If you do take the back deck apart be careful and please take lots of pictures to share with us. My back deck is somewhat misaligned as well but I have heard that if done incorrectly there is a risk of breaking the glass and they are getting hard to find.



Thanks.

 

Lining up the deck lid isnt that bad. Its a mix of tightening down and using glass sealant. Line it up w the lift struts off. They push it back when closed. Also, there are companies that make nice lexan hatches, just in case. Ive had a bunch on/off and taken a part. They're pretty easy to deal with.

 

I have to be painting by spring before it gets too hot. It's warm enough now! Weird weather we're having.

Thank you!

Yes, I am very intimidated to take it apart. I will know for sure once I mock it up.

Does it come apart easily? I'm sure urethane sealant would be the best but I would imagine it would be a permanent assembly. Maybe it doesn't take a lot to secure it to the glass?

 

I got the hatch shot with primer-surfacer. Once it cures a little bit, I’ll flip it and start the underside. Only epoxy primer will be applied here.

I also started on the rear spoiler. I used my DA to strip the paint. Where the paint failed completely and left the SMC exposed to the elements, there are deep gouges where the UV rays ate into it. I’m filling that with Polyvance SMC Hardset Filler Epoxy. I have sanded that, and I shot a couple coats of epoxy. Next will be some primer-surfacer.

The rear bumper cover is now in work. I previously sanded all the deteriorated areas and now have filled them with Polyvance Flex Filler Epoxy. I expect to spend several hours on this as I have never bodyworked a urethane bumper. So far, it’s looking good.

 

it comes a part pretty easily. The sealant may or may not be an issue to get off. The hatches ive taken a part it was really brittle and just requited a little traction to separate. Yeah, black urethane sealant and some pre-placed strip calk(?) to seal it up. The nuts/bolts on the hatch don't need to be too tight. Just tight enough to keep things lined up. Setting it all up w the struts off and allowing the sealant to dry for a day or two is tue best way.

 

I appreciate you adding the links too. Those are products I have not tried (or even was aware of) and I'll try them out too.

 

Been bouncing between the bumper covers and the hatch. I stripped the paint on the underside of the deck lid and epoxied it. I then spent some time on the hinges.

Geez, they are really bad. I still can’t imagine how these hinges get so deformed. The forces applied to them over time must be substantial. After looking at them for a few seconds I decided that my plan to reuse them just wasn’t gonna happen. They are basically deformed in at least two planes. There’s the obvious bow away from the glass which causes the bending of the hinge pins perpendicular and parallel to the glass.






Even the holes are catty whampus!


Although the billet hinges that are available might last longer, I just don’t trust them. I bought a very straight set of first design hinges on eBay. I also saw many second design hinges, which has a more of an elongation of the hinge to glass holes, I decided against them, even though I could probably use the extra adjustment. I wonder why one can find so many straight hinges for sale when the deformation of them is so common.

There has also been discussion of the billet hinges possibly not conforming to the curve of the glass that might explain the sudden shattering of the glass. I placed a 6” straight edge along the glass on the exterior side, and both had a very slight curvature with one side curving more. I suppose if the billet hinges are stiffer, their flat surface might cause stress. The factory hinges probably bend to conform to the glass. Mine have a very slight curve to them. But then, you also have the long metal strips that go between the hinge and the glass and spread out the load somewhat. The bolt heads are probably the biggest pressure point on the glass.

I also had a large gap between the front edge of the glass and the body. I figured that was due to hinge pin wear, but mine have very little play. I’m thinking the deformed hinges are what gave me that gap. We’ll see how the new hinges do when I mock it up.

I also saw the video that member RedLeader289 posted. The guy removed and reinstalled the deck lid to get rid of the overhang. I hope I don’t have to do that. Since there was such a large front gap, I am hoping that reducing that with the new hinges will take care of my overhang.

