1969 Dodge Coronet R/T, 10/17, So Close I Can Taste It!!

[MrObsessive]

That's lookin' great Steve! I was wondering if there's an aftermarket source for that woodgrain? That's one thing I hate painting as I can never get it to look right. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

That's lookin' great Steve! I was wondering if there's an aftermarket source for that woodgrain? That's one thing I hate painting as I can never get it to look right. 

You would surely think that someone should carry something similar.

I would almost think that a "contact paper" would work.

Can't be a lot different than this.

I'll bet if a guy checked around you could find something close at a Hobby Lobby or something.

Finding something within the correct scale might be the difficult part.

 

Steve

[Mike Chernecki]

That wood grain looks great. I bought some of this decal about 30 years ago, I tested it on the Blazer wood grain side trim and it looked good. Only problem after 30 years it was hard to apply the decal without it falling apart. Not sure if this company is still around.

[StevenGuthmiller]

That wood grain looks great. I bought some of this decal about 30 years ago, I tested it on the Blazer wood grain side trim and it looked good. Only problem after 30 years it was hard to apply the decal without it falling apart. Not sure if this company is still around.

 

Here's something that turned up in a quick search.

The package says "lift & place" so I assume that they are self adhesive.

 

Steve

 

[High octane]

Ok,

1st - the gauges- the long rectangular one is standard and was avail in either a 120 or 150 MPH configuration., the 2nd one ( round one ) was the optional rally gauges on a 69 Dodge. Both are correct . I think in a Coronet RT, with the standard gauge panel it only went to 120 mph and only the round gauge set went to 150 .

On the long style it could be had with either a clock or a tach mounted to the far right of the gauge set ( not both at the same time )  The Rallye set could be had with a clock / tach combination in the far left round gauge pod

2nd - the steering wheel , standard was the top one shown . It was avail in multiple colors to coordinate with the interior color ( horn pad included ) , the bottom was the optional woodgrain wheel with the stainless spokes and color coordinated center horn pad 

3rd - Head rests were optional on all models but became standard /  required equipment on Jan 1st 1969 due to a federal safety change mandate. ( hardtop  versus convertible had no bearing on if you got them or not )

 

Also, ck the center dash pad below the radio. I believe the MPC dash is only correct for an A/C car ( which is the only piece in the kit to represent an air car ) I ckd my 68 Coronet builtup and that's whats in it . So i only assume the 69 kit is the same

 

While I was there,,I pulled an AMT 68 Roadrunner / 69 GTX out and both have the 68 style dash ( but non air )

Also ckd the Johan Roadrunner / Superbird dash and its a correct 69 non air dash

 

On the '69 Super Bee that I had back-in-the-day, and later on a '69 coronet R/T both dashboards had the rectangular gauges and 150 mph speedometers and neither cars had headrests as they were early production cars. In' 69 1/2 it was mandatory to have headrests on the front seats.

[426-Hemi]

Steve,

I'll be following that Coronet looks GREAT man! VERY impressive and I'm jealous! (I want one! LOL) But, great work AWESOME color, Absolutely STUNNING interior work, and I sit to see the engine when you start!!!!

I favor most Coronets no matter what year they are, HOWEVER, this one, would look good even in baby poop brown!  

Of all the Coronets tho, most that know me, knows..... I REALLY favor the '70, even tho any of them from '67 to '71 look GREAT! I'd love to see a 1/25th model of say a '57 to '59.....

[StevenGuthmiller]

Well, the top is not exactly "done", but almost.

Just need to do the old "rub it with the finger" technique, and then it will be done.

Figured I should let it cure for a bit first.

 

Steve

 

[bisc63]

On the question of woodgrain decal, seems like the Rambler station wagon kits re-released in the late 90s or early 2000s had plenty of woodgrain on one of its 3 decal sheets!

[om617]

Vinyl roof looks great. Rubbing the finger thing sounds interesting.

[crazyrichard]

ooh my stunning , wood and vinyl top , paint > love it

i used les then 1mm thick real wood veneer fors interiourss .. i can buy that in a big modelstore in rotterdam (holland) it real bendable and superthin but real wood (hardwood) .. that said your version looks as good

[426-Hemi]

That is lookin real good...... NICE job on that paint and that top goes on it VERY WELL, NICE Work!

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks guys!

 

i used les then 1mm thick real wood veneer fors interiourss .. i can buy that in a big modelstore in rotterdam (holland) it real bendable and superthin but real wood (hardwood)

 

I'm not sure if I could find anything that thin around here, but it's possible.

But, that being said, this is working quite well for something I originally thought would most likely wind up in the trash.

The only real draw back is the fact that if you look at it very close, you can actually see the "pixels" in the decal from the printing process.

