Week #78

Yea... I'm getting back into it.

With the rear panel still not welded back on, I spread a dab of filler on each spot where a weld was ground down and along the seam down the middle where the two floor halves meet. At each "spot weld" I used the eraser end of a new #2 pencil to put a little round mark in the filler to try to replicate an original spot weld. Hopefully some of the indentions would remain after sanding down the excess filler. Once dry it didn't take too long to sand the spots and the seam down to a decent finish. Unfortunately about half the fake spot weld mark went away. An online buddy suggested taking a punch with a flat circular end the same diameter as a typical spot weld and whacking a mark onto the metal for the same effect. Sounds good to me... I'll be trying it. As for the trunk floor, it will take a little putty here and there to smooth things out for that "not a replacement trunk" look.

Knowing it was close to time to re-install the couple of brackets inside the trunk, I dug them out of a box for bead blasting and evaluation. The trunk latch "bracket" at the back of the trunk just needs to be installed... the bracket that holds the bolt that hold the spare in place will need some repair as the bottom edge had rusted away about 3/4 of an inch up. This lower lip will need rebuilding. Both pieces were cleaned and coated for protection are Rae patiently waiting their turn.

On to the rear panel. I tried that POR15 paint stripper months ago and THOUGHT it worked pretty good... until the feedback I got told me it didn't compare to the good stuff... Aircraft stripper. Welp, bought a gallon and put it to use on the rear panel to be installed. I will say, this stuff works... not near as many applications to remove the paint down to the metal, although the original paint still put up a fight! After I was satisfied I couldn't get anymore paint off with the stripper, I broke out the sandblaster to get the rust and paint from the seams and edges. This panel was lookin' real good. Next I got to use an air tool that I picked up at C@C... one of those flanger/hole puncher things. Man what a breeze to put the holes around the edge required for welding. P-thunk... P-thunk... P-thunk... right around... had some 40+ holes in a couple of minutes! Beats the poop out of a drill! After playing with the alignment between the panel and the rear of the car I clamped it in place and made a few welds to secure it there. That's where I left it for that weekend... undoubtedly my most productive in months.