ok, i've got my malibu hardtop body, and im putting it on a frame from a '66 4door Sedan(which is in alot better shape). i want to media-blast the body, inside and out, before i paint it. theres no glass in it right now, and i've stipped out most of the interior and dash. should i blast it in pieces or should i assemble the car and then blast it as a whole. want to use glass bead for blasting. i'm planning on primering it the same day so it wont rust. should i leave it dissasembled and primer and paint it before i assemble the car? Also, i only really wanna primer it once, which primer should i use? i plan on it getting painted once its primered etc...
what kind of protection should i wear while blasting it?

ok, lets pretend im all done with that and im ready to get it painted.

I want to paint it Danube Blue or Tuxedo Black. My friend whos painting it for me says he gets most of his paint from DuPont, and i think i remember them having most of GM's old colors. Now should i do it as a single stage paint, or a base/clear coat job. I just want it to look dark and deep.

i plan on doing the interior black, with just the spray can stuff they have in the NPD catalog

now i wanted to get all my windows tinted, should i do this before or after i install the glass?
its all out right now and packaged.

now my bumpers really need to be rechromed. i dont care about them being original, would it just be cheaper to buy repros or should i take em to the chrome shop?

i'll prolly type more later but im tired and falling asleep...

Are the 4 door frames the same as the coupe frames?

:confused:

First off read the top post, its your health, protect yourself accordingly. As in face shield, respirator,long sleeves, etc. If you have any experience with blasting you will know the media goes everywhere ,so complete disassembly is in order, including dash etc. Getting it all out is harder than it sounds.
Next up primer, You will have to decide now type of topcoat for material compatibility thruout project. Also good advice is to stick with 1 brand thruout.
Do a search on re-crome bumpers, lots of folks say the repo's are nowhere the quality of origional.

If I am not mistaken, the four door frames are NOT the same as a h/t.

You have asked questions that would fill ten threads!

Let's start with do you plan on doing the media blasting or having it done? I see you are in the valley. You can get it plastic media blasted at Crown Chevrolet in Dublin for about $400.00. I wouldn't even think about doing it if you can have it done for only $400.00.

If it is the "average" 35 year old car it will need body work on darn near every square inch so forget about only priming once.

I have primed something like that just once and here is how it was done. I had it stripped at Crown, and by the way the striping is not like sand blasting which leaves the metal totally raw and ripe for rust. Anyway, I had it striped and then took it straight back to the shop and jumped on it. I did all the body work in a day or two and then etch primed the whole thing and urethane primed it (no sanding needed between the two). Then I blocked the urethane with 220, guide coated and sanded it with 400 and painted.

The other option is to etch prime and then epoxy. You can apply plastic filler over the epoxy and then after all body work is done urethane prime it.

Striping it all bolted together may not be the best way because you can't get so much of the jambs,but I think it is the safest way to avoid damaging panels :eek:

from everything i've heard 4door Sedan and HT frames are the same. the only ones thats were different were the elky/wagon/convert. i still have the HT's frame, but it isnt in the best condition and i dont want to have to move over the whole drivetrain suspension and brakes. there is no real need for body work on this car, no bondo or anything. i found it after it had been sitting for 14yrs.

what if i just got it chemically stripped, they sell about a gallon of this stuff, someone else reccomended this to me but it sounded messy, though im not sure how much messyier than blasting it would be.

or should i just DA sand the whole thing and deal with the interior some other way

If there isn't any need for any bodywork, it would be the first time I've seen it so could you please post a pic of this perfect 37 year old car, that's been sitting for 14 years :rolleyes: And if it's so nice, why the need to strip it inthe first place?

well, for one the paint and finish is faded. a little surface rust. also someone decided to use the interior as a storage for crap and trash etc...

but im not sure what body work you really expecting it to need? is it really that rare as to not have any dents? becuz it does, the whole driver side fender and grill are bent to hell, but i have a perfectly good front end from another car. basically from the firewall back its fine. minus the rotting trunk floors i already took out. just needs to be be taken down to metal and repainted. is that so odd?

I don't mean to throw a wrench in your transmission, but you havn't striped it yet! You don't know what you will find, unless you are certain it is original paint, there could be filler work all over it.

But it is possible, I have seen a few, it is just very rare.

Now, mind you, I am not talking smashed in bondo filled stuff. Little dings and creases, they will "pop" up once most cars are being prepared for painting. I mean really straight cars, they will still have little things ALL over them.

true true, i may find something when its down to bare metal, but there is almost no paint on it as it is and i cant seem to find any evidence of repairs. the guy i got it from was no genius, he backed into it with another car, but other than the front, it seems to be fine