First Post - Here We GO!

[Hyrydr]

Received my complete kit a few weeks back, went thru all the inventory, built a body buck, transferred the body and removed all the sheet metal. Now ready to start the build process. The first thing that came to mind was the bare sheet metal. Question: Does anybody paint the sheet metal or do something more elaborate like Rhino coat to deaden some vibration? Is anything necessary other than cleaning as the manual suggests? Hyrydr

[Jazzman]

I chose to powder coat everything. Looks more finished to me. If you choose this route, do it all at once. Cheaper. Ask me how I know!! I put insulation mat on strategically. It really helps give the car a mor solid sound and feel

Lots of great ideas in the build threads. Check out several and you will have more opinions and ideas than you will need. It's your ride, customize it your way. Welcome to the insanity!!

[CraigS]

First: Welcome to the madness. Second: I don't want to be negative here but, the answer to your question would be very obvious if you looked around this and the other site for 30 minutes or so. There are several build threads going that will show a lot of the possibilities.

[chopthebass]

Welcome H,

There is tons of info on this Forum, quite often repeated, so you will find lots of answers.

I used Sharkhide. Clean aluminum first, then wipe on and it does a great job of protecting the aluminum from oxidizing. I don't think painting them would be a good idea, but powder coating looks great, although it depends on the colour. I have seen people do black panels and this really highlights the rivets, so you need to be extra careful to do a neat job, and get them spaced evenly. If I was powder coating I would go silver.

What is the planned spec for your build?

[mmklaxer]

Does anyone have photos of this option: clean, prime with zinc chromate etching primer, paint

I've heard it mentioned a few times but I'm wondering how it holds up over time. I agree powder coating looks great, but it can be comparatively expensive depending where you are

[2bking]

Hi and welcome to the forum. You are at the build stage where you have a good question and need to make some decisions for the entire build. Some of these decisions will lead to products that you will be interested in later. For instance your color scheme will determine how you finish the sheet metal and other parts. A lot of posts, including mine, have links in the signature line that direct you to a build thread where you can see how the decisions affect different areas of the build. Find a build that looks like what you have in mind and follow it. These kits are not perfect and there are a lot of ways to spend more money changing and modifying. The build manual is vague in some places so you will probably be seeking more advice later on. Digging through the build threads is a good way to become familiar with the kit problems and seeing the solutions others have used to adjust or fix the issues. Some problems are small and others are needing a fix like door latches and rear license plate mounting.

There are several products for insulating and sound deadening. Each have their good and bad points so it comes down to builders preference. The two classes are spray-on and peel and stick. Then there is a decision on which side of the panels to place it. Spend some time in the build threads and you will find the popular ones builders are using.

[2bking]

Does anyone have photos of this option: clean, prime with zinc chromate etching primer, paint

I've heard it mentioned a few times but I'm wondering how it holds up over time. I agree powder coating looks great, but it can be comparatively expensive depending where you are

Zinc chromate primer was the industry standard for finishing aluminum for many years but the powder coating technology has been the method preferred for a lot of companies and competes very well in prohibiting corrosion on aluminum. Some have quoted the cost of power coating from $200 to $800 for all the parts. Each builder decides what is reasonable for the durability and look they are wanting. If you want color on them, there are aluminum primers in rattle cans that work well and you can also paint them with rattle cans. Some builders don't use any finish so the aluminum will turn gray and look similar to the panels on the old cobra's. Others, like me, just sand the panels and apply a clear coat. You can polish the panels and apply a product like Sharkhide to keep them shinny for a few years.

[68GT500MAN]

Welcome to the forum. If you look at many of the builds (mine included) they use a product such as FatMat or Dynomat to accomplish what you are asking about.
Doug

[Al_C]

Hyrydr - I asked similar questions and chose to go with powder coating. (I should be getting the finished product back in a week or so...) Here's the thread where I got some really good input: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?19876-Aluminum-opinions

I agree with Jazzman - do it all at once if you can. Good luck with your build!