 

I decided it was time to purchase the paint. I am using Nason BC/CC. For the sealer they recommend black. I decided not to use their clear because of my results on my first job using it for a black show car finish. The clear seemed to be soft and scratched easily. I am sure I mixed it correctly as I had to do a do-over on one of the fenders and it also was soft. I have been using “UreChem” paint on my last four projects and I can get a show car finish with a clear that seems a lot tougher. The only reason I am not using their base coat is because they couldn't mix code 27, medium dark royal blue metallic.

I bought a little extra so I can practice my technique. I have never shot metallic before so I very concerned about mottling and tiger stripes. I bought a better quality gun than my DevilBiss Finish Line guns. It’s an Exodus Luma III. It got good reviews from one of my favorite YouTube painters.

 

Back on the bumpers, I’m just about done filling in the cracked and deteriorated areas on the rear. I just finished stripping the front and removed material around the stress cracked areas. I guess I am getting lazy as I decided to only strip off the color down the primer. Compared to the rear, the front paint is in very good condition.


I noticed on a few places where I sanded through the primer, there was a red layer. It doesn’t look like any kind of primer I am familiar with. I wonder if it was previously painted red. I’m 100% sure that this is the original bumper.

 

Wow, your hinges are impressively warped. When I repainted my car i used my stock hinges. They weren't all bowed like yours but the actual hinge pivot had a good amount of play. I figured that was safer than a tight hinge. I figured there was a lower likelihood of shattering the glass that way. I did use new cap bolts in the glass though.

 

There is a LOT of force in just 4 points of contact, the two hinges and two lifts. I was rather surprised with the amount of effort it takes to open the hatch on our Fox-body Rustang, even though it has a fiberglass hatch. I can imagine a GM F-body is much worse because of all the additional glass there is there.

 

Worst I think I've ever seen.

 

Bumpers are still in progress…



I’m making decent progress on the rear. In addition to the damaged areas, I am also attempting to smooth out the low and high spots/waves. I think it will turn out pretty well. There is one area that’s noticeably high. I might try to apply some heat, without melting it which would basically trash it, and push it down a little. I touched on that subject very briefly a few months back about trying to raise the sunken panels on the nose.

The next step will be to prime it with Polyvance’s waterborne primer-surfacer. I’ll shoot a few coats so I can block it out somewhat. I know I won’t be able to get it straight as I could a steel panel but it will have to do. I’ll then apply the sealer right before the color coats.

I am not looking forward to repairing the front bumper. The FlexFiller isn’t the easiest to sand and there are a lot of hard-to-get areas. It’s like sanding JB Weld. I need to address the typical sunken areas on the nose. I am looking at a way to place a couple of plates underneath to help support them along with using the heat process. There are also low spots in the headlight buckets. There are only two supports at either end underneath. I will try to fabricate a bridge between the two.

 

In between fillings on the front bumper, I’m doing a little blocking on the body. Due to a little orange peal, I am starting with 320 grit to remove that. I will then start wet sanding with 600 and then 800 grit. Hopefully, I won’t burn through to the poly filler layer. I don’t water to soak into that.

 

I just got this message from Polyvance. I asked them what they though of applying heat to the sunken areas of a urethane bumper cover.

Larry,

Your bumpers may be able to be reshaped with a respectable amount of heat. I would use a Reddi-heater, IR lamps, or something similar, to heat the sagged area up until it is hot to the touch from the opposite side as the heat. It should be hot enough that it is uncomfortable to touch with a bare hand. (180 deg to 220 deg f). Push the part and hold it until it is stone cold. There will be some spring-back, so you should overshoot a fair amount to compensate for that. If this doesn't solve it, repeat the process but clamp a stiffener to the backside. After it’s cool, bond the stiffener in with some 3M urethane adhesive taking care it won't interfere with anything else that will go inside the bumper.

Once the shape is held as best as you can make it, then sand the outside of the bumper and build up the 2000 Flex Filler until you get the shape you're looking for. Only apply it in 1/8" layers to reduce internal stresses on the adhesive.

