1969 AMX Wetsanding Videos - Nebraska Help in the Heartland Project

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1969 AMX Wetsanding Videos - Nebraska Help in the Heartland Project



1969 AMX - Wetsanded, Cut and Polished by Team Autogeek

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Here are all the videos shot from when Yancy and I were in Lincoln, Nebraska for the 1969 AMX Wetsanding, cutting and buffing project called, "Helping in the Heartland".

Gets some popcorn and a cold drink as these are a lot of fun to watch as well as educational...


1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 1 - 30 Minutes





Part 1: Summary

Wes introduces the story behind the AMC AMX and then shares the story behind the LS1 engine going into it. Then I introduce Ben VanEperen, the painter who we refer to as Ben #1.

Ben shares the process he used to paint the AMX. Next I introduce Ben #2 aka Wors on our forum. Then I introduce Paul aka Sailfish on our forum, Paul is a professional marine craft detailer. Next I introduce Bob Eilchelburg, the Presideint of Flex Tools North America.

After the introduction we do a "Test Spot" on the hood to dial-in and prove our sanding and buffing process to make sure it works and we're not going to run into any problems. This includes,


  • Hand sanding with #1000 3M Wet/Dry sandpaper - D.O.I. is explained after sanding with #1000
  • Hand sanding with #1500 3M Wet/Dry sandpaper
  • Machine sanding with 3M Trizact #3000 - This is called dampsanding.
  • Machine sanding with 3M Trizact #5000
  • Machine compound with Menzerna FG 400 with a Lake Country Wool Cutting Pad on a Flex PE14 Rotary Buffer
  • Machine polishing with the Flex 3401 with a Lake Country Hybrid Polising Pad and Menzerna SI 1500
  • Machine polishing with the Flex 3401 with a Lake Country Hybrid Finishing Pad with Menzerna SF 4000


After all of the above steps the crew inspects the results.


1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 2 - 15 minutes





1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 3 - 11 minutes





1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 4 - 11 minutes





1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 5 - 10 minutes





1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 6 - 11 minutes

Part 6: How to Wetsand, Cut & Buff Custom Paint - YouTube



1969 AMX - Wetsanding How To Video - Part 7 - 9 minutes





Nice work as is the norm for Yancy our videographer...



:dblthumb2:
 
I watched as the videos were live, it looked like a great time. Being a paint guy myself I understand the pride taken when you finish a job. I know exactly how Ben#1 must have felt when he heard someone else was going to "finish" his paint job. But after being on the forums for the short time I have been has made me realize that if anyone were gonna come help, I would want Mike and his crew. You guys do amazing work, and I have learned even more than I thought was possible from an online forum.

Thanks again, and Great Work!
 
ken tuep said:
I watched as the videos were live, it looked like a great time. Being a paint guy myself I understand the pride taken when you finish a job. I know exactly how Ben#1 must have felt when he heard someone else was going to "finish" his paint job.
Click to expand...

Yeah Ben #1 was a little hesitant and rightly so... he put a lot of time and work into getting the body panels and body shell perfect before spraying the paint and the last thing he wanted to do was see a mistake happen. The good news is never once did anyone make a mistake but that is in part because he did such a great job spraying plenty of clear.

Ben will be joining the forum so we can all look forward to having another professional painter onboard to ask answer painting questions.



ken tuep said:
But after being on the forums for the short time I have been has made me realize that if anyone were gonna come help, I would want Mike and his crew. You guys do amazing work, and I have learned even more than I thought was possible from an online forum.

Thanks again, and Great Work!
Click to expand...


Thanks for the kind words Ken. The key to doing any project like this all starts with the painter as you well know. Our job was to build on the platform he provided and to work carefully all the way through each of the steps.

We did all the work in 2 full days and a little bit of follow-up polishing on Sunday morning before we had to leave for our plane flight and while we worked hard we never rushed.


:)
 
Yancy has almost all the still shots on his computer and as soon as I can I'll get some from him and post to the forum. I didn't end up with a lot of still shots on my camera as I was busy with the project full steam ahead...

Here's a few though... These shots here are after we hand sanded twice and then machine sanded twice and then used rotary buffers to remove the sanding marks followed by using the Flex 3401 to machine polish to ensure zero holograms will be left in this dark as the blackest night paint job...


First Step: Hand Sand with 3M #1000 Grit

Second Step: Hand Sand with 3M #1500 Grit

Third Step: Machine Sand with #3000 Grit

Fourth Step: Machine Sand with #5000 Grit

Fifth Step: Machine Compound using a wool pad on a rotary buffer

Sixth Step: Machine Compound using a foam cutting pad on a rotary buffer

Seventh Step: Machine polishing using a foam pad on the Flex 3401


Here's the body shell all sanded flat...
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Here's the A-pillars all sanded flat...
1969_AMX_Project_009.jpg



Nice custom touch
If you look closely you'll see Ben filled in the fresh air grills by welding in steel to smooth out the front panel before the windshield...

