Update on Ford Interseptor

[Peter Lombardo]

Progress on this build is slow, but steady. I have the wheel wells repositioned with the opening flairs rebuilt. The roof is at the correct height now. The tail light foundation is set and the rear bumper cover is in place. The next item to tackle is setting the hood and reopening the hood down at the side fender line center. It hinges forward with the air cleaner intake attached to the engine. Once the hood is in place, the grill, headlights and tail light fixtures are next. This is a long slow project. Ok, just a little update mainly to keep me focused on the build. While the putty is drying in between each layer, I started working on a 68 Corvette race car from Daytona 24 hour race with some after-market markings from Vintage Racing.

[Trans Am Erik]

Now that's some NICE bodywork! Don't worry about going slow you get better results that way. That car is a cool concept. What type of puttyare you using? Whatever it is it looks like it forms and sands well. I'm using Tamiya basic on my '06-9 Charger and my '07 Trans Am.

[Peter Lombardo]

Thanks Erik, basically I use 2 types of putty and 1 sealer technique. The “big†putty jobs start with auto body putty. It is made by Bondo, I get it at an auto parts store. It is a two part putty that needs to have a very small drop of hardener mixed into the base putty (That is the pinkish colored putty). I have used a few different brands and I can’t really tell any difference. Actually, the only difference is the color, some are light tan, some are gray. One can of this will last months, in fact you will throw away the last ¼ of the can before you use it, just because it is so old. You may go through a few tubes of hardener though, but it is very cheap. Because these use a chemical reaction to harden, there is no shrinkage problem. A few years ago I converted an Accurate Miniatures Grand Sport Corvette coupe into a roadster. I used good old model putty. It looked great, nice and smooth so I painted it. Nice paint job, and then a few days later, the putty shrunk and I had a nice trough shaped V on the rear deck from where the coupe fastback roof was. I learned a valuable lesson that day. I now use the 2 part putty for the heavy lifting and I use the Tamiya (gray putty in the pictures)(great stuff) for the fine tuning and small jobs. But be careful as even this will shrink a little because it evaporates the carrier agent in the putty as it dries. The Bondo stuff sands great and the Tamiya putty is even easier to sand, as both respond well to wet sanding. The “sealer†I use is something that I just stumbled on myself (I think, I have not seen this before). Once I have the putty to a point where I am happy with the surface, I coat the surface with super glue. I use the thinnest grade glue they sell. I just work it on to the putty either with the top of the bottle or, if it is a big job, I will “glop†it on and use the back end of a paint brush or a piece of wire/brass rod or even a small piece of stock. Sometimes I use an old tee shirt to work it in. How you spread it is not very important, what is important is that you make it as smooth as possible so there will be less sanding later. My logic, right or wrong, is that I think the putty is a little soft and a little porous. The very thin super glue( in my opinion) fills the small holes and strengthens the putty. I will put it this way, in the few years that I have been doing this, the only down side I can find, is that I buy a little more glue then I used to. No biggy. Once dry, I wet sand as usual and get a nice smooth surface for a coat of primer. I have even applied the glue over primer and not had any problems from that. Sorry, I went a little long on it, but it may help you.

[Trans Am Erik]

Thanks Peter, I'm gonna have to try that super glue trick. Sounds like the way to some smooth paint jobs. One trick I use is my primer. I use testors flat light aircraft grey or flat white paint depending on what color I'm going to use. they don't seem to be as porous as the "primer" spray. My horor story is my Merc led sled. It was my first car with radical body mods. Saddly I first used Squadron white putty on the whole car. Then I rushed to get it to the '05 Autorama and fouled up the paint. Then it took a bath in Scalecoat, this stripped the paint AND the putty. Then I tried the Tamiya putty. I put it on too thick and when it hardened my roof caved in!!! I WILL resurrect that car though, it's just too cool. Picture a '49 with a 6" chop, 4" section, pancaked hood and trunk, laid back headlights, reshaped rear fenders, and custom front and rear roll pans.

Also, it sits on a Chezoom frame (next to a stocker my ROOF came to his WINDOWS)!!!