Customs The do-it-yourself lace paint job, 1958 Chevy

This is my first lace job ever, first paint job ever, and first proper body work ever. I have to say I'm quite pleased with how it came out. It really does help to plan this out before hand and all the prep work really does take the longest time of all requiring a boat load of patience. There were times when I got so frustrated I had to walk away. This roof had a big dent in it and I did my first hammer and dolly session on it and actually had a bit of a crown on it, which was on purpose. I bought a metal shrinking disk and it worked a treat, worth every penny. The results were not perfect but pretty damned close and I only had to use a skim coat of filler. The rest of the roof was sanded with one of those abrasive wheels that looks like a pot scrubber on the end of the drill and went to town. Then the whole roof was sprayed in rust converter; I have to say I was concerned about it but the paint had no reaction to the converter at all. Then I covered the roof in black primer and then gray primer and did a color sand of the roof. When we wet sanded I used sand paper on a section of pool noodle, much cheaper that the professional tool. The first color we layed down was metallic silver and then wet sanded that smooth. On top of that I did an outline of dark blue metallic, then a medium blue flake outline of where the lace would go. I used spray bombs for all of the painting, Rustoleum for everything but the flake which was Krylon. I sprayed the lace with Elmer's spray on adhesive, let it get just tacky and went for it. I used the dark blue to spray through the lace onto the silver, drank a beer and then gently pulled it off. I realize that the tools I used were ghetto, combined with no previous experience at all, it was a recipe for failure. But I reckon gumption got me through it, after all; what good are balls if you never use them?

Additionally, we drove the Biscayne from Houston to Denton (just north of Fort Worth) on a round trip of 600 miles to Pistons and Paint without a single hiccup from the 235. I attribute that to making sure it was topped off on fluids and such, but also a tip of the hat to Holley and their Economizer 1-bbl carbs from the ‘70s. I bought an NOS one and it has performed flawlessly. This car ran at highway speeds for essentially a five hour clip each time, what a great car. Thanks to the Chupacabras for putting on a great show.

 

Nice roof man ! X2 on the use your balls post !! Nice swing ! Looks like you pulled it off to me. Very cool.

 

Most people are worried about what kind of high priced paint to spray, and you used Rustoleum and Krylon for a metalflake and lace job! That is about the coolest I ever heard! My hats off to you!

 

Nice work.

 

Very nice!


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Looks good man!

 

Sweet job - the roof looks great!
That's what hot-rodding is all about - gumption and balls!

 

................................That's exactly what I thought. Do you plan to clear it and if so will you use spray bomb clear?

 

I am going to clear it with some of that gloss you can get at VatoZone and use my cheap old Devilbiss gun.

 

Looks damn good. I've been wanting to try a lace job but havent had the courage to do it. You just gave me that courage.....

 

Dude,that's pretty freaking sweet!!


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Go for it, it really is quite easy as far as the procedure goes; the hard part is patience.

 

SO RAD... GREaT JOB MAN

 

Looks good, get some real clear on it, check out southern polyurethanes.

 

That looks pretty damn good! Especially for using a rattle can. That's a nice alternative for those of us whose cars aren't quite ready for the $10k perfect paintjob.

 

Very nice!

 

Great job, thanks for sharing the pics with us.

 

You forgot to post what brand of beer! Don't you think that would make a difference?

 

As a matter of fact it was a St. Arnold's Brewery beer, Lawnmower, a local brew here in H-town. Beer is inspiring.

 

Looks great and I am really impress that you did it with rattle cans.

 

Nice work!


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That's what I like, a scientific approach .....!
Love your attitude, man.
Rock on!

 

It is a non-traditional method of time measurement.


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Man I luv stuff like this. Down home, laid back, budget approach, and great results. Somewhere in there is the spirit of hot rodding. Great job man, ya done good.

 

From your shots, I think it looks better than some pro jobs. The lace pattern always fades out,but with yours it's nice and crisp! The way it should be IMO.
Awesome! Now do the rest of the car a favor.

 

Great job on the lace! Here is a pic of the wife's buggy we did last spring

 

First for me also!

 

Nice stuff. I've got a plain white Galaxie that I've been telling my wife I'd like to do this to. And I already know how to count by beers so --

 

That looks great, that needs to be on a magazine cover! I was just thinking, make sure the paint says UV resistant on it. I had a candy apple job in the 70's that went yellow in less than a year, and the sun wasn't as hot then (smile)...

 

Looks good to me !
We did a similar low budget lace-job on my friend's Shoebox Ford (our first also) . Here are a couple crappy pics :