Full repaint steps - Need advice

[jgkurz 52]

Hi all,

I am in the process of a full repaint. My 1969 Mach 1 has all body parts and glass removed. My painter wants to paint the jams, corners, and crevices then install the doors, fenders, and extensions before the full body is painted. He claims this will ensure the whole car has exactly the same paint pressure, spray angle, and consistency. I trust him and this makes sense to me but it's a bit more inconvenient. I was planning on him painting the parts separately so I could do final assembly in my own shop. 

Questions:

1) Do you think the car will look better if the final spray is done after assembly or could we spray body parts separately with the same result?

2) We are shooting 2-stage PPG. How many coats of clear do you think we should apply? I was thinking four. 

 

Thank you,

John

 

 

 

[barnett468 418]

paint it assembled.

if he does know how many coats of clear to put on, find another painter. you must use what ppg says otherwise there may be problems with it. the new crap paint is not like the old good paint where you could put on 10 coats of clear if you wanted. also ppg solvent base paint has the best look by far especially if it is a metallic. water base paint looks like crap from an angle.

hopefully all your panels were lined up properly before disassembly. also, the front corners of the hoods on these cars often do not line up properly with the headlight doors and need to be worked so they do if you want them to line up.

also, the repo hood lip molding does not fit. you should use an original. i have a decent one if you need.

 

 

[1969_Mach1 333]

Paint the car with all body panels assembled with the exception of the head light buckets and the rear quarter panel extensions.  If those are installed, at least leave them loose with a gap and not tightened into position.  If the car is painted with those parts completely installed the paint will tend to fill in the seam at the joints.

For number of clear coats, verify this with the painter.  Most clear coats specify 3 coats.  But, if you want all the orange peel texture removed from the finished paint, the car will need to be color sanded and polished after it is painted.  So I would use 4 coats (maybe even 5 coats?) of clear because one or a little more than one coat will be removed during color sanding and polishing.  How much is removed during color sanding depends on how well the paint and clear lays down while spraying.

Lastly, don't skimp on quality of the clear you use.  Low end stuff only lasts about 3 or 4 years outdoors then starts to yellow and eventually flake off.

[jgkurz 52]

Thank you for the great advice. I will paint the car after it's fully assembled. 

[aslanefe 333]

Before paint, I put some washers and bigger nuts on the studs of the headlight bucket and rear fender extensions to create 1/8 to 1/4 inches gap when mounted. Remove them after paint is cured.

[barnett468 418]

also, if it is not a budget paint job, make certain that he paints the bejesus out of the underside of the rockers and quarter panels etc. many painters don't do this so the paint is thin and dry looking on the lower portion of the car and looks totally crappy on the undersides.

 

[barnett468 418]

what color are you going to paint it?

 

 

[69ShelbyGT350H 61]

All body work done, sprayed in 2k primer. Hood, fenders, doors, qtr extensions, trunk installed & aligned and final block sanded. Totally blown apart and Sprayed with a white base coat and then Dupont Candy Apple Red (ford code T) BC/CC. Painter was instructed where to leave overspray to mimic factory application. After 1 week re-assembled, sanded & buffed. Hood and fenders removed to do black out painting and install engine. Trunk lid removed to install trunk seal. Qtr extensions removed to apply (Shelby) blackout. Its a lot of work, but it has turned out real nice.

 

[MAC390 327]

Looking real nice

[jgkurz 52]

14 hours ago, barnett468 said:

what color are you going to paint it?

 

 

My car was the Candy Apple Red from the factory so was going to go back to that. It is red now but not the correct red. The PPG code is 71528.

 

[jgkurz 52]

8 hours ago, 69ShelbyGT350H said:

All body work done, sprayed in 2k primer. Hood, fenders, doors, qtr extensions, trunk installed & aligned and final block sanded. Totally blown apart and Sprayed with a white base coat and then Dupont Candy Apple Red (ford code T) BC/CC. Painter was instructed where to leave overspray to mimic factory application. After 1 week re-assembled, sanded & buffed. Hood and fenders removed to do black out painting and install engine. Trunk lid removed to install trunk seal. Qtr extensions removed to apply (Shelby) blackout. Its a lot of work, but it has turned out real nice.

Your paint looks fantastic! My painter actually shoots Dupont, but I am asking him to shoot PPG. I am not a paint expert but I have seen more quality PPG paint jobs than any other brand. 

If you had to do it all over again would you go with Dupont again? 

[barnett468 418]

1 hour ago, jgkurz said:

My car was the Candy Apple Read from the factory so was going to go back to that. It is red now but not the correct red. The PPG code is 71528.

 

ok, that color in water base is not the same as the factory color so if you use water base, you definitely should get it color matched. it will not be exactly the same in solvent base either but should be much closer.

