[bobs409]

I’m still playing catch up with this build. All of this happened quite some time ago…

Ok, its test fit of the top rails now in photo #1 & #2. Looking pretty good! I decided to plug weld these on from the outside rather than trying to weld up behind the back sides as they were originally. A few holes drilled in the outer edge will accomplish that.

Shown in photo #3 are the original aluminum I.D. tags from the wrecker upright and controls. As you can see, they are in terrible condition so until I come up with a way to restore them, I’ll leave them off. Ideas gladly accepted!

Photo #4 & #5 shows the new top rails welded on and the body work started. Here I’m skim coating the panels to remove any defects. I use Rage Gold for any known low areas and then Icing for the final skim coat on the full panel. It may look bad but this is the ONLY way to get laser straight panels. This is how the pro’s do the high end builds so if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

Once the panels are skimmed and blocked out using 80 grit sand paper, then I go up to 180 grit. Two to three coats of a 2K urethane high build primer will be applied next and then a black guide coat fogged on. (actually I use cheap Walmart flat black paint, it works exactly the same and A LOT cheaper!) It will then be blocked out with 320 and any “lows” fixed with Icing. Another hit of high build after that and then blocked out from 320 to 400 and up to 600 just prior to paint. It’s a process but the end result will make it all worth it.