Sincerely,

Scott Bixler

Product Development Manager & Tech Support Guru

I’m thinking even if the first suggestion works, I would still cut some 1/8” aluminum sheet to glue in from underneath to help ensure they don’t sink again. Plus, using the plate would more evenly push out the areas so I could use as little filler as possible.

 

Just found this post and it's awesome! I finished restoring my dad's 86 Z last year. All stock with the original 300k 305 motor 5spd. My next project is to get the a/c working.

 

Very pretty. Is the first photo the factory color back in the day?

 

Still wet sanding. I decided to only go to 600 grit. I have been so obsessed with the possibility of scratches showing through with metallic I thought 800 would be best. I have now realized that 600 will be fine especially since I am using a sealer before the base.

The body is done, the hood, fenders and doors are next. I sanded through a few spots along some edges. No biggie, I’ll just turn down the spray gun and lightly blow in some reduced epoxy before I spray the sealer.

 

.

 

I’ve been waiting to finish the messy wet sanding of the body before I shoot the black epoxy on the belly. I pressure washed it to remove any dust, contaminants, etc., and dried it with a leaf blower and left it in the sun. From this point on, it will need to remain clean until it’s time for paint.

It’s too windy to paint today, so I will try tomorrow. In the meantime, I will be wet sanding the rest of the panels.

 

The weather cooperated today. The belly is now coated and protected in two coats of black epoxy primer.



I also made some decent progress on reshaping the nose. I tried the heat gun and it seemed to work, but once it cooled it tended to go back to its original shape. Apparently, it wasn’t getting hot enough. I was expecting some vapors or smoke as a tell-tale way to know I am getting too hot. That never happened.

I then risked using a propane torch, MAP gas actually, and that did the trick. When I started to overheat it, I could immediately see a change in the surface. I got it pretty close to the correct contour, within 1/8” or so. That 1/8” was low spots, so that’s good.

I then started on the backing plate underneath. I decide to go overboard and fabricated it to fit the entire nose section all the way out to the headlight buckets. I hammered and dollied it to get it to closely match the shape of the nose. I think it’s .close enough that the urethane will fill the gaps. I figured the bends at the ends would better hold it in place by putting the urethane in sheer instead of the entire piece in tension if it tries to separate from the nose.

In windshield applications, it is recommended to apply epoxy primer to the windshield frame pinch weld for maximum adhesion and strength. I shot a couple coats of epoxy to the plate to hopefully get the max adhesion too.

 

It’s been on and off lately doing the final wet sanding before paint. Fenders are done and I'm almost done with the hood.

Since I purchased the paint for the main body color, I thought I’d also figure out what silver to get for the ground effects and wheels. After some research I have concluded there is no consensus on what is correct, other than the wheels and ground effects are the same color.

I find the codes WA7448, WA8358 and WA8536 come up frequently. I cleaned up/sanded a wheel that’s been in storage for the last 35 years, but after cross-referencing these codes, the chip colors in the book are too dark in my opinion. So, we just started looking at other colors and found one that is just about perfect. I also cleaned up the underside of one of the door pieces and it also matches. The code is B8235. I decided to go with a BC/CC on this color too.

The only other color I still need to get is the satin black for the headlight areas. That will probably be a single stage. I do remember how well the factory transitioned the black into the blue. There was no paint line that I could feel. That's gonna be a challenge for me to get a soft but straight line.

 

To get that soft transition line from black to blue, you'll need to experiment with reverse masking. A very "crisp" reverse mask should produce good results.

 

I was thinking about using some of the soft masking products such as foam.

These guys have a few variations. It looks like will help immensely around corners.

https://www.jtape.com/en-us/product/...blending-tape/

 

Imho, that blending tape will create too much of a soft/fuzzy paint line.

Have you ever experimented with masking tape for a "reverse" mask? The sharpest line you can create will still have a soft edge.

