Auto Restoration 101

The rocker panels have been fully welded on now. The body is getting stripped of the old blue paint so the body work can begin.

Here’s the left side rocker panel fully welded into place.

The finished right side rocker panel repair.

Stripping off the old layers of paint.

Stripping the old blue paint off with a razor blade.

With the metal work over it’s time to the start the body work, stripping, sanding, filling, etc.

Here’s another great product from Surf City Garage. It’s called the Shine On Package which consist of Nano Seal Protective Coat and Nano Shine Glaze. We tried these products out on a ‘69 Camaro that came back to our shop for some detail work prior to the Kansas City Goodguys Mid-Western Nationals. We were impressed with how easy the products are to use and also the results.

Here’s the directions for these products.

Directions for Step 1: (1) Wash car with Pacific Blue Wash & Wax. (2) Shake Nano-Seal well. (3) Use in the shade. Using a circular motion, apply to entire painted surface of car with microfiber applicator pad or folded towel. (4) Relax. For excellent sealing (90% of maximum), let sealer sit on surface for at least 20 minutes. But it’s worth the wait for 100% sealing, which takes 24 hours. (5) Remove with Step 2: Nano-Shine Glaze Coat.

Directions for Step 2: (1) Shake Nano-Shine vigorously before use (and often during use). (2) Use in the shade. Apply product to folded towel. Wipe onto surface of paint. (3) Continue applying and wiping until all Nano-Seal Protective Coat has been removed. (4) Lightly buff to a brilliant gloss.

Surf City Garage Shine On Package which contains Nano Sealer and Nano Glaze

We use these microfiber polishing cloths from Wal-Mart. They work great for detailing, polishing and waxing. They worked perfect for applying and removing the sealer and glaze.

The Nano Sealer is applied in a circular motion and allowed to dry a minimum of 20 minutes and 24 hours for best results.

The products are easy to use and the results were great. Masking tape would not even stick to the paint after these products were applied.

Surf City Garage products are available at NAPA, Advance Auto, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Pepboys. You can also visit Surf City Garage

To view the complete build up photos of this car visit Classic Body Works

After the welding was finished on the outer quarter panels, inside the trunk floor and the inner wheelhouses we had a few items to take care of before the body was unbolted from the chassis and installed on the rotisserie.

A rust repair patch was fabricated and welded in place on the right side lower quarter.

The windshield and dash were removed.

The body was lifted with a pair of “A” frames and the chassis was rolled out.

The body was then installed on the rotisserie. This made it a lot easier to finalize the welds on the underside floors and inside the wheel wells.

Here’s a few pictures of the dash partially assembled and installed in the car. The chrome plating around the small gauges is original. The speedometer bezel was plated as were all of the small rectangle nameplates. All of the gauges were disassembled and cleaned.