I guess printing technology was a little lacking in 1965!

 

Vinyl roof looks great. Rubbing the finger thing sounds interesting.

I monkeyed around a little with "rubbing" it out last night, & it doesn't seem to be working as well on the dulcoat as it does on bare flat paint.

But I shot an extremely light coat of pearl over the color & wanted something over it to protect the acrylic pearl paint.

I have used a little polish on interiors & tops in the past to get the same affect as the "finger oil" technique.

I'll probably give that a try tonight.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

Just a small update on the top.

I'm still not 100% happy with it, but I'm thinking I'll most likely live with it.

I may do a little tweaking, but for the most part, it's done.

 

Steve

 

Edited September 8, 2016 by StevenGuthmiller

[AC Norton]

It looks great IMO, but we always find something we aren't happy with on our own builds....however, sometimes it's better to leave well enough alone....just a thought.....the Ace....

[High octane]

On the question of woodgrain decal, seems like the Rambler station wagon kits re-released in the late 90s or early 2000s had plenty of woodgrain on one of its 3 decal sheets!

Modelhaus sold woodgrain in 3 different colors and it went on just like BMF. I did pick some up, but have yet to try it.

[crazyrichard]

Thanks guys!

 

 

I'm not sure if I could find anything that thin around here, but it's possible.

But, that being said, this is working quite well for something I originally thought would most likely wind up in the trash.

The only real draw back is the fact that if you look at it very close, you can actually see the "pixels" in the decal from the printing process.

I guess printing technology was a little lacking in 1965!

 

 

 

Steve

hehehe yes i noticed but when everything is put together i bet it looks very realistic !! and those printer sure where way simpler .. when i see how high quality i can print small thing for like signs with my canon printer at home on matte photopaper .. man sometimes i on purpose degrade the print quality just a bit hahaha when it needs to be weathered ...

[mustang1989]

Man Steve. You've got that car body lookin' smoooooth.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Funny you should mention that Joe.

I think I got a bad can of clear coat at some point.

For some mysterious reason this clear coat is not fully curing.

Maybe it just needs more time, but usually the Duplicolor clear that I use is fully cured within a few days, or at least well enough where it's completely hard.

This one is still soft on the surface after drying for a couple of weeks!

It hasn't been a major problem, but I do have to be very careful about what comes in contact with the body.

When I masked for the blacked out panel around the tail lights, the tape left it's impression in the paint in spots.

Same thing when I masked for the top.

This time I used tin foil thinking that it would minimize tape on the body & eliminate any further paint marking.

Unfortunately, in some places where the foil touched the body, it also left marks.

So far, this hasn't been much of a problem because the marks polish out pretty easily, But I'm a bit worried that the paint may never fully cure.

 

Steve

[Mike Chernecki]

I would give the clear more time to dry, perhaps throw it into a dehydrator over night if you have one. Duplicolor clear is solvent based, so it will dry eventually. One of the reasons I switched to using a 2k clear (Zero or Gravity Colors), it is rock hard in a couple days.

[Snake45]

That color combo really looks good!

[StevenGuthmiller]

I would give the clear more time to dry, perhaps throw it into a dehydrator over night if you have one. Duplicolor clear is solvent based, so it will dry eventually. One of the reasons I switched to using a 2k clear (Zero or Gravity Colors), it is rock hard in a couple days.

I've been using Duplicolor clear for the past couple of years & I've only had this issue a couple of times in the past few months.

I have 3 or 4 nearly empty cans laying around my shop that I've been trying to empty out, but I'm not sure which can is the culprit.

I don't remember which build I had the same problem with, but I'm pretty certain it's just one can that is giving me this issue.

I'm pretty confident it will eventually harden up because I don't remember having any lasting issues on any other projects.

I guess it's time just to toss out all of those old cans & start fresh next time.

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

That color combo really looks good!

Thanks Richard!

I knew almost instantly When I acquired this kit that it would have to be painted one of the "mossy" greens from that era.

There are a couple '68/'69 Coronets & at least one '68 Charger in my town done in these types of colors.

Seems to have been quite popular at that time.

 

Steve

[426-Hemi]

That sir looks GREAT! NICE job! (The Coronet makes it all come together nicely!)

[kelson]

Very impressive work so far!!.

[StevenGuthmiller]

I just couldn't leave it alone!

There were a couple of spots that just jumped out at me every time I looked at it.

So I masked again & shot it with a couple more coats & then did the finger rub down.

You may notice that the top is quite a bit darker than before.

I wasn't really satisfied with the original color either, so I darkened the paint a bit before re-shooting.

This is a little closer to what I had originally envisioned.

Something closer to a dark "gray-green".

You can see the difference in the last 2 pics.

 

Steve