 

I've done reverse masking before and, I agree, you can get some pretty crisp soft lines. I am concerned how well I can form the tape around corners.

Maybe I can practice using a spray bomb after the clear coat is completely cured. Just spray the edges. If I don't like it, it would be easy to remove. Once I get my technique down I could use the 2k product I want to use.

 

The flexible fine line tape should work well in the 1/2" width, I'd think.



Edit- The Amazon link is for the 3M tape.

 

Cool, I'll check it out at my paint store.

Thanks!

 

The car is now wet sanded in 600 grit except for the bumper covers. There are a few bare metal spots so I’ll just blow in a thin layer of epoxy primer on those areas.

The rear bumper cover’s bodywork is done. Even though the Flex Filler is a bit slow to sand it feathers out nicely. I got the surfaces pretty flat, considering it's flexible. I shot three coats of the Polyvance E-Z Sand Primer Surfacer. I’ll let that dry overnight and start wet sanding tomorrow. I did some preliminary bodywork on the nose earlier. That’s going to take a while to get ready for primer.

Next up is to seal all the seams and apply some Lizard Skin Sound Control inside the door skins and other strategic spots in the body. Lizard Skin is a pretty tough product. I am going to use it as an undercoating in the wheel wells and other areas that had it.

It’s still getting warmer fast here. I hope to have it painted by the end of April. I usually use medium reducer but with the temps getting up there I will probably have to go to a slow reducer. I’m going to need about 2 weeks to completely clean the shop and get the paint booth up and anything else that needs to be prepared for paint. As usual, I’m gonna be in a time crunch.

 

I just wanted to say I appreciate your updated posts with images and commentary. Nice attention to detail and quality craftsmanship!

When I was in High School in the early 80s, my first car was a 1970 Camaro Z28, well used and abused by 1982. I learned a lot restoring it.
I made many trips to the local Chevy dealership parts department. While there, Dad and I would look at the new inventory. I remember falling in love with the '82 Camaro and wanted
a Z28 badly. Unfortunately too expensive for a teenager and Dad wasn't buying me a new car!

FF 40 years later, I now have a 1987 IROC that needs a bit of TLC. Thankfully not too much as it only has 56k miles and is rust-free. Just the usual '40-year old car' problems.

Looking forward to your endeavors. Always loved the color combination you have!

 

Welcome to the club! It's nice that there are still low mileage, rust free Camaros out there.

Looking forward to your posts and photos.

 

The rear bumper cover is done. I started sanding dry with 180 grit to remove the orange peel then went dry with 320 and finally wet with 600. I burned through a few areas, so I just shot a thin layer of primer over those spots and lightly wet sanded with 600. I think it will turn out OK. There are a few slight wavy areas I can feel but I think they will be hard to spot.

Besides the mirrors and gas door, all that’s left is the front nose. I cut out two more pieces to go under the headlight buckets. Instead of simply bridging the bumper support structure underneath, I cut the plates to completely cover the lower sections. I will then glue those to the bumper too.

I glued in the main center support and have it clamped for an overnight cure. Previous to this I did a couple of test glues to each part to see how strong this adhesive is. Needless to say, I am impressed. I buried the head of a sheet metal screw in each mound. They were strong enough to hold the screw in place while I broke it off with vice grips. To remove the mounds I had to use a hammer and putty knife.

This adhesive, Norton Speedgrip, isn’t quite as flexible as regular windshield type urethane but sticks great. I might try an identical test with urethane for comparison. But, regardless, there’s no turning back. This plate is on for good. I believe I saw a mention of how heat could help remove it, but I’m afraid that would be too hot for the bumper.

I’ll reform the headlight buckets to get them flatter and glue on those plates. I’ll use urethane if my test proves to be better.

 

I like the sagging bumper fix! Looking forward to seeing some paint in everything.

 

Success! The center backing plate is holding. There’s no flexing these areas now, it’s very solid. The real test will be how long this repair lasts. It’s hard to see in the photo how flat it is now. But, a straight edge confirms it’s pretty flat.

