Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

[Joe M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Richard, try PM now. I cleaned out inbox.

[Donald H.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Joe, did you take a judging hit at the regional meet for the missing eyebrow? If so, do you recall the amount?

Since you raised this thread I now realize the eyebrow is also missing on my 1960. It was missing when I got it because I stripped and lightly sanded the trunk lid myself and did so minor patching. I just got my car back from paint a couple of months ago, so I'm not to keen on having to do more body/paint work. I've talked to my body/paint guy and he can replicate the eyebrow and blend the paint, but I'm not sure I want to unless it's a big deal during judging.

Thanks,

Don

[Tom D.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Here is a photo of my 1960, painted only one time. The body guy was told to leave it alone, and I am looking for a possible photo taken BEFORE the paint. I could not detect any change from before the body prep.

[Joe M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Donald, sorry it took so long to answer your question. I could not find a deduction for no eyebrow, but only the underside of the trunk appears to be judged. I spent about 3 hours making a test eyebrow last night and it came out good and spent another 4-5 hours today making the real eyebrow on the trunk. I made the mistake of using Bondo Glass and it flaked off as I sanded down the rough eyebrow; won't ever use it again for any purpose. I mixed up resin with chopped up fiberglass and applied it over what was left of the Bondo Glass eyebrow and started the sanding process again. It turned out good, not great, but good. Once it is painted, it should be fine.

Painting the trunk is the next project and I have never used a paint gun, but I own an inexpensive one. I am going to shoot lacquer instead of urethane as lacquer is more forgiving. I assume matching the Ermine White from 1979 paint job to a can of new Ermine White will be a challenge. I am going to remove the gas filler door and take it to English Color for a better match.

[Joe M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

The first photo is the eyebrow on Rob Musquetier's 1960. The other photos show the stage of reconstruction I have reached. I need to reduce the height on mine. I can see numerous air bubbles just under the surface that I will expose when I sand the eyebrow down further. Then I will have to fill the holes and sand again. More work to do.

[Richard M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Joe,

You're doing a good job......It's trial and error to get it right. The resin/mat is the only way to go. It has to be strong. Hard to sand but it's best. Looks like you're getting there.

But one thing I see is the hole for the lock assembly is not shaped properly. Now I see why they built up from the back. Maybe someone popped the lock a long time ago. It looks like they tried to reshape the hole after that. You may want to reshape the area around the hole with little strips of mat/resin. This will rebuild the circle better and fill in those other big notches. You can get sloppy there, just use your Dremel to carefully reshape the correct diameter hole. But use the lock and keep test fitting to gauge it. Again trial & error. Note the locating notch in the ~7 o'clock position for the lock. This must be accurate so that the lock assy doesn't turn when you turn the key. See the pics in my #4 post above again.

Rich

[Joe M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Rich, I am hesitant to reduce the height of the eyebrow at this point because I hate to expose the bubbles that I see just under the existing surface. Once exposed, more resin and more sanding, but more opportunity to fine tune the shape. By looking at the shape now, do you think it is protrudes too much?

The hole looks bad, a typical bubba out of sight-out of mind thing. If I build up the front side too much, the retainer will be difficult to install, but one thin layer of strips should not be a problem. I can always sand the back side more since it is still thick.

[Richard M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Joe,

It looks a tad bit too high. You can use a little glazing putty to fill in any tiny holes if they show up. Just dab with a little acetone to get any dust out. Or you could just dab in a little resin in the holes. I've done that before too.

The shape looks okay. Maybe a touch rounder under the lip at the 10 to 11 o'clock position based on you photo.

Yes, you don't want the hole surround area too thick, but after you build it up for strength, you could Dremel it down with a small diameter flat disk. Shape it slowly and keep test fitting.

It's amazing how much time the little details take! You're doing fine.

Rich

[Joe M.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

I almost have the final eyebrow completed. I thought it was until I look at the attached photos and now I see that there is a couple of rough spots that need attention. If the photo wasn't taken on macro setting, and viewed from a few feet back, it would probably look just fine.

The first photo is where I started with Bondo Glass (bad idea, wrong product) and the other two are the current stage of completion.

[John H.]

Re: Eyebrow over trunk lock - 1960

Here are a couple of photos from my files of the trunk lock ridge on a '57.


TrunkRidge57_1.jpgTrunkRidge57_2.jpg