58367 The $75 Junkyard Carrera coupe restoration

[roy mawbey]

Justin,

Some experience!! You did the right thing of course you for sure would not have lived with it after all that prep.

To prove that I know I am correct in saying that, the last time I sprayed my cars exterior in 1989 / 90 I hired a full 7 cfm compressor and spray gun to do the job in my garage. Single stage cellulose perfect match Meissen blue.

Final coat and I caught the spray hose on the front right wing. It made a mark. I left it so annoyed. All these years later after trying to cover it its still there!! I should have rubbed it down

So yours looks fabulous now!!

Roy

[JTR70]

Thanks Roy! Yes, all the blemishes that only "you" can see certainly stand out.
Could not agree more Don...

Thanks Jonesy, it got a little worse on Sunday.

Sunday Oct.11

I made it Rick's shop by 8:30 still sore all over from the heavy lift on Saturday. As I made the corner into the booth Rick's immediate response was that we had another problem. The front fender area that had the fish-eye now had a couple of large blisters. The thinner from that heavy flood coat did not evaporate quickly enough but instead soaked into my previous coats of DP40 from way back when and began lifting it. The area was just soft and loose now, I could take my nail and just drudge out a section at a time. I had to get all the damaged coating out so I switched to a razor blade. As peeled down to the stable layer it was still wet with thinner and as I pried it up it quickly dried. It was just a mess! Once got past all the solvent logged primer I had an area a little larger than the palm of your hand and about a MM or so of Step down which now included the shoulder right at the jamb which also established my hood gap. Just a mess. Fortunately there wasn't a lot of filler here just a several layers of primer but I lost my shape and elevation with the hood as this area like all the rest was shaped in with it in place. At that moment it wasn't an option because the hood was now finished and we only had this afternoon to get the rest of the car in clear before we lost our window to safely apply it with a good bond. Rick gets all sorts of product samples through his work and in a our desperation to resolve it that afternoon he brought out this dark grey spot epoxy. I knew nothing about it but by this time I wasn't feeling right about the entire job; I just wanted to quit, take my car back home and regroup. Rick wanted to keep pushing so I entertained it but was very skeptical about any good result coming from all this haste. He knows a lot about paint but I at least have learned that this stuff simply can't be slung on and rushed in hopes of a great result; that never happens, at least not in my world. He applied it and I went about working on the drivers door issues. About an hour after application he was blocking it down. He told me to come and look at and it appeared to be leveling out nice but in my gut I just felt it was fucked. I was going to make a comment about probable shrinkage issues but realized I needed to just relax and get things back into perspective. Me and this old shitcan car were invited guests into his world and not only were we taking up his space but also his time...his day-off time. I was paying him but certainly not anywhere near his market rate. So I decided to shut my mouth and go with it. At worst it will be a spot and blend repair down the road if it turns to shit. That was my plan right up to the point where he was finished blocking and wanted me to come check it out. It looked sanded smooth and solid but as he was explaining he rubbed his hand over the area and his finger went into it like play doe. I just started laughing, what else could you do? Unfortunately he wasn't laughing. Mind you he had spent a good couple of hours in it. I said I was very sorry to have caught him up into my vortex but all this product you applied has to come off I don't trust it. I need this area to be rebuilt in that heavy white builder primer he turned me onto. He was very understanding and agreed but he was still open to the possibility of getting it all painted by that evening. He was on mission to be done with it...that day!

So this is the area after recleaning and that Axalta builder primer applied with a guide coat fogged on. I felt really good about this repair but it needed to cure properly. The plan was to begin blocking after a couple of hours and then hopefully apply a coat of base. I still held no hope of that as that area is tough to shape smoothly especially trying to "free style" that edge without the hood there while you're at it.

It was about 5PM and we were waiting for the primer to kick so I could begin blocking it. One thing about this town is that the power goes off every so often. I walk into my shop a lot to find my clock blinking 12 as the power had stopped sometime the night before and its happened on several occasions while I'm working. Well as we waited on the primer the shop went dark. After about an hour of waiting and a lot of "fucks" and "shits" and "I can't believe this" We gave up and locked her up for the night. How's that for the Universe trying to tell you something?

So needless to say we lost our window to finish the body so it would all have to be reprepped and shot again. It was a crying shame as it was so pretty but at least the fender repair could cure properly in the coming week while I reprepped everything. That's next. Thanks for reading this very sad tale. Justin

[John Pierce]

WOW!! So sorry that it turned out so badly. Especially with all the time invested.

