L60-00511-The "El Bondo Patrol" rises from the ashes...

[moore_rb]

Hey, you know what? Those cheap $150 Harbor Freight garage-tents make pretty good spray booths.

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My best spray job of all time- only one minor, 3 inch run, which is in a spot that I can easily sand and buff it out.

It still has a lot of blemishes (and Bondo) on the body, but it looks a lot bette and straighter than it did when was green. I just eventually decided that I could continue sanding on this thing until my fingerprints were worn off, or I could just say "Screw it! - Let's spray this sucker!"

The underside, wheel wells and engine compartment are still the correct gray, but since this one is going to be a convertible, I went ahead and sprayed the tub to match the outside.

and even with 5 coats, I only used half the paint that I purchased, so I guess the 65 Hardtop is going to end up being blue, too,

I'm going to let the paint harden for another couple weeks (The Az summer sun will take care of business in that department), then I'll give it a quick wetsand, polish and wax, and then this baby is going back on the chassis for the last time...

[Esteban]

It looks so good! Nice job!

Hey, you know what? Those cheap $150 Harbor Freight garage-tents make pretty good spray booths.

My best spray job of all time- only one minor, 3 inch run, which is in a spot that I can easily sand and buff it out.

...

and even with 5 coats, I only used half the paint that I purchased, so I guess the 65 Hardtop is going to end up being blue, too, ...

Good tip on the tent. What paint are you using, both for the primer and the color itself?

[RiverPatrol]

That's got to be a good feeling to finally get that done.

[moore_rb]

What paint are you using, both for the primer and the color itself?

I used Nason 2-part Epoxy Primer, and good old fashioned industrial Valspar enamel, with valspar's enamel hardener and UV agent mixed in, and thinned it with a mixture of 50% Xylene, 50% VM&P Naptha. (18:6:1 ratio- paint:thinner:hardener)

The color is custom- I blended blue, gray, and black together until I came up with what I thought was a good approximation of the Blue that is on the Patrol in the 1966 Sales Brochure:

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[Edgar]

It looks great.

[moore_rb]

That's got to be a good feeling to finally get that done.

You better believe it... I HATE paint and body work. Hate it.

Loathe.

Abhor

Despise.

The dust, the fumes, the "3 hours of masking with 20 bucks worth of tape and paper, followed by 2 minutes of unmasking the next day with that same 20 bucks going into the trash can"

Blech.

[L60Boerne]

Great Job! Something is more rewarding, for me, than bringing something "past its prime" back to full strength. Well done.
Patrolling towards Lake City soon.
L60Boerne

[pdub]

Looks great. I guess you decided against the 2 greens you were thinking about.

[moore_rb]

Looks great. I guess you decided against the 2 greens you were thinking about.

This a different truck, Dude...

I'm restoring enough Nissan Patrols right now to open a mid-1960's Datsun dealership, so I can understand why you would get confused...


(but yes- I still haven't decided if my 62 will be green again, or some other color...Part of me wants to paint it a color that will contrast with the olive green color of the canvas top)

I got the paint buffed out, and FINALLY put the body back onto the chassis this past weekend.

Not a lot left to do with this one, except to start throwing parts at it, and make it go (and stop) Which will probably take me another year at the pace I'm moving...

I LOVE the stance... My homemade Frankenstein leaf springs set the ride height and the shackle angles right where I wanted them. I love it when something doesn't have to be re-worked...

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[RiverPatrol]

Looks awesome.