1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 (my first Alfa)

I do like mechanical redundancy, but I got a pretty good chuckle when I found out Alfa gave you a tool to manually roll the windows down (can anyone think of another vehicle with a similar tool?). I will say it came in dang handy when it came time to do my manual conversion.

So more sick kids and about 27 hours of O.T. this week has done a good job of keeping me out of the garage in the mornings, but today I was back at it (after an 11 hour day last night)

I decided I've spent enough time away from body work and thought I'd break out the 'ol sander this morning and go back at it. Unfortunately the world had other plans for me as it seems to be locked up solid. I got it to move a bit with some force, oil, and eventually wd40, but it was a short lived victory and I eventually gave up

With a start like that I really wanted some visual progress, so I chopped up the rest of the hoses I needed, and slapped the new hood on.

There is one hose I may have cut short, but I'll have to wait until I get that coolant tank fabbed up to know for sure.

The hood needs some final fitting and some adjustment of the latch, but I thought having it on would give me a bit of motivation.

Good times

Looking forward to my christmas vacation I was thinking I would have all sorts of time to work on the Alfa. Looking back, I didn't get squat done...

There was one day the eldest and I went out for a session, but it was just the usual: finding stuff under stuff, finding more bad/random wires, standing water in the floor pans.

(this purple foam stuff was under the carpet...)

(standing water)

wires, wires, and more wires! Will I ever stop finding random melted wires????!!!

Still good times though

Today it was back to work. Which means I'm back to my usual routine of waking up early before my shift to get things done. I decided I'm going to start the new year off right.

And by "right" I mean I'm going to quit with that sissy 40-grit on the dual action and step it up to an angle grinder with a knotted wire wheel

This is my "ARGH" face:

burn baby burn!

this is the 10-minute mark. I have to switch handle hands every once in a while because it's super cold in my unheated detached garage and the wind from the angle grinder is freezing my fingers off (even with gloves). I think the thermometer read 17deg this morning

I promise you this paint thickness would be measurable with a tire tread depth gauge... Keep in mind I already sanded off that hard candy shell of orange paint. Starting at bare metal I think it goes: sealer, primer grey, dark grey (original color), light yellow (and this stuff is thick!), orange (maybe red primer?), alfa red, orange again, and then alfa red. On top of this was primer and the hard candy shell

And there we are at the 30-minute mark

I should have done this a loooooong time ago.

Speaking of "should have dones", I should have found a different spot for my coffee cup:

Good times

I was going to ask if there was any danger of the wire wheel heating the metal too much, but you seem to have figured out a cooling system.

mazdeuce wrote: I was going to ask if there was any danger of the wire wheel heating the metal too much, but you seem to have figured out a cooling system.

I honestly wasn't sure if it was a concern or not (especially since my roof is already wobbly from aforementioned sunroof install) so I tired to keep the wheel moving as best i could. Given the weather, I'm betting it barely got "warm to the touch"

The daily progress

Today's grinding took a bit longer than yesterdays. I'm concerned the paint might be adapting to my new method of removal

The dust on the back window is starting to get peaks and valleys, I know it's hard to tell from the cell phone shot but I thought it was funny enough for a photo.

Good times

Nice work. If you're going to drink hot coffee in a cold garage while throwing debris into the air, might I suggest this. I got one for xmas this year and I forgot it in a ~35°F garage (outside was colder) for a 10 hour workday and it was still hot when I got home that night.

RossD wrote: Nice work. If you're going to drink hot coffee in a cold garage while throwing debris into the air, might I suggest this. I got one for xmas this year and I forgot it in a ~35°F garage (outside was colder) for a 10 hour workday and it was still hot when I got home that night.

Great minds think alike. I threw a clean rag over my costco "Contigo" sealing travel mug

Not that I think about it, the 10 or so minutes spent removing and re-dawning PPE every time I wanted a sip of coffee may have contributed to the extra time I spent grinding paint today (gloves, Ear defenders, hoodie, respirator, safety glasses, take a sip of coffee, glasses, respirator, hoodie, ear defenders, gloves...)

Last time I did this much removal, it took about an hour before I caved and duct taped a shop vac tube to the side of the grinder. Wow, that dust.

Hungary Bill wrote: Today's grinding took a bit longer than yesterdays. I'm concerned the paint might be adapting to my new method of removal

Knotted cup brushes like that cut really aggressively when new because the wire is still going in every-which direction. Expect the cutting to be a little slower now that the coarse wire ends are getting ground off in the direction the grinder turns.