There were a couple high spots, however. I placed a 2x4 on the underside of each high spot with some shims on the end of it and a smaller piece of wood on top of the high spot and used a C-clamp to squeeze them together and push the high spots down. I was concerned the adhesive might delaminate from the plate and nose while doing this. I can’t tell if it did or not. We’ll see if the plate holds its shape.



The headlight buckets look great too. I applied some heat to the wavy spots and clamped some ¾” plywood to the top and bottom while they cooled to get them as flat as possible before I glued on the plates. I didn’t try experimenting with using regular windshield urethane. I really feel good about this structural adhesive.






Now it’s a few days repairing the rest of it. It’s not gonna be fun…

 

I did a similar thing on my 83 T/A. not quite as much. i only needed a few braces but it was the same idea

 

Nice work. Creative solutions to the issues our aging cars face make me smile.

 

Yeah, mine was so bad IMO I figured I that I might as well go all out.

Thank you! I hope this helps others too.

 

I started sanding the nose but I decided to switch gears a little. I touched up all the bare metal areas on the body with some epoxy and then sealed the seams. I had 37 reference photos to guide me. I did a little extra sealing on the belly where the factory sealed it from interior side. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. I figure the water should be prevented from getting into the seams to begin with and not just keeping the water from entering the interior. Whether that observation is correct or not, it ain’t leaking!

 

I can't remember if you said what adhesive you used. Has the repair held up?

 

I Used J-B Weld BumperWeld. its a 2 part epoxy. so far it's fine but i have not driven the car yet. i also used it to fill some holes from a license plate bracket

 

The last few days have been spent getting a few things in order to convert one bay into a paint booth and practicing my metallic spray technique on my scrap hood. The Luma III gun is nice! The spray pattern compared to my old DeVilbiss Finish Line guns is waaay better. With about an 80% overlap, it went on very evenly. I thought I had it whipped. (I don’t know what everyone is talking about; getting stripes, runs, etc.)

But…

After shooting a coat of sealer with the Luma gun, I started with the base. On my first coat, my gun speed was a little too fast. It didn’t go on as wet as it should even though I was using a slow reducer. I wound up shooting two more coats. It looked really nice, however. No stripes at all and just a little mottling. The drop coat should have fixed this but it went on too dry. The finish turned out too coarse. I’ve been getting most of my advice on YouTube. One recommendation was to reduce the pressure, back up the distance and go slow. I did everything but reduce the pressure. Duh.

So, I will sand it down and try again. I’m really happy with my experience. I didn’t upload any photos as there isn’t much to see.

 

I got more FlexFiller in yesterday so I was able to get back on the nose. Just a few more low spots to take care of and I’ll be ready for some primer surfacer.

I shot the bare metal engine bay with black epoxy to prepare for the blue. Since I don’t have the booth up yet I need to paint outside but I need to wait until the front of the shop is in the shade. I didn’t get a chance today because I was working on the nose and it looks tomorrow is going to be too windy.

 

Well, I thought I was going to be done with the nose soon. I found some other areas that need attention. But, on top of that, I ran out of filler! It’ll be a few days when more comes in.

As expected, it’s too windy today to paint the engine bay. I have overcoat window of 5 days on the epoxy before it needs to be sanded, so that shouldn't be a problem.
I’ll find something else to get ready for the main event.

 

While I wait for the Flex Filler, I got started on clearing out one of the bays to get ready to put up the paint booth. The shop is a mess with all the sanding dust that’s accumulated. Now that it’s bare I can set up the exhaust fan in the door to suck out the dust. I use an air hose along with a leaf blower to blow out the nooks and crannies and then towards the fan.





While this temporary booth works great, it’s been getting more and more a pain to set it up. I’m glad I only paint every 2-3 years. This will be my fifth job since 2014. I keep telling myself it’s better than trying to find one to borrow or rent.