[jgkurz 52]

12 minutes ago, barnett468 said:

ok, that color in water base is not the same as the factory color so if you use water base, you definitely should get it color matched. it will not be exactly the same in solvent base either but should be much closer.

Good points. My car is certainly not a concurs level car so I'm not sure I want to take the time to ensure a perfect 1969 color match. I just want a brand/color that will look great and be repeatable in the future if I need it. I do know that paint that has been on a car for years is difficult to match even if I use the exact same paint code and brand. 

[barnett468 418]

3 hours ago, jgkurz said:

Good points. My car is certainly not a concurs level car so I'm not sure I want to take the time to ensure a perfect 1969 color match. I just want a brand/color that will look great and be repeatable in the future if I need it. I do know that paint that has been on a car for years is difficult to match even if I use the exact same paint code and brand. 

when i say not the same color i mean it may be way, way, off so, i would have the painter shoot a 12 x 12 test panel on a piece of house air ducting from home depot first then lean it up against something in the sun around 2 hours before or after high noon and look at it from a few different angles without sunglasses and with a hat to keep direct sunlight out of your eyes. the small 3 x 7 test cards are completely useless for this particular app.

 

[69ShelbyGT350H 61]

5 hours ago, jgkurz said:

Your paint looks fantastic! My painter actually shoots Dupont, but I am asking him to shoot PPG. I am not a paint expert but I have seen more quality PPG paint jobs than any other brand. 

If you had to do it all over again would you go with Dupont again? 

As I was not the one holding the spray gun, yes I would if that was what the painter wanted to use. 

[69ShelbyGT350H 61]

36 minutes ago, barnett468 said:

when i say not the same color i mean it may be way, way, off so, i would have the painter shoot a 12 x 12 test panel on a piece of house air ducting from home depot first then lean it up against something in the sun around 2 hours before or after high noon and look at it from a few different angles without sunglasses and with a hat to keep direct sunlight out of your eyes. the small 3 x 7 test cards are completely useless for this particular app.

 

As a BC/CC paint, the color part is very thin. That is why we used a pure white sealer before the BC. Using a different color under the BC can change the look of the color in the sun. A darker color will keep the Candy Apple Red darker even in the sunlight. Mine will lighten up just a tad in the sunlight due to the white sealer underneath.

[barnett468 418]

4 hours ago, 69ShelbyGT350H said:

As a BC/CC paint, the color part is very thin. That is why we used a pure white sealer before the BC. Using a different color under the BC can change the look of the color in the sun. A darker color will keep the Candy Apple Red darker even in the sunlight. Mine will lighten up just a tad in the sunlight due to the white sealer underneath.

Thanks for the info but I know about paint. Have been doing it for many years.

[69ShelbyGT350H 61]

13 hours ago, barnett468 said:

Thanks for the info but I know about paint. Have been doing it for many years.

Good to hear. I quoted you due to the comment about the possibilities of the paint color being way off. My intent was to let jgkurz know of more options to his original question on having his car repainted. 

[barnett468 418]

32 minutes ago, 69ShelbyGT350H said:

Good to hear. I quoted you due to the comment about the possibilities of the paint color being way off. My intent was to let jgkurz know of more options to his original question on having his car repainted. 

yes, the more info the better for sure. i usually use light gray primer. as you may know, they have tinted/colored primer now that can be used with the paints that are more transparent these days. pretty sad to have to do that. unfortunately lots of products are crap these days due to the epa. i swear the brake cleaner isn't the same either anymore. it doesn't seem to hardly dissolve grease anymore. might as well use water and save money.

by the way, i like your car. nice job.

[Vicfreg 771]

I am having my 1970 painted dis-assembled.  I plan to use PPG base coat/clear coat.   I am also using the light grey primer, also PPG.   I've done it both ways, but with it dis-assembled, you don't have the gap issues. But, all the parts need to be painted at exactly the same time.   

I am very happy with the PPG on my '68.    I am headed that way for my '70 Convertible...

Blue is 1967 Corvette Marina Blue Metallic.   Paint in this picture is 5 years old.    Also pic of my '70 in the PPG gray primer.  I chose to do the black epoxy final coat on the front clip and under the car when the car was primed.   Then I am assembling the car powertrain and wiring and sending it to final paint.

Lots of ways to do it, best advice is to find a painter and go look at his work, and talk to the people who have used him.

 

 

[mustangstofear 608]

I've  always painted  ever Mustang apart, and never a problem with a color match. DuPont is just as good as PPG,  just a matter of choice. We normally do  3 coats of clear, wet the next day with 600, then 3 more  coats. If we're not  doing  any stripes at all we can get by with  just 4 coats  of clear.