Ramfins59 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 My 1959 cars have been calling out to me for some attention, so the next victim on my workbench is a 1959 Buick Invicta convertible. I picked this up on EBAY back in Sept. of 2013 for the bargain price of $36. The body was never painted but just needed a little cleanup and holes filled where antennas & a mirror were. I repaired the cracked and split windshield frame with liquid glue and sanded off the door handles. I'll be replacing them with chromed pieces from my parts stash. A friend of mine had a '59 Buick hardtop painted White about 15 years ago and I always liked the way the car looked in White. I primed this body with Tamiya White primer and will paint it Tamiya Pure White. I covered the scripts with BMF before priming and will try to carefully sand off the paint and primer with a polishing kit after it's all done. The interior tub, dashboard, steering wheel and convertible boot cover were all painted so they're all in the stripper tub for a day or so. I'll be painting the interior in Red & White. I got chromed replacement bumpers and grille from Modelhaus. I gave the grille a blackwash using The Detailer. I'll be using the wire wheels & tires leftover from the '56 Chrysler that I just finished, for this car. I also gave the wire wheels a blackwash, and the chrome taillights got a coat of Tamiya Clear Red. I polished out the scratches on the windshield with a polishing kit and some Novus 2 polish. This one should go pretty quickly as it's a curbside so there's no engine or chassis detailing to fuss over. Thanks for looking in on this new project. Further updates to come as they happen. As usual, any and all comments are welcomed and appreciated.
cobraman Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 Nice project. My BIL had one years ago, what a barge ! : )
Ramfins59 Posted January 31, 2015 Author Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks guys... Hmmmmm!!!!!! Is that a good or bad Hmmmmm!!!!!! Ron..??
bonehead23 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 A friend gave me a perfect unblemished '59 hardtop promo...and I hate to mess it up! But it is molded in pale blue. I agree, white is nice. I may get bold and paint /detail it, but the '59 has such a crazy shaped hood it would be hard to cut it open. I was thinking a metalflake red roof...or maybe black or gold....nice wheels, lowered a bit....
wayne swayze Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 '59 was the pinnacle year for wild styling IMO. Always loved the Buick, so I'll watch your build....really like your colour plans.
mustang1989 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 (edited) Wow!!!! You never seem to fail in bringing out the best in a build Rich! Lookin' sharp! Edited January 31, 2015 by mustang1989
Tom Geiger Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 This should be cool! I'm watching! Near and dear to my heart, I owned a 1960 Buick Electra coupe for over 25 years!
mustang1989 Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 This should be cool! I'm watching! Near and dear to my heart, I owned a 1960 Buick Electra coupe for over 25 years! Now that's a long time to own car!
Foxer Posted January 31, 2015 Posted January 31, 2015 I always loved this '59 ... it was one during that wild year that was styled the best, IMO. And will be interesting in white .. offset be all that chrome. I did one when the AMT Annual first came out in blue and gold .. was one of my favorites ... before my custom years began.
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks guys. The styling of this car just screams CUSTOM exactly the way it is, It doesn't need any modifications. Although I do think it will look good with wire wheels. Foiling this car should be a LOT of fun. Sure it will...... In researching this car for Google reference pictures I see that the vent windows had cranks...... Now I'll get to use a couple of those tiny little resin vent window cranks from Norm Veber along with the other cranks and handles.
gtx6970 Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 I'm in. I just bought a decent looking built-up of the same car....paid more than that for mine though
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 Bill, I get lucky by being patient and searching through EBAY regularly for the cars I need for each year of the 50's. So far I've got every car from 1959 except for the Vette and T-Bird...... but I'll eventually find them for the price I'm willing to pay.
Tom Geiger Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Rich, speaking of BMF, turn that puppy upside down and look at the underside of the fins. I don't believe the edge of the fin chrome is defined on that side. You may want to do some scribing or otherwise plan for how to conquer that prior to painting.
Ron Hamilton Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 When I restored my '60 Buick Convertible, I had re-scribed all of the body lines, the trim around the fin tips, and the body parts separation points. Judging from your past efforts, this one is bound to be a knockout.
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks Tom, and yes I noticed that about the underside of the fins. I was debating whether to try scribing straight lines using 2 XActo blades (one higher than the other as a guide along the edge of the fin with a plastic spacer between them), or, to try to cut straight lines on the BMF without scribing on the underside. We'll see!! Thanks very much for the vote of confidence Ron, I appreciate it. Edited February 1, 2015 by Ramfins59
microwheel Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Nice start Richard, looking forward to following along. I've seen some of your other builds and really like the subjects you choose.
slusher Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Rich, I do believe they sold an excellent survivor in white and solid red interior. Those Chrysler wheels and tires look great...
John Goschke Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Always liked the '59 Buicks. You've got a great start on this one!
StevenGuthmiller Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 Richard, just remember to be very careful sanding for those scripts. I've tried several different ways of doing this "foil under paint" technique. Putting the foil on under the primer was the least successful for me. It takes a lot of grinding to get through several coats of primer paint and clear coat, & with the foil being as thin as it is, it's very easy to go through the foil right back down to the plastic. I've had the best luck putting on the foil right before the last color coat. Cut it as close to the script as possible & then shoot your last coat of color. After the paint is dry enough to handle, I carefully take the paint off of the script with thinner, or I guess you could just as easily polish it off with a polishing pad. Then I put my clear coats over the top. Just a suggestion born from my experience with it. Good luck with the '59! Always been one of my favorite Buicks! Steve
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks for the helpful suggestions Steve. The few times I've done the foil-under paint technique I've been successful (so far) in using either 6000 or 8000 grit polishing cloths to take the primer/paint/clearcoat off of the scripts. I fold the polishing cloths and use my Optivisor magnifiers and carefully and slowly take the paint off of the raised scripts. I guess I've been lucky so far..!! Do you "dry brush" using thinner when you do it??
StevenGuthmiller Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 (edited) No Richard, I use one of those little pointed Tamiya Q-tip type swabs. I dip it in a little thinner & then sponge off the excess on a cotton cloth so the Q-tip is just lightly damp. Then just lightly rub off the paint with the tip. Carefully of course! Another problem I had with putting the foil under the primer was exposing a thin line of primer around the script. Not a problem if you're using white primer & white paint, but it can become quite noticeable if you use say, a light gray primer under dark blue! Steve Edited February 1, 2015 by StevenGuthmiller
Tom Kren Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 thats going to be nice! Been looking for a ard top for awhile i have a nice custom in mind when i get one.
Ramfins59 Posted February 1, 2015 Author Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks again for the info Steve. Tom, I'd be interested in seeing what you would do to customize this already custom-looking car.
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