I've got about 40 hours into sanding, buffing, and assembly.
Painting & bodywork has to be the most labor intensive thing I have ever done.
Have all the sanding & buffing done except for the gill panels.
Started out sanding the hood and all the horizontal surfaces with 1000 grit, because they had the most orange peel.
Then sanded everything with 2000 grit.
Started the buffing with the 3M 05973 and the Orange foam pad, but it was cutting to slow, so the paint store gave me a quart of coarser 3M 06031 which cut a lot faster.
He said I should have been using a wool pad for the course cutting, but I was so afraid of burning through the clearcoat, I don't mind the slower cutting with the Orange pad.
Followed that with the Orange pad and the 3M 05973 and then a final cleanup with the White pad and the 3M 06068.
I found out that most of the work was done after the first step (with the 06031) and I could probably have gone right to the 06068, but I had the stuff anyway.
Also figured out that if the sanding scratches aren't out after the course buffing, going on to the finer grits is a waste of time.
Had to go back and redo a lot of the panels a few times, till I figured that out.
Going to close up that hood gap, left it large (for now) so I wouldn't chip the door.
Assembling from the back to the front, hopefully for the last time.
Couldn't bring myself to putting the old door weather stripping back on, so another $140 bucks for a new set and the window felts.
Going to final align the hood, and start putting the front back together.
Then sit done at the workbench and get after these runs on the gill panel (marked with pen).
I'm hoping to not have to spray it again, so I'm going to take it very slow.
It's no show car and I can see places I could have done better, but I'm happy with the way it's coming out.
Maybe I'll get to drive this thing this summer afterall.