Week #118

More family stuff to do kept the time in the shop to a minimum again this weekend.  I even used the delivery of a washer and drier as an excuse to stay home on Monday in an effort to get something done.  I was able to get in a few hours on Monday afternoon.

With assembly in full swing, I have gone through a good portion of my back issues of Mopar Muscle Magazine looking for articles on correct restoration techniques and finishes.  I have collected a stack of issues covering all kinds of information that I intend on tapping into as the project goes along.  The first tip was the color and mix of a factory correct primer that I used under the car.  The next piece of inside info was for the blacked out area behind the grill.  A very extensive article on detailing the engine compartment of a concours quality '70 HEMI 'Cuda netted me gobs of tips and details.  According to the article Roger Gibson, one of the countries most sought after Mopar restorers, says he uses straight PPG DP-90 black epoxy primer for this area.  He claims it is an exact match and since it is a self etching paint, there is no need for and surface prep... aside from cleaning of course.

Since this was the same stuff that I mixed with PPG DP-40 to get the proper body primer color, I had some left.  I spent a good hour and a half taping up around the front of the car to insure no black, self etching over spray would find it's way to any other areas of the car.  I removed the latch panel in order to make the job a bit easier.  I planned on painting just about all visible surfaces facing forward.  I remember the fenders that I'm using were un-altered originals and they had black-out paint covering the entire headlight bucket areas.  Since this paint is not an exact thing I won't sweat it.

The painting went smoothly.  The masking came off way faster than it went on and the blackened area looked great.

After cleaning the gun and mixing cup I hunted around for another project.  I decided it was time for the front suspension parts to get some attention.  I'll get into that next time around.