gluing/sanding smaller half round rod and the ol' super glue/baking soda technique:

Thanks! I mainly build customs of earlier vintage but I recently ventured into the late 50's early 60's style customs with a recently completed chopped/smoothed 62 Belair. I thought I'd try and build another one near/around that era, especially after seeing Paul Cepeda's awesome 1:1 custom El Camino 😎

Thanks! I'm not sure yet to be honest lol The rear feels so swoopy that the rectangular hole for the license plate seemed too busy so I filled it! 🙃

Thanks! I'm a slow builder but stay tuned....! 🙂

Thanks! I'm a slow builder so I hope you stick with me lol

Thanks! I think with customs in particular, all body mods should work well together to make a visual pleasing impact. Fingers crossed this one will work!

Thanks! When I start a project, I usually have some kind of vision for it but I never know how it's really going to turn out until it's finished. So many things can go awry! lol

I love customs too! I'll do my best to post updates as I go. Most of the major body mods are done, needing only cleaning up and fine tuning, then first primer!

Thanks! 59 Chevys in general are pretty radical looking cars to begin with. Custom changes both mild and wild often put them over the top and make them really special if done tastefully 👍

This is a new project I've started: an AMT 59 El Camino, partially inspired by Paul Cepeda's gorgeous 1:1 custom. The top is chopped and a Revell 59 Impala trunk has been grafted into the rear as part of a molded in bed cover. The open gaps of the bed area have been filled with sheet styrene and super glue/baking soda. I like to back up my body mods when/where I can with sheet plastic for strength and 90 degree angle pieces worked well underneath. It's not pretty under there but this will be a 'curbside' model with no chassis or engine detail so it won't be seen! lol Up front I pancaked the hood with rounded corners by cutting away the front lip of the hood and gluing it into place along with the front 'nostrils'. Out back I filled the license plate cavity with Plastic Wood and all unnecessary holes with styrene. I also decided to mold in the Revell Impala factory tail light bezels so the chrome was stripped off of them then glued into place. They stuck out past the AMT Camino side fender bulges a bit so Plastic Wood was used to build them out to match the bezels. More work to come!

Great work!

Bitchin'! And those carbs look super crisp and detailed! 😀

Love this thing!

Thanks! I didnt quite capture the 'glow' of the original 1:1 candy tangerine paintjob, but it gives the right impression I think 🙃