1968 Oldsmobile 442 W-30

[thecrossguy]

Your work is ridiculous... in a good way ?

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks guys!

 

The first coat of color is on and so far, I like it a lot!

 

 

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Bucky said:

Great progress, Steve! Would a dark brown color be suitable for the vinyl top? It may not have been a color choice in '68, tho.

Thanks Keith.

Since your recommendation, I'm seriously considering a dark brown top.

I haven't yet been able to verify if it was an option in '68, but I'm looking into it.

If I do the top in black, I feel like the stripe should also be black, but white would be a nice option if I use brown for the top.

 

 

Steve

[StevenGuthmiller]

I focused my attention this afternoon on masking and spraying the fender stripes.

This sort of operation is always a little nerve wracking for me as the last thing I want to do is ruin a very nice paint job.

Getting everything straight and guarding against bleed under are my largest concerns.

But, thanks to my trusty Tamiya tape and several very light coats of Duplicolor sandable black primer, everything came out as well, or even better than I had hoped.

This is were it starts getting quite exciting for me!

 

Now there will be several steps during the clear coating process.

First a coat or two of clear, followed by foiling and detailing the emblems and marker lights.

Then another coat or two of clear after which I will remove the masking on the engine bay area before applying the final coat of clear.

Then I will be able to unmask the top for finishing, followed by plenty of polishing.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

 

 

[Bucky]

Great work on the stripe! Tamiya tape is the way to go for smooth edges. And the primer was a good idea, as it doesn't seem to have a tendency to run.

Eagerly waiting for more progress on this OLDS!!

BTW, my wife had a black '68 Cutlass back in '68. Pity I didn't know her, back then! LOL

[mustang1989]

Very good masking and painting on those side stripes. You're right about that point about the nerve racking part of the paint job. When you have lots of time involved to get to this point it sure seems like a gamble when we are faced with a pivotable task of this nature.

[peekay]

That's looking great in colour and the stripes are beautifully done. Looking forward to some shiny.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks so much guys!!

 

 

Yesterday I shot a coat of clear over the body.

Today, I foiled and detail painted the body badges, followed by another coat of clear.

A likely 3 more coats of clear will follow.

I think the clear really enriches the color!

 

I also showed the interior a little love by getting a start on some foil.

 

Tonight, along with another clear coat, I want to try to prime the chassis plate and then hopefully get the front fender wells painted red.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited December 4, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bucky]

Very nice paint, all around!!!

[kelson]

Fantastic level of detail on this build!!

[Tommy124]

There is fantastic quality literally dripping out of every image I see... This will be a FINE result soon!

[dragcarz]

WOW

[mustang1989]

YEP! This'll be a show winner when she's all done. Lookin' Good Steven. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks so much guys!!

 

 

The clear coats are finished and everything is unmasked.

I will let it cure for a couple of days and hopefully finish the vinyl top over the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Bucky]

That color gets better lookin' all the time!!!

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, Bucky said:

That color gets better lookin' all the time!!!

Thanks Keith.

Each successive clear coat seemed to add more and more richness to the color as I went.

 

 

Just finished one of the unmistakable markers of a W-30 Olds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Bucky]

I never knew about the red fender wells until you started this build. Very sharp!

[gman]

I always look forward to seeing how your builds come together- from incorporating small details, to scratch building, to finishing, to major redesigns of parts that come in the box. Not surprisingly, this one is going to be a winner too. 

[66belair]

Your work on this is amazing. Have been following this from the start. Hope you dint mind I have saved some of the pictures for reference. I live the W-30 Olds, the red fender wells really can throw some people off when the see them. I did that to do a 72 convertible and every time I take it to a model show I get asked why they are red, a lot of people don’t know that those were plastic instead of metal.

[mustang1989]

I'm really enjoying watching this one come together Steve. Good progress.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thank you guys!!

 

I finished up the vinyl top today.

Took me considerably longer to mask off the body than I expected, but it went pretty well in total.

I discovered by accident some time ago that Rustoleum flat black "High Performance Enamel" works extremely well for a convincing vinyl top.

 

I believe that the body is now entirely painted, except for the head liner.

Should be ready for polishing.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited December 7, 2019 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bucky]

Very well done! I gotta get some of that paint!

[Can-Con]

I was kinda skeptical when you said the color you were painting it but now that I see it, it looks really good on that car. 

Can't wait to see it finished. 

[StevenGuthmiller]

Thanks guys!

I appreciate that!

 

 

I decide to add some gauge bezel detail that was not present on the original dash by cutting short sections of aluminum tubing, painting them black and polishing the ends.

These bezels will be added after the dash has been finish detailed.

 

I missed the voids at the lower edge of the gauges before painting, but it appears that they will be difficult to pick out after the dash is installed.

The aluminum bezels should help conceal them as well once everything is in place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

[OldNYJim]

Beautiful work all round Steven - you’re one of my favorite builders and I always enjoy seeing your projects!  The vinyl top looks great, and I really like how you handled the bezels.

Whats the story with the red inner fenders?  Why did the 1:1 have that?