Timmycharger's 68 Resto

[chargedup68]

Great work, mine has taken 15 years so far as well.  I still need to get mine painted and put back together though.
Thanks for taking the pictures and documenting the process and most of all taking the time to share it with us!

[timmycharger]

Excellent work my friend! 

I wonder why the slurry takes longer to dry on yours than it did on mine. Either I used thinner layers or the ABS/acetone mix was different. Heck Ive heard it can be different with certain pieces of ABS and types of acetone! Good news is that as soon as it's solid it'll be one with the grille.   

Using a file to level out the "weld" is probably going to give you the best result in the shortest amount of time, where you can use one that is. The rounded parts like the lower corners you can just do by hand with coarse paper until you get the overall shape, then switch to finer paper.

When you are sanding and you see that there won't be enough material to smooth it out, stop and mix up a slightly thicker slurry. Brush some clear acetone into any pits to fill to make the material sticky, and follow it with a dab of slurry. It should dry pretty quickly and you can then finish sand it. Kinda like using body filler.

Thanks Dino, not sure why the batch I made took longer to set up, I made another batch today and it was pretty much the same. I went back and did a few more spots that were covered with tape. By the time I get to it next week, it will be good to go. Thanks for the tips on how to finish it off, I have a good set of files and plenty of paper to work with.

This week I am hitting up the body supply shop to pick up some primer and paint for the grille. They carry a full supply of SEM products there in rattle can. 

Great work, mine has taken 15 years so far as well.  I still need to get mine painted and put back together though.
Thanks for taking the pictures and documenting the process and most of all taking the time to share it with us!

Thank you! I get so much information from this site, if I can help the next person then great!  Good luck on your build!

[68RT440]

Great work on the grille. I just did all of the repair work on my grille a couple months ago using the same method. I bought an old busted piece of a '68 grille on ebay and used that to mix with acetone. My mixture also took a good day or two to fully cure, but after a few days it was as solid as the rest of the grille...

[timmycharger]

Great work on the grille. I just did all of the repair work on my grille a couple months ago using the same method. I bought an old busted piece of a '68 grille on ebay and used that to mix with acetone. My mixture also took a good day or two to fully cure, but after a few days it was as solid as the rest of the grille...

Awesome! Thinking back, I probably could have done the same thing as I had an extra broken headlight bucket that I could have used pieces of plastic off of.  I took a peek at the spots yesterday after work and the areas are rock solid now.

[timmycharger]

I was able to file down and sand the repairs which came out pretty well. Some air bubble holes that I filled with more slurry, which dried very quickly.  I sanded it with 80 grit, then 180, then 220 finally with 600.  I primed it using the SEM spray high build primer 42013, hitting it with 3 coats.

I plan on masking off each fin in the grille and painting it SEM Satin Black color coat, but first, a coat of SEM 15253 Titanium Metallic Color Coat which I will let dry a week before masking with 3M fine line 3/32 tape.


The cracks are gone, the corner looks like it never was broken and all of the mounting bosses are repaired. I will start working on the doors and headlight surrounds as they need work.

[Dino]

I have some bad news...turns out this ABS/acetone slurry is not stable because today I noticed my grille had started to crack in several places.


















KIDDING!!!!   

Good work buddy, can't wait to see the results.

You can call me names now.   

[timmycharger]

Hahaha! Man you got me good, I saw this last night before I went to bed on my phone, saw it quickly and only saw half of your post until this morning when I went on my laptop! That would have sucked!!!!! Its all good man    




some shots of the grille painted silver

[Dino]

Holy cow! I didn't mean to give you a sleepless night! I was hoping it would only take you a second to notice the entire post.   

You did a great job there, the grille looks great.   

[timmycharger]

After a few hours of taping off the center section of the grille, I sprayed the SEM satin black color coat. I had to touch up a few small spots with a fine brush by spraying some in a cup.

I mocked up the grille to see the silver better.  Next week I will tape and paint the black on the corners, doors and surrounds.

[Dino]

Perfect! Almost there.   

[tan top]

nice job, looking good 

[timmycharger]

Thank you!

I have been picking away at the grill pieces over the last few weeks. I taped everything off which was a huge pain, then hit it with the satin black, then touched up any imperfections with a brush and some paint sprayed in the cap.

I assembled the grille using new hardware from Ebay, pretty nice kit. Everything went together pretty easily except for the aftermarket aluminum trim. I had to massage it a bit to fit right and squeeze the back so the hardware stayed in there and didn't pull out.  I ended up punting on my original trim since it was far more beat than I remembered and picked up a set from Tamraz (sp?) parts on ebay. Overall nice pieces.

Next is the vacuum pods, I tested them and they seem to function properly, I just need to clean them up along with the bars.

[timmycharger]

 

[timmycharger]

 

[timmycharger]

 

[timmycharger]

 

[68pplcharger]

Grille looks great, sucks taping that bad boy off doesn't it. 

[birdsandbees]

Hey Tim!! Can you come and do my 'Bee's front grill and rear light valance??? Looks like you have that taping down to an art... 

Looking GREAT!!! 

[timmycharger]

Thank you guys! Oh man, hats off to painters who do taping all the time. It certainly is a tedious job. I hope it's a long time before I do anything like that again  


I installed the pods and brackets and put in the grille. I ended up having to remove the dash frame to reach the screws for the doors. The pods cleaned up nice and still work. My 14 yr old daughter helped me with the front bumper, It's still loose until next weekend when I can mess with it again.

Next is the front valance lights..

[timmycharger]

 

[timmycharger]

 

[timmycharger]

 

[Dino]

    

It's not the easiest and most fun job in the world to get the grille looking like this, but it's worth it isn't it?

[Baldwinvette77]

Pretty 

[timmycharger]

   

It's not the easiest and most fun job in the world to get the grille looking like this, but it's worth it isn't it?

Oh heck ya!