[bbspdstr]

Justin, my friend,

With all due respect.....please, please, please believe me when I say that anyone who is passionate about their car can care too much. Ya hafta just do it, like it's "only a car." Less crap goes wrong if things aren't rushed...and speaking for myself, some of us tend to rush our own cars more at the wrong time.

Over my 50 years of playing with these cars, the best paint results were from- A) not giving a shit, especially when I used to drink, or B- a customer changing their mind on a color they approved from a (big) sample I sprayed for them and painting the 356 twice..on their dime.

Too bad when it's our own dime..................

Been there, done that. The Aquamarine blue A has me over $7k down. It's owner only pays for ONE painting. Life goes on. "This too shall pass."

Loaded for alignment.

[356JAGER]

In my experience, perfection is an illusion and never truly 'perfect'. One manages to find a 'flaw' that no one else would notice and attempts to correct it, almost inevitably making it worse, and with each attempt exacerbating the flaw until it requires a complete redo in order to achieve the perfection that never truly exists. Even when one's version of 'perfection' is attained, entropy will see to it that it isn't for long. I find life much more enjoyable by accepting the patina that time, use and imperfection inevitably provides. It's what makes every entity unique.. Agree with Bruce that the best results in life usually occur when not worrying about them. Hang in there Justin, you'll eventually get it to the 'that's good enough'. Sometimes that moment comes when your head is sore enough from beating it on the wall.
Cheers,
Joel

[bbspdstr]

Just in: Bad is good! Speedster owners, take heart! 4-cam Coupe owners, too!!! The new 'Normal' is to not be Super! Loop-pile carpeted 356s are king! High end resto guys will need to adapt to doing Schlocksters instead of Speedsters! Read here:

http://www.sportscarmarket.com/blogs/alex-scm-staff/6600-is-the-age-of-the-original-beater-at-hand

A record paid for a pushrod Speedster? Justin, your paint for yer 4-cam Cou-pay will need more whale eyes for "patina"
Add flattening agent to the clear, then try to polish it....it's a sure way to replicate the aging process of paint (without waiting).

No costly re-chroming, no need for an expensive trimmer for interior work, no costly exhaust or engine rebuilding! My backlog just became easier to get through so I can finally retire! My A coupe gets easier to finish.....and the best part? No pride in the 356 is needed.

A WTF minute brought to you by......
-Bruce

[356JAGER]

Did Jerry Seinfeld buy it ? Think I'll go put a few more chips in the beast. A dollar for each one by the new standard..

[JTR70]

I hear you Bruce and agree that it is so very important to put this in its proper perspective as well; it is just an old car body when you boil right down to it. So true, when you care least is when things go the smoothest. Sorry to read that your a bit underwater on that S/R coupe build but man is that turning out pretty! The owner has to be pleased.
As for the record breaking patina speedster I was only half kidding a while back when I said I was about ready to go rat-rod with this car. I was really liking the warm glow and hue of that base silver all by itself.

Thanks Joel, no truer words written. My mentor years ago told me that all artists and/or craftsman never like their own work because they see every flaw that perhaps may or may not be there. I've always kept that with me and as I know perfection was never going to actually happen at least not with me, I was striving for a level that I can at least stand to look at on a daily basis. One thing I have noticed as well, when a paint job is new ALL the blemishes seem to loom large but as time passes and the job gets older those same flaws seem to melt or least not carry the significance they once did the night the paint was laid down. The final coat was set over 4 days ago I can tell you already that the little things are bothering me less and less.
Thanks again for all the great words of advice!
Justin

The week of Oct.12
Scrambling to get everything ready for the next try.

I gave this area an initial cut on Monday to open the primer to help ensure a thorough cure. By Tuesday afternoon I had it blocked back into shape and we had this area back in base color. A good heavy couple of coats of clear would go on next to give me enough material to block sand against the hood.

Hood was remounted with its seal and latched closed for a final shaping and blocking to ensure I had my lines back. By this time I had already decided (thanks to Bruce and Jack)that we would be painting the car as a whole.

Final shape leveling against the hood here.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it really wasn't far off from where it originally was as far as the elevation with the hood went.

It was very relieving to see this area coming back.

