Family FJ Build : '76 40 Resto/Frame Off (a.k.a. the Japanese Baby Buggy) (1 Viewer)

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More buffed parts...and moving stalls to get the tub onto the rotisserie. First time it's seen sunshine since it drove into the shop in November.

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All seam-sealed, and some surfacer on...yet more blocksanding tomorrow after it gets an overnight cure.

Fender flares shaped up pretty good...there's a little fine tuning left, but I think they'll work out. It's just lightly clamped with one c-clamp in the photo, so it's sitting a touch low on the ends. It's the first time they've been cleaned up and all one color, so was just too curious to see how they'll look...should give just a touch of coverage for the 255s, and just a smidge of shape to the rear arches as well. It's just four bolts into the lip on each side as well, so always reversible.

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Looks awesome. Did you seam seal all the joint inside tub, like wheel well arches to back floor, mid and front floor to cross member Etc.? I am about to paint my tub and I was planning on doing all those joints as it will eliminate water between all those interior panels, but wanted thought on that from someone who is in the middle of it.
 
Looks awesome. Did you seam seal all the joint inside tub, like wheel well arches to back floor, mid and front floor to cross member Etc.? I am about to paint my tub and I was planning on doing all those joints as it will eliminate water between all those interior panels, but wanted thought on that from someone who is in the middle of it.
Indeed - sealed up all joints inside the tub from above, both for water intrusion, as well as just helping to keep things looking clean in the interior down the road. It should also help get rid of a few paint "edges" as well. I did all the joints/seams that made sense underneath as well - there's a few things that aren't really "sealable"...the rotisserie really helped there.

Slow process, but should be worth it. Ended using up just a smidge over two 10oz tubes overall, but that included the entire rig - tub, hardtop sides, doors, etc.

Also EDIT: wax and grease remover worked good as a solvent to clean up the seam sealer as you put it on...still takes off the residue, dries quickly, but not too harsh to bother the primer.

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your roto is a sweet setup. are your spraying white epoxy or hi build?
what are you doing for ventilation in that space?
did you seam seal all around the rear sill top and bottom?
what did you do in the inside braces, like mid bed, back bed and fender well braces, did you prime inside them with weldable primer as you did the work or spray down inside once you had the tub done?

Hope all the questions aren't too much, but I am at the same point with one of my tubs and trying to decide on primer and what exactly to seal, especially underneath where much of the rust starts.
 
No worries - that's what the forum is all about.

The roto is definitely handy...it's just a homebrew made from some scrap I-beam and box tubing, and a piece of sprinkler pipe I snagged from a dumpster. 🙃

I did catch the rear sill as well...I think the only bits I couldn't get there were around the rearbody mount brackets. If there was a pinch weld or a butt seam underneath, it got sealer basically. Tub was a 3/4 tub, so I could only get to where I could with the epoxy primer, but they did at least use a zinc'ish coated steel as well as etch primer in the "assembly" places. In theory, I could poke a few holes for access into the box section between the tub and floor pans, but it's all sealed up, so it should be ok.

Post #64 has the full list of paint materials...but essentially it's all
* epoxy primer
* then any bodywork/filler to smooth things out where needed
* then high build surfacer for block sanding and final smoothing
* then sealer, base, and clear.

I'm just doing the poor-man's paintbooth in the garage...clear everything out, clean up well, and I've got a few filtered fans to move air through the rear windows of the garage. I crack the garage doors with some filter fabric running along the bottom for the other side, gotta watch those darn bugs sneaking in...can see that in post 79:

I'm limited on room, so doing the work in smaller batches...but that also helps with the ventilation as the fans can catch up a bit better. I think the tub is batch number 5...with probably two more to go:
  • hood, hardtop sides, bib
  • front and rear doors, windshield
  • running boards and hinges/misc
  • front fenders and bezel
  • now the tub...
  • ...which leaves:
  • spare tire carrier and trans tunnel cover
  • and the fiberglass hardtop (a different white).
 
I have shot many cars back in the day, but I have never shot primer, then gone to a sealer and then topcoat. I have never shot a sealer between. I have always gone primer, block, then to topcoat. I see your results, looks fantastic. do you think the sealer make a huge difference or do you think it would be close to those same results with top over epoxy? I have seen many opinions, but have never done 3 steps like that myself. (4 if you include the clear, which I have sprayed clear, just no sealer)
 
I have shot many cars back in the day, but I have never shot primer, then gone to a sealer and then topcoat. I have never shot a sealer between. I have always gone primer, block, then to topcoat. I see your results, looks fantastic. do you think the sealer make a huge difference or do you think it would be close to those same results with top over epoxy? I have seen many opinions, but have never done 3 steps like that myself. (4 if you include the clear, which I have sprayed clear, just no sealer)
The running boards just went to base from the epoxy, but they didn't get any bodywork or surfacer since they were new, which is why they could skip that step.

The sealer just helps a bit to close up the surfacer, and its white color helps get an even base color with less coats - it's white like the epoxy, where the lightest color high build was a gray. It's also cheaper than base, so that's somewhat the play, but I'm sure you could skip if desired. The PPG base I used wasn't cheap either, so saving a coat there adds up there quickly. Somewhat depends on what color your shooting I suppose as well, as the sealer should be tintable.

I skipped the sealer when I fixed the rust and repainted my '98 Cummins Ram last year, but it was also a quicker/cheaper build.
 
Long afternoon, but it's got some color and shine on 'er again. Came out pretty good...interior picked up a few spots of not-smooth clear, but the exterior laid down nice and clean. If I did it again, I'd be tempted to tape off/wrap the exterior and shoot the interior clearcoat...then reverse it and shoot the exterior with the interior taped and wrapped. Keeping the clear happy for the interior and exterior together was a bit fiddly, at least in the garage-booth. I at least managed not to bump anything with me or the hose while shooting. 😆

It'll be nice to get it back on the chassis after it cures...time to start reassembly of the block and get it back in the chassis first, though. Once that's done and I've freed up some space in the shop, I'll shoot the hardtop...until then, the tub is holding down the rotisserie, and that'll be handy for working on the top methinks.

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Looking great @zerotreedelta! Regarding your comment above about the clear on the inside of the tub, I'm not sure of the temperature of your garage but a slower reducer or using a retarder in the clear would allow you more time to get all the edges of the tub and the clear to blend in with itself.
 
Good point...it did warm up a bit in the afternoon, so I was in the upper realm for the reducer. Garage was about 75-77, and the reducer I had is the 65-80 range.

My hat is off to the guys that painted these in the factory back in the day...there sure are a lot of nooks and crannies with the lack of an interior to cover things up.
 
Seadek is pretty unique for that application, especially with all the color combinations and styles available. I would have a hard time not doing a logo if I went that route.
 
A TEQ logo would be a nice touch. I know a local guy that does a lot of work with the stuff and it amazing at the almost endless configurations and surfaces finishes that can be achieved.
 
Indeed...seems like nice stuff to work with. Only real question is how well it would lay over the raised dimples in the floor - you more often see it on flat-flat surfaces.

The sheet width is just about perfect to fit between the rear inner fenders, though, which is pretty handy.
 
The stuff is pretty forgiving and has some stretch so it would probably stick and then you would see the all the ridges of the cargo area translated through the Seadek. Another option would be to get some strips of the material to place between the ridges in the cargo area for a sheet to sit flat between the fenders.
 
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