1958buickforum.net

Its finally Spring. We had one of the wettest winters on record and also broke records in January during a bad cold spell.

Well, the original paint has been getting worse for years but I was able to hide the flaws with color wax and frequent polishing, thus making a good "20 footer" out of the car. Well, she has been sitting (I start her occasionally) since before the hurricane in Sept. 2008. The paint is now beyond hope of making presentable, so I'm going to start repainting this year.

Today, I began the prep work. Now, most people consider prep work to be things like removing trim, etc. In my case, I have to remove a car. The Buick has been blocked in by my '78 Lincoln for the past year. I thought the timing chain had slipped because last spring I couldn't get it to fire even though I was getting fire to the plugs and fuel through the carb. My friend came over and we repeated all the same steps I did last spring, except he held the choke closed and the car started. It ran badly and we pulled the carb. The previous owner had totally screwed up the carb - it is a wonder it ran for a year and a half before quitting right about the time Hurricane Ike hit. Fortunately, I had a spare engine and we took the carb off of it and now the Lincoln runs.


Now that the Buick isn't blocked in, I can back it out and start removing the trim. But wait....now the battery decided to quit. Is it too much to ask for a battery that is three years out of warranty to work?? Ha Ha. It worked the last time I started the car a couple of months ago. Anyway, none of the parts stores stock 3EE batteries, so I ordered one. It arrives Tuesday.

Below is a picture of the car - dust and surface rust. I will do a section at a time (roof, fender, trunk lid, etc.) until the car is painted. This will be a drawn out project because I work full time and I'm still finishing up a few hurricane related projects with the house. I will post pics as I go, but don't expect frequent updates.

it will take some time, but it will look great when youre finished!

are you planning on removing the panels (i.e., front fenders, hood & trunk) for paint, or will you be painting them on the vehicle?

I will be removing the panels. There is rust I need to get to. Nothing major, but if not dealt with it will become major. I will also be removing the doors. One has a small rust hole that i repaired with bondo several years ago. I want to weld metal in its place.

i really wish i had a welder (and knew how to weld )... i suppose i could get one and do lots of practicing on scrap. luckily my Buick doesnt need much body work. i does, however, need new front floor pans--the previous owner bondo'd some flat sheet metal on top of the rusted floor. classy!

Well, the Buick project is delayed. As I was working on the blue Lincoln parked behind it, I started paying attention the the white Lincoln convertible behind the blue one. It needs a new top and some critical work ASAP, so I'm going to do that first. On the bright side, it will be painted the same color as the Buick, so i can order all of the paint and primer for both cars at once. I'm going to try the paint from Eastwood. You can use it as a single stage paint or clear coat it. I'm thinking of putting several layers of clear coat on the Buick. Man, this car will be hard to look at in the direct sunlight when finished.


http://www.eastwood.com/ew-autofinish

http://www.eastwood.com/images/pdf/50250INST.pdf

i guess a benefit of having to paint the Lincoln first is you can see exactly how the paint turns out!

Yep. I figure it will be good practice. I haven't painted anything in 6 years so I need to re-learn the spraying technique.