Ryan's Hennarot 318is (s54, slicktop conversion, MT2)

[Griffin0163]

Sub'd because you're a distant neighbor(up in DFW area). I'd love to have the courage to dive into projects like you did here.

What scared you the most about body work? I watch lots of videos, and I believe the idea is as little filler as you can. And prep work is where a paint job is make or break. Kudos to you!

[kid8]

I'm not sure if I should thank you or curse you for sending me that clist ad for the car... but it's been a fun journey. Thanks for the help.

I like to think that you're happy about this experience Can't wait to see it on the road again.

[ahrensNW]

Damn, excellent so far

[rjmcdermott81]

sorry if i missed it but how did you reinforce the inside of the roof?

I didn't add anything. There is still cross bracing under the roof skin just like on any car. From my reading, the sunroof cassette removal seems to be a pretty common thing because it saves a ton of weight.

[efficient]

sorry if i missed it but how did you reinforce the inside of the roof?

[Reichart12]

Wow that's a lot of good work. Something I want to do someday to mine once I get a real career job and garage. Looking forward to future updates.

[FredK]

whoa, this build is awesome!

[jeenyus]

Something special about seeing a new thread and seeing 3 pages of content within the first 2 days of posting it. Great work! Looks like a great project and I love that the kiddos are helping.

[zwill23]

Awesome!! Very impressed with all the work you've done, I'm excited to see it on the road!

[rjmcdermott81]

I'm so happy you finally made a build thread lol. Looking awesome, keep it up!

I'm not sure if I should thank you or curse you for sending me that clist ad for the car... but it's been a fun journey. Thanks for the help.

[kid8]

I'm so happy you finally made a build thread lol. Looking awesome, keep it up!

[rjmcdermott81]

Here is the car the next day after painting






After going through this, my take on car painting is:

1. It's going to take forever so you better love it.
2. Follow every instruction perfectly. It's science not art.

But, even with all that, I'm still a total novice so there is a ton of work wet sanding the clearcoat to flatten out the orange peel. But in the end...after a wetsand and buff it looks like a million bucks.

First test. Here is the fender before cut and buff


After (this isn't final - just a quick test)


Tons of wet sanding on the roof so I put my helpers to work




and man...check out that roof!

[rjmcdermott81]

Now to paint the body. I wanted to seal the entire thing with an epoxy sealer just for extra precaution and longevity.

Car taped and ready for sealer


Sealer coat done


I let the sealer cure for 1 day and then retaped the entire car (didn't want gray flecks to land on the red paint).


Had to sand a couple nibs


First coat of base


Base done


Action shot after laying down all the clear - notice the stack of air filters in the left corner I went through to keep all this paint from going out and pissing off the neighbors. Also, that is not the respirator I'm using while painting. I used a Hobby air 400 that supplies fresh air through a hose to a mask. Really great setup because you know 100% that you're breathing safe air. Respirators can't block out isocyanates.

[rjmcdermott81]

Time to start painting! At this point, all the body work is done, car has an body work done, epoxy primer, followed by 2k surfacer blocked with 400 grit.

As a first test I painted the inside of the trunk.


Entire trunk based


Edge cleared


Done

[rjmcdermott81]

Test fitting the mt2 rear bumper. I hate the fit...may try to do what Jordan did with his build. Or, I'll have to modify the tip.


Hours and hours of guide coat/blocking/more primer/blocking, repeat