1969_AMX_Project_010.jpg



The passenger side A-pillar sanded flat... note the drip rail along the roof across the door line has also been removed...

1969_AMX_Project_012.jpg



Passenger side all sanded flat. In this picture the lower rocker panel below the door opening had not been sanded yet but rest assured, we did sand it as well as every inch of the exterior.

1969_AMX_Project_013.jpg



Here's the hood after sanding, compounding and polishing...

1969_AMX_Project_014.jpg




Crisp, clear reflections with maximum D.O.I. or Distinction of Image

1969_AMX_Project_015.jpg



Here's the rear driver's side of the body shell after sanding, compounding and polishing...

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I took this shot right before we left on Sunday morning, the only panel not in the picture is the trunk lid.

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Reflection shot of Wes's banner and Ben's banner below it...

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This shot I flipped horizontal so you can read the words on the banners on the wall...

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This is cropped out of the original above...
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More Action Shots To Come!
We easily have probably close to a thousand pictures to share, most of them showing the guys sanding and buffing and they will really show you exactly what is involved in hand sanding, machine sanding and then using a rotary buffer to work every inch of paint up to the polishing step...

Stay tuned...


:dblthumb2:
 
SIMPLY WOW!!!!! I never knew you took these pics......

Proheader
 
Mike and the crew ! Fantastic job and for a great cause. You guys really put your heart in this and it shows. You all should be proud of yourselves and the outcome was outstanding. Yancy great video/photo work, top notch...
 
Mike did you get a shot of the AMX's door tag with the car build sequence numbers?

If so post it up so us AMC guys can decipher the numbers. This tag gives the Paint, Trim, Body etc. The body numbers tell which plant the car was built. Kenosha-Milwaukee (east or west plant) the Kenosha Lake Front plant or the Canadian plant and the date it rolled off the assembly line.

AMXTag.jpg


I nailed it to the the AMX when you posted the "teaser" shot of the floor pan the day before the live broadcast. I kept it to myself not wanting to spoil the contest. On hindsight with the way the contest was fumbled choosing the winner... I now regret keeping this info only to myself. I did PM another member with my positive match to the AMX's floor the night before the broadcast.

I've owned two of these rare muscle cars. My first one was a 1969 Big Bad Blue Javelin SST 4speed 390cid Go Package. The other a 1968 AMX Matador Red 390cid Auto Go Package.

After months of looking (1985) I found the AMX with pretty significant front end damage. I was able to locate a 1970 front end with the Ram Air hood plus all the ducts & air cleaner. I pulled out the radiator support then sprayed the whole car with PPG Deltron. Next was the interior, new red leather seats and carpet. So when I saw your floor pic... BAM I knew it was the AMX, as it had no recess for any rear passengers feet in the floor pan. :)

A fellow AMC guy kept offering me more and more wanting to buy it. I did come out ahead on the deal... but now I almost cry when I see one of these rare breeds, wishing I'd of kept her. I only have one photo of it, and you can clearly see the Ram Air hood instead of the dual wedge hood like the Heartland AMX has.

RedXray68AMX.jpg
 
RedXray said:
Mike did you get a shot of the AMX's door tag with the car build sequence numbers?

If so post it up so us AMC guys can decipher the numbers. This tag gives the Paint, Trim, Body etc. The body numbers tell which plant the car was built. Kenosha-Milwaukee (east or west plant) the Kenosha Lake Front plant or the Canadian plant and the date it rolled off the assembly line.
Click to expand...




I'll get one of the guys back at the shop to take a picture and post it...

They are busy assembling the car each day now...



:xyxthumbs:
 
Simply speechless!
Mike, any idea how much clear was laid down.
 
Here are a few shots that I think that you all will like.

The Reflection test before:
IMG-0845.jpg


The Reflection test close up (notice the slight orange peel in the line)
IMG-0845-cu.jpg


The Reflection test after:
IMG-0890.jpg


The Reflection test close up (notice the straight lines)
IMG-0890-cu.jpg



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looking back on this whole ordeal......so proud of all of you involved....

even a big thank you would not be enough......

Proheader
 
Proheader said:
looking back on this whole ordeal......so proud of all of you involved....

even a big thank you would not be enough......

Proheader
Click to expand...


It's more than enough Wes...


We all had a great time sanding and buffing out this 1969 AMX. I've seen the video Yancy is creating from our trip and it's turning out excellent.



:xyxthumbs:
 
Fantastic! I like the shot where Mike is really ''getting into'' the work. (inside the engine bay)
 
vet said:
Fantastic! I like the shot where Mike is really ''getting into'' the work. (inside the engine bay)
Click to expand...

That was fun... actually everyone was getting into it literally as we climbed inside, around and even under the body shell while sandin and buffing.

I'll try to get more pictures of the "process" up this week.



:xyxthumbs:
 
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