65 Coupe Exterior Paