Pics of Custom Rocker Panels & Late Night Primer session

[74-Roadster]

The beginning

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_5933_0068.jpg

Sculpting foam

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_5942_0077.jpg

Casting molds

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_5985_0126.jpg

Plugs and molds

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_5975_0038.jpg

[74-Roadster]

Bonding and blending in the parts

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_6075_0157.jpg
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_6070_0152.jpg

[74-Roadster]

Last night's final primer session . . .

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_6822_0615.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_6823_0616.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b127/74-Roadster/C5%20Rockers/IMG_6824_0617.jpg

[MeanGreen]

That looks awesome so far. Can't wait to see the final product with paint on 'er! Looks like it worked out really nice with the body lines.....looks like a factory option!
Jerry

[Len]

Nice work Roadster! Did you make the parts or purchase them? Either way it looks like you're doing a great job.

[e-tek]

Wow - you are obviously a painter by trade or have learned a lot from this board! A great session on how to best prep and mask a car for spraying!

They look very cool - can't wait to see it done and outside.

[Clarkey]

Looks great, nice job :)

[Roger J.]

I don't think I've ever seen expanding foam used to make stuff like that.. That's really cool!!.. Did you put something over the foam before laying the fiberglass on it?..

[74-Roadster]

Wow - you are obviously a painter by trade or have learned a lot from this board! A great session on how to best prep and mask a car for spraying!

They look very cool - can't wait to see it done and outside.

Actually I'm self taught. Trust me when I tell you I learned a lot 20 years ago when I was in college and did a lot of stuff wrong.

I learn 1/2 a dozen new things on each project I take on and yes, this board has been "EXTREMELY" helpful. I'd be happy to share the mistakes I've overcome on this project, but the list pretty long and I type via hunt-an-peck. :o


Nice work Roadster! Did you make the parts or purchase them? Either way it looks like you're doing a great job.

Thanks Len. That means a lot coming from you.

The rocker parts are home-made. Basically I made the plugs on the car using 4lb density 2 part foam. To keep them symmetric, I use cardboard profile pieces and just kept going back and forth. After the foam was shaped properly, I taped everything with blue painters tape, waxed it and then glassed everything with cheap poly resin and matt. Before I pulled the molds off, I made a stiffen ridges in both direction by taping foam core strips on the glass and then glass over/on them. After I pulled the molds, I let them sit in the sun for a day and then taped the inside of them with blue painters tape, waxed it up and then sprayed pva mold release. The parts were then laid up using epoxy resin and epoxy mat (sewn together with thread that melts via contact with epoxy resin - at least that's my understanding).

After I pulled the parts from the mold, I washed them with dawn dish soap and let them sit in the sun for a day. Before I could bond them to the car, I had to trim the edges so they fit just right. I used a dremel, jig saw and belt sander to shape the edges - VERY MESSY work. Then I sanded a valley into the factory rocker panel along the bond line. I used Lord Fusor 100EZ and strips of fiberglass cloth to bond them to the factory rocker. It took several iterations to get them bonded to the car. Then I sanded everything down and used more 100EZ to fill the remaining voids.

After I "thought" everything was flat and perfect, I sprayed 4 coats of HOK epoxy primer. I blocked them lightly and then applied 2 coats of HOK black sealcoat so I could drive the car and see if my design would eliminate the rocks hitting the front of my flares. After a 1300 mile roadtrip, no noticeable rock chips, but they were not perfect. So I blocked them again and of course a couple areas got me back into the bare glass. So then . . . I decided to pull the doors, all 4 fenders so I could paint the rocker and jambs all at once. And I decided to pull the nose and repaint the nose "while I'm at it".

Last week, I thought I was ready to block the panels with 400 and paint 'em. Nope. After I blocked them down again, I busted through the epoxy in several small areas and discovered the passenger side blend line was not as perfect as I thought. So I spent several hours using Rage filler over a 12" long area where my part blended into the rocker to get the line straight and crisp. A good bodyman could have fixed that issue in 1/2 the time it took me. :shhh:

And so, I finally primed them (for the 3rd time) and I'm ready to block, clean and paint. Now I just need a 70 deg day. Looks like I'll be taking off from work on Wednesday to paint.


I don't think I've ever seen expanding foam used to make stuff like that.. That's really cool!!.. Did you put something over the foam before laying the fiberglass on it?..

The foam was only used as a plug to cast molds. I used blue painter's tape over the foam and wax before I applied fiberglass.

[A66toy]

Very nice, keep up the good work. The only draw back is real Corvettes have steel bumpers.:)

[74-Roadster]

. . . The only draw back is real Corvettes have steel bumpers.:)

Now that hurts . . . my other Vette (waiting in the wings) is a 74, 1st year with no chrome bumpers for you guys who aren't vette crazy. ;)

[Iceman]

Now that hurts . . . my other Vette (waiting in the wings) is a 74, 1st year with no chrome bumpers for you guys who aren't vette crazy. ;)
Did you finish the paint on the rockers? Pics?

[A66toy]

If you haven't guessed by the name mine has steel bumpers.:D

[74-Roadster]

Did you finish the paint on the rockers? Pics?

Not yet. I'm setting up tonight and cleaning out garage AGAIN . . . Sure wish I had a dedicated paint booth, "Honey?" :red_heart

I'll wetsand the parts and should be spraying sealcoat by noon. And yes, I'll post pics. I plan to use my mini gun for sealer and base and then both the mini and gti plus guns when I spray the clear.

I did check with HOK and things should cure just fine as long as it's above 60 (it'll be 76 for a high in FTW, TX) and I use their fast, 65-75 deg reducer.

[74-Roadster]

If you haven't guessed by the name mine has steel bumpers.:D

I own a 2001 vert and a 74 vert. My two aren't worth your one if yours is a vert too. :proposeto

[Iceman]

Not yet. I'm setting up tonight and cleaning out garage AGAIN . . . Sure wish I had a dedicated paint booth, "Honey?" :red_heart

I'll wetsand the parts and should be spraying sealcoat by noon. And yes, I'll post pics. I plan to use my mini gun for sealer and base and then both the mini and gti plus guns when I spray the clear.

I did check with HOK and things should cure just fine as long as it's above 60 (it'll be 76 for a high in FTW, TX) and I use their fast, 65-75 deg reducer.
I love the HOK products and they have a great tech support. I know they recommend not painting below 70F, but I've done it down to about 60 as well, a little longer between coats. What color are you using? Looks black in the pics?

[A66toy]

What is a vert? Never heard that term before. Mine is a 66 roadster, numbers matching 327, 4 speed, and rear. Anything that I changed I can swap back, nothing permanent. And I drive it.:D

[auto5]

'63 coupe here. I thought they quit making Vettes after '67:scratchch ;) :D

[A66toy]

The new ones will run circles around us but when we take ours out the people come to look at the mid-years. The two most asked questions are what year is it, and do you want to sell it.:D

[Iceman]

What is a vert? Never heard that term before. .:D Short for convertible, as I have a 67 Vert, but its steel... and is a Camaro.:D

[74-Roadster]

I got everything painted, pics are in a new thread.

[wblynch]

Mine is a '63 Convertible. True Corvette enthusiasts know there were no Corvette roadsters after 1955 !! :)

[Len]

I got everything painted, pics are in a new thread.

Did you have much of a problem with dust. Sometimes spraying plastic can generate some static that attracts dust from across the street.

[A66toy]

I had to pull out the Black Book and look that up. I've been wrong for years, it is a convertible. Thanks for the info.:)

[Phil V]

A66Toy- Actually they quit making real corvettes in 1962 and didn't start again until the 1990's. I used to work in a shop that specialized in corvette restorations and I honestly never cared for any Vettes made after 1962. But I have to admit the last few years of Vettes ARE nice cars. The roll up headlight models and the following 2 generations of Corvettes never did anything for me (and I have driven them all, not owned but have driven them all). I realize the '63 split window is one of the most sought after but to each their own I guess.


74-Roadster - YOUR WORK IS IMPRESSIVE! That is a LOT of hard work using your brains and your hands to make those rocker ground effects by hand from scratch. NICE WORK!

[74-Roadster]

Did you have much of a problem with dust. Sometimes spraying plastic can generate some static that attracts dust from across the street.

Not sure if I understand the question. Are you referring to painting fiberglass? Or referring to the plastic I used to cover part of the car and walls?

Bottom line - I had no issues with dust during sealer or base. The couple flecks I had sanded out quickly and I spotted over the area without incident.

Now the clear, yes, I had some dust issues. More than I've had in the past but I expected such problems as my garage was far from clean and I did not unmask, clean the car and remask. I'm pretty confident that the dust flecks in the clear will sand and buff out fairly well. The jambs are, well, door jambs, so even though I want perfection, I'll settle for near-perfect in the jamb area. The rockers are low and any tiny flaw will go unnoticed to most if not all observers. Now the front fascia and headlight covers. If anything stands out that I can spot from 3', I'll probably sand it all flat with 800 or 1000 and reclear in better conditions with the car out of the garage.

[74-Roadster]

. . . 74-Roadster - YOUR WORK IS IMPRESSIVE! That is a LOT of hard work using your brains and your hands to make those rocker ground effects by hand from scratch. NICE WORK!

Thank you very kindly. I still have a lot to learn and I still find the "get it done" pressure we put on ourselves. Before I shot the finish coat, I really should have taken the time to cast new molds of my final product in the event, God forbid, they get damaged. I put ~7,500 miles on the car per year and will probably keep that pace up for another 12 months or more before she becomes a 1,500 mile per year garage queen.

On my next project, the rear fascia, rear clip mod, I plan on trying vacuum bagging during my molding process. I spend a lot of time opening tiny air voids in my home-made parts and filling them with fusor epoxy. With all the surface area involved in the flares I built 2 years ago, I proud to say I only missed one air void, or at least only one has become apparent after 18,000 miles. And it will get fixed during the next project.

[auto5]

I really should have taken the time to cast new molds of my final product in the event, God forbid, they get damaged.

Those are great rockers, you probably could have have licenced the design to Ecklers or Corvette America. If I had a C5, I'd buy them...

[A66toy]

Phil V --I wanted another 62 but to get a decent one I wasn't going to pay
80k. So I got my 66 when they cost a lot less then they do now. I still paid more for this then my first house. After 67 I didn't care for them. The newer ones are fantastic cars but I don't care for them. I like the older ones. But to each his own. I am seeing a lot of vette-rods with a newer suspension and the modern power plants in them, but I like the older carburetorated ones.
Hope that I didn't upset anyone with the "real Corvettes have steel bumpers" remark. I saw it on a t shirt at Carlisle PA. Vette show and thought it was great.:D