|
|
1968 Chevrolet Camaro - Heavy MetalWant A Different Look For Your Rally Stripes? Then Check This Out. From the February, 2009 issue of Camaro Performers
|
|
You can never go wrong by putting iconic rally stripes on your Camaro. The only problem is everyone else has the same idea and it’s easy for your car to become lost in the crowd. When Bret Voelkel of Air Ride Technologies decided to build a killer first-gen Camaro−one to replace the one pilfered a year ago−he didn’t want it to blend into the scenery. Instead, he wanted the car to be emblazoned with unique touches to make it stand out from the rest. One of his ideas was to do something a wee bit different with the “same old, same old” rally stripes.
Last year, the crew at Precision Coachworks, a hot rod building company also owned by Bret, built a killer ’70 Chevelle as the Goodguy’s giveaway car which incorporated bare-metal stripes. The stripes were a hit on the Chevelle and with everyone who saw it in person, so he and the the crew at Precision decided to try them out on their new ’68 Camaro.
The most important step is starting with a good foundation. Since the stripes will be bare metal, there’s no way to hide bodywork or repairs. Also, of paramount importance, is to have the right tools and correct materials on hand. So, if you want to try something different on your Camaro, read along and see how Precision Coachworks nailed down a killer look that’s slightly off the beaten path.
 It may seem obvious, but for...  It may seem obvious, but for the absolute best results we recommend you start with the straightest car you can find. Ours is an extremely low mileage ‘68 Camaro with only a few minor dings. For the most part, it was a very nice car.  We don’t want to assume anything,...  We don’t want to assume anything, so we’re going to suggest you start by fitting up your panels and make a clear decision as to where you’ll be putting your stripes. Once this is done you can begin the PDR (paintless dent removal). If your car has a nice glossy finish you’re ready for the PDR. In our case we had to make the car shiny. Rather than wasting time rubbing out the paint, we went ahead and removed it. With DA in hand we started with 180 grit, got down to bare metal, and worked our way up to 600 grit. This gave us our glossy finish so we could start the PDR process.  Now that you’ve got the stripe...  Now that you’ve got the stripe area perfect with your PDR work you can focus your attention on the rest of the panel. A flawless finish around the stripe is equally as important as the stripe itself. We skim-coated the surrounding areas with body filler and worked it smooth just as you would on any other panel.  To ensure uniformity of color...  To ensure uniformity of color we’re now going to shoot etching primer on all the panels. You won’t need to prime the whole stripe area, but you will want to overlap the edge onto the stripe. When it’s set up go ahead and block everything and remember to sand the primer back slightly to the paint side of the stripes.
 The time has come to start...  The time has come to start working the bare metal stripe area. An absolute contaminant-free surface area is of the utmost importance for this next step. We’re now going to apply the first dose of DuPont “MetaLok”. This is the magic that keeps the bare metal from doing crazy things after the car is finished. Needless to say, this is a very critical step.
 After the “MetaLok” was applied...  After the “MetaLok” was applied to the entire panel (hood, trunk or whatever you’re putting your stripes on) we shot our sealer, waited the allotted time and block-sanded the panels with 400 grit.  Right now we have these perfect...  Right now we have these perfect panels that, for all intent and purpose, could be painted, but what fun would that be? Instead, we’re going to sand some texture into the area that will become our stripes. We started with 80-grit, then moved to 180, then 320, and believe it or not went back to 80, but this time the 80 was used to create the actual texture pattern in the metal.  The scratches (texture) are...  The scratches (texture) are yours to experiment with. We chose to use 80-grit, but you may choose 320 to get the look you want. We were meticulous about dragging our scratches straight and uniform. On your car you may want wavy lines or small circles. Like my art teacher always told us, “You’re the god of your canvas, no one can tell you what you see”.  To achieve the uniform lines...  To achieve the uniform lines we installed the panels to final finish alignment and carefully dragged the board with 80-grit until we were completely satisfied. No one part of this job is any harder than the regular old bodywork you’re already doing, there are just a few extra steps required.
|
|
|