Knocking the Shine Off

The interior paint had 2 weeks to harden so this morning I began knocking the shine off of the gloss finish.  It started by scuffing the paint with a 3m pad and putting a coat of Valspar Clear Flat Finish on it.  Then after it dried for about 4 hours I scuffed and sanded with 320 grit to smooth it out before the final coat of clear.  I am quite pleased with the matte / suede it gave the interior.  I did a demo patch on the dash that will be covered by the dash pad to show the difference.

Alaina came out this afternoon and I put a paint roller in her hand and turned her loose on the door jams and A pillars.   Yea, she paints better than I do.

Note the part below the window has no glare.

The ugly is slowly going away

Put a second coat on the dash and upper cab parts after scuffing them with an abrasive pad today.  Went ahead and covered the rest of the interior floor and panels that won't be visible.  Alaina thought it was something that would make her happy and said "the ugly is slowly going away".

Wax on Wax Off

I spent most of the day sanding on the interior and most of it was overhead.  My shoulders wore out quick and Alaina helped me with the door jambs.  I put the first coat on the dash and upper cab.

Cleaning out the gutters

I was low on gas all day but kept moving when I got home.  Thinking that one thing should be accomplished, I started in on the gutter at the roof line.  The old was gone for the most part and what remained was like concrete.  The task seemed simple enough but getting the caulk where it needed to be was virtually impossible.   This sucked!

Tuesday night work

What the heck.  Why not come home and not watch TV and actually go outside and do something.  It's out of character with the rest of the populous but it is a great way to feel like you accomplished something.  I put a second coat on the cowl and sanded down the gas fill neck hole.  Keep in mind I am still trying to figure out what works for the paint.

No task too Titanic!

After reviewing the previous nights experiment with the paint, I finally made a decision.  It ain't the right color.  So I packed up my paint went back to Lowes and found that Christina (the person who originally mixed it) was there.  I told her it was too yellow and she could see what I was talking about.  She remixed the paint and I headed back home and applied paint in a few test spots.  My favorite in-laws show up and after lunch and day at the Titanic exhibit, I was able to inspect the new color.  Wholly Guacamole!  It is almost a perfect match.  

It was too windy to spray and I am never in the mood to do a lot of masking so  I tried a roller on a spot on the cowling.  It look as if I sprayed it, so yes, I did paint part of my truck with a roller.  The beauty of it was that it only took a few minutes.  I might just do the rest of it too!

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"Cool" Monday

I was running all over town today.  Went to see a customer and they are in an area from my former life.  So I just rolled with the route tha takes me more time and I pass a new sign.  "Cooling the Classics" it says.  Long story short is that after finding out this was going to be a new location for a after market air conditioning company for classic cars, I drove down the street to find Cold Air Products.  They make a "plug and play" A/C unit with a heater  for a F100!  Right here in fort Worth!

23 racks of ribs

Had to go to Irving today to judge a BBQ Cook Off at the Knights of Columbus Hall.  There were 23 racks of ribs I had to taste and I did get pretty full.  While I was there I saw a really nice '67 chevy short bed with an awesome seat cover.  He said he got it at Southwest Classics in Arlington so afterwards Doug and I drove over to the store.  They had a new glove box for my truck so I picked it up.  They had a sample seat and this is probably what I will go with.

When I got home Alaina and I spent the evening sanding and chalking the cowl and interior.

Bolt removal and clean up.

The main project was to get the wiper pivot bolt out tonight.  After a suggestion from www.fordification.com  I welded a nut to the stub of the broken bolt and it came right out.  The rest of the night Alaina and I spend sanding and prepping for paint.  I also tried some of the paint I had mixed at Lowes using Valspar Anti Rust Armor as a based.  The same stuff that I used on the frame.

Nut welded in place

Nut removed

The little b^$#&@!* that caused the grief 

The day ended with a snap.

Today I made some cab mount nuts out of some turn buckle nuts and a washer welded to it.  This didn't take very long so I decided to make a box to sit on the frame to hold all of the crap coming out of the cab.  Using the board from the cab dolly and a piece of plywood it only took a few minutes.  Good thing I did because space is running low and I filled the box up.

So the wiring wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  Removed all the knobs, wiring, and heater core from under the dash.  The last damn thing to get out was the wiper pivots.  The gaskets behind them need to be replaced or they will leak and rust the floor out.  I don't want to do that again.  

Apparently the one on the passenger side had been leaking.  The bolt on the bottom had rusted through and it snapped off when I tried to get it out.  Then I found that the whole area around it was rusted out.  A drill doesn't fit in there and you can't get to it from the outside.  So I have a week to figure out how to fix it.

Front mount

Rear Mount

All of this was under the dash.

The stubborn bolt.