1955 Chevy 210 Auto Paint - Bodywork

Once the sanding begins, you will want to continue until you begin to see the high spots appear through the filler. If you sand too much, you will undercut the filler and will have to add more filler and re-sand. Take your time and use plenty of guide coat to monitor your progress.
Once the sanding begins, you will want to continue until you begin to see the high spots a
After many hours of sanding with 80-grit, the car was given a quick once-over with 150-grit paper to remove all of the deep scratches in the filler. Cleaned off and masked, the car was then sprayed with PPG's high-build polyester primer (MX-241). Before it left the booth the entire car was sprayed with a black guide coat to show off the high and low spots during block sanding.
After many hours of sanding with 80-grit, the car was given a quick once-over with 150-gri
Using 150-grit paper the car is block sanded. Here you can see that the door still has quite a bit of work to be done before it is finished. If it isn't perfect, you can re-prime and sand it again. Also, use plenty of guide coat, it is a great tool that lets you see the highs and lows easily.
Using 150-grit paper the car is block sanded. Here you can see that the door still has qui

In tight areas such as this, homemade tools are required to get the job done. Here Sean uses a wooden dowel that has been wrapped in 150-grit sandpaper to block-sand around the front wheel well.
In tight areas such as this, homemade tools are required to get the job done. Here Sean us
A great trick to see your progress is to spray or wipe a coat of PPG wax and grease remover (DX330) onto the primer. The DX330 gives the primer a shine as if it had a clear coat on it letting you see if there are any waves in the bodywork. When finished, dry the excess DX330 with clean paper towels. With the whole side of the car sprayed with DX320, Jon Byers and Sean look for any imperfections in the bodywork. Rocking side to side while looking at the reflections in the wet DX330 the highs and lows really jump out. If there is any more work to be done it can either be sanded out or re-primed and re-sanded. Once again, dry the excess DX330 with clean paper towels when finished.
A great trick to see your progress is to spray or wipe a coat of PPG wax and grease remove
Once Jon gave his "thumbs up" on the block sanding, the car was then disassembled and cleaned up for its final coats of PPG's DP-90 sealer and K-38 primer. This time around, the primer will be wet sanded with 400-grit sand paper. Moved back into the booth, the GT55 is masked off, and cleaned off with DX320 to remove any contaminants off of the surface of the primer. It is very important to keep the primer free from contaminates, silicone, and greasy fingerprints because it can hinder the adhesion of the paint.
Once Jon gave his "thumbs up" on the block sanding, the car was then disassembled and clea

Given a few days to cure, Alan and Shawn begin wet-sanding the car. This is the final stage before paint, so it is crucial to make sure that the bodywork is perfect or else the flaws will show in the final product.
Given a few days to cure, Alan and Shawn begin wet-sanding the car. This is the final stag
While Alan and Shawn worked on the body, I was wet sanding the trunk lid. Using DX330 again, I could see where I needed to focus my attention.
While Alan and Shawn worked on the body, I was wet sanding the trunk lid. Using DX330 agai
After spending many hours wet sanding and detailing the edges of the GT55 body it was cleaned off one more time, re-masked and sent to the paint booth. PPG's DP-90 epoxy primer was used as a sealer and given proper flash time. The car was then painted white using PPG's DBC basecoat (three coats) then masked off and then painted blue (three coats). Next the car was clear-coated with four coats of PPG's high quality DCU 2002 Concept Clear to give the color its shine and to protect it from the sun's harmful UV rays. While PPG recommends only 2 coats of clear, Byers does 4 coats so there is plenty of material laid down for the color sanding process.
After spending many hours wet sanding and detailing the edges of the GT55 body it was clea

While most cars are allowed to air cure for a couple of weeks so the solvents in the clear-coat can escape, we were in a serious time crunch. Thankfully PPG's Kent, Washington, training center let us use their bake booth and the car was heated up to 140 degrees so the paint could cure in a few hours instead of a few weeks.
While most cars are allowed to air cure for a couple of weeks so the solvents in the clear
The color sanding and polishing stages is all about detail and making the paint smooth as glass. Starting with 600-grit paper, the car is wet sanded to remove the orange peel and any imperfections out of the clear. 1000-grit sandpaper is then used to remove the 600-grit scratches, and finally 1500-grit paper is used to smooth everything out. Use plenty of water and put a few drops of carwash soap in there to help lubricate the paper as you sand. Polishing is a three-stage process that starts with a coarse compound with a wool pad followed by a medium compound with a foam pad and then a fine compound with a fine foam pad. Here, Alan uses a small buffer to get into the edge of the roof.
The color sanding and polishing stages is all about detail and making the paint smooth as
Assembling the car can be a very tedious, time-consuming process. You can never have enough eyes and you can't be too careful. Have plenty of soft, clean towels around to protect the new paint, and take your time. Since the quarter panels can't move, install and align the doors so the gaps are correct with the quarters. Then install and align the fenders to the doors and finally install and align the hood to the fenders.
Assembling the car can be a very tedious, time-consuming process. You can never have enoug