Ok so I have the 81 on it's way back to me, should be tomorrow morning.  Have to get the exhaust done and make sure the trailing arms are shimmed properly before I bring it in for an alignment.  As long as I'm waiting for parts I wanted to spruce up the exterior.  Not going to repaint till next year, unless I get a job soon!!!  Anyway, my rocker moldings look to be flat black.  Should I be looking for a particular GM black? Lot's to do before I actually start painting this piece.  I'll be taking out the interior, touching up the floor and the like and putting in some insulation.  Gotta check the vacuum lines, with the new engine in I let my mechanic know I'd be placing them into the right areas. Thanks,

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

Dave,

I repainted my rocker panels a few years ago. I scuffed them up and started with self etching primer. I used a few coats of "Brite Touch" brand semi-gloss black spray paint and wet sanded them in between coats.

Thanks for the info Kevin.  The panels are nice and clean I'm tempted to temporarily put them back on the car they look so nice.  I'm afraid that in the long run I'll end up damaging them.  What grit did you use to scuff them up?  I've already been to a few hardware stores and your right about getting the right head, no luck.  I'm going to try Camaro Specialties they're pretty much just a short cruise.  Mybe I'll get lucky and get the seat belt bolts I need as well.

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

Dave, I sound like a broken record but I use a lot of Eastwoods restoration products. They sell a "camaro" trim black that is the same as on our window trims and rockers. Ask the crew at the camaro place they may have some in stock also.

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Dave,

I "eyed it up" as far as selecting the black paint for the rocker panels. EBO's info. is likely to be more certain.

As far as the sandpaper grit goes, I used 600 on the primer and 1200 on the paint. (3M brand wet/dry.)

Looks like I don't have to depend on my incredibly "paint by numbers" talant!!  Found a local guy who is going to powder coat them for $50.  The black might be off but I'm expecting to replace these pcs when I paint the car and at that price, heck it's probably cheaper than me buying supplies.

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.