If you were some kind of electrical engineer, I'd suggest you pick up a cheap grinder and reverse the direction it turns so you can swap the cup brush back and forth to maximize cutting power.

In reply to Mezzanine:

That's an idea I was chewing on yesterday...

With wire whips on my drill, I just reverse rotation every so often and it's like having a new whip. I figured this cup was in need of being worked in the opposite direction as well

So reversing the polarity of the motor to get it to spin in the opposite direction should be easy enough, but the part I was having trouble with was keeping the cup secured on the angle grinder (it's threaded on...). Right now the direction of rotation constantly tries to "tighten" the cup, if I reverse rotation it will try to loosen the cup. Unfortunately I dont think I have enough thread protrusion to add a lock nut on the beast

There HAS to be a way...

Maybe if I over torqued it a bit...?

RedGT wrote: Last time I did this much removal, it took about an hour before I caved and duct taped a shop vac tube to the side of the grinder. Wow, that dust.

Please tell me it was on your Alfa

In reply to Hungary Bill:

Locktite.

In reply to Dusterbd13:

I was thinking loctite might be enough. K.I.S.S. and all...

Just some Friday progress (I still haven't reversed directions as I'm still a bit hesitant to open up a new tool )

(starts on passenger side, ends on driver's side)

Good times

In other news, a dash flocking kit arrived at my doorstep!

More on that later

You mother flocker, you.

Hungary Bill wrote: In reply to Mezzanine: That's an idea I was chewing on yesterday... With wire whips on my drill, I just reverse rotation every so often and it's like having a new whip. I figured this cup was in need of being worked in the opposite direction as well So reversing the polarity of the motor to get it to spin in the opposite direction should be easy enough, but the part I was having trouble with was keeping the cup secured on the angle grinder (it's threaded on...). Right now the direction of rotation constantly tries to "tighten" the cup, if I reverse rotation it will try to loosen the cup. Unfortunately I dont think I have enough thread protrusion to add a lock nut on the beast There HAS to be a way... Maybe if I over torqued it a bit...?

First off, you use the cheap HF angle grinder for this sort of shenanigan. Second, a bit of locktite, some overtorquing, and then start the grinder with the head on the paint so it doesn't have a chance to over-rev.

Seriously though - the cup brush I have has a pretty deep-thread nut on it. I don't see why it can't be cut down to make room for a jam-nut.

I suspect we're splitting hairs though.

Mezzanine wrote: First off, you use the cheap HF angle grinder for this sort of shenanigan.

Very very good point sir

Daily progress (I work harder when I feel accountable to you guys)

Good times

The daily progress:

I need to start thinking of ways to catch those edges around the seals without damaging them. I have a couple electric hand sanders, but I'm worried it'd take nearly a century to get through that crap... I think some aircraft paint remover might be in order.

Good times.

Are you treating the bare metal with some phosphorus or anything to prevent flash rust?

Aircraft paint stripper does work well at softening up paint - you might apply and then use your cup brush lightly and see how it goes.

Pull the windows? Looks like a simple rubber seal, but I am no Italian car expert...

Mezzanine: Originally I planned on slapping a coat of epoxy primer on there right away. With the temperatures we've been seeing lately, I'm not sure the stuff would dry. Honestly, I haven't given much thought to a backup plan.

With the stripper (heh heh) I was thinking I'd apply, let sit for a minute, and see if I couldn't scrape it up. If I could get 90% of it I'd be a happy camper (and could probably sand from there)

Java: I was really hoping not to but haven't completely ruled out the idea (I've never removed a window before...). I may try taping over the seal to help keep it from getting damaged while I try a chemical means first.

good times

Bill,

Use a self etching primer. It will be a zinc chromate and works well as a shop coat and provides a good base for the rest of your finish work. It is available at NAPA or maybe your local Lowes or Home Depot in aerosol cans. Very convenient!

Don49 wrote: Bill, Use a self etching primer. It will be a zinc chromate and works well as a shop coat and provides a good base for the rest of your finish work. It is available at NAPA or maybe your local Lowes or Home Depot in aerosol cans. Very convenient!

I had about 5 cans of Martin Senour self etching primer left over from my 4-runner project that I was planning on using. I don't think it's going to be enough to cover the car though and I was debating on whether or not to buy a pint or two for use in my sprayer, or if I should just keep buying rattle cans...