While I blocked the fender I also had to get the rest of the body rescuffed and the closing panels. Rick wanted to reshoot the car after work on Friday evening so needless to say I was under the gun again.

This is where I was at as of Wed. afternoon. I had a little more than a day and half to sand, remask, assemble and prep the booth.

Thursday I prepped the closing panels at my shop. Block sanding the clear back down here. The first cut to this finish was painful. The 600 grit I was using felt like 40grit on the first several passes.

We weren't reshooting everything. Careful back masking of all the closing panel jambs and substructure in process here. This really ate up the time, I think it took me a little over an hour to do each door. The paper and tape had to be tight so it didn't touch the wet jambs as he opened and closed the door during the shoot.


By mid Friday morning the car was staged with all closing panels mounted back-taped with just a few more loose ends to tie up.


Things like fixing the paper where I had to break in to remount the hood. All kinds of little shit that kept me running.

Just about ready for final wipe down here with Rick due at any minute.

Rick all suited up and ready to give it another go.

"We dive at five...No muff too tough" was the last thing I heard.
Here goes nothing!

[JTR70]

Friday Oct.16 at 11:30PM it was at long last all over with my dads old car was in its final coat of paint.





































A few hangers and dry spots here and there but nothing that won't polish out in the end. Save for that it could not have turned out any better. Rick made the suggestion between coats of clear that we could stop half way and block sand it one more time tomorrow to get it just a little bit better. I said, I really appreciated that offer but I AM DONE HERE my man; Lets just finish this damn thing up. The end result would have not been any better to justify all that extra work. Not to mention going home again in the knowledge that it still wasn't done. I just couldn't bare that mentally after the week I had. This car was finished and so was I.
The true test would be how it looked in direct sunlight; That next.
Thanks for looking! Justin

[Drew.s]

Justin. I feel your relief.
That is fantastic, now where's my rear deck lid?
ONLY JOKING !
Now the fun begins, well done.
Drew

[John Pierce]

Woot!! Simply beautiful. With all that mental anguish I'm surprised that you took the time to document it all in photos.

[merbesfield]

Long road. Looks stunning. Your dad is proud I am sure. I am most impressed with your degree of patience and stick to it attitude. You clearly busted your ass last week. What are you doing for a door mirror? Didn't see holes. Probably just hidden by back tape and paint.

[roy mawbey]

Fantastic Justin. Great photos.

Well done!!!

Roy

[bbspdstr]

Rick made the suggestion between coats of clear that we could stop half way and block sand it one more time tomorrow to get it just a little bit better..............

Think LA's "Junior".....a great painter's rep was made for doing just that (numerous times per car), but it's already not what Porsche did as they had no base/clear and got the finish smooth by baking the straight enamel. I try to duplicate that as best as I can in today's chemistry. (Smooth and shiny but not looking Kandy-Koated/dipped.)

Actually, I like the idea of the "rat rod" but you couldn't leave the metallic base uncovered, but flattener in the clear would work.

Too late now. That will be stellar when lightly sanded and buffed.

You have embarrassed me into really getting back into my own A Coupe. I am doing all the previous typical work over, the spot-welded overlaps of the usual rusted areas and fixing the areas that erupted since those were done. I bought the car as a 'driver' with the floor done and the work documented in pictures. I could not have done my own "floor job" for the price the guy wanted, I had the money from selling my Speedster (too soon, apparently) and didn't want to be 356-less for the first time in what's now been 50 years.....and I had a sunroof clip, now in... a la Golde's way. It will be an unoriginal conglomeration of C/SC mechanicals (racer-reject motor, late 741 and disc brakes) and the S/R, but the body panels are "numbers matching" and I've decided to paint it the original Stone gray and.... ......do the interior the original red.....or maybe green....I have time to decide that part.

You are way ahead of me and I am very happy for you to see the paint milestone reached with such dedication resulting in such a quality finish. Now, trim the corners off your sandpaper, make 'em rounded so you don't get a curl scratch........or hire a person who does just that, every day.....that's what I do now with a local I found through a referral (from Rick Mullin) who has 38 years of quality paint finishing experience. As careful as we in my shop are and as hard as we try and also have seminars with pros, we are not THEM.....as Clint said as Dirty Harry; "A man's got to know his limitations."

-Bruce

[Phil Planck]

If one were to look up "crisp gaps" there should be a picture of this car there. Wow, what a journey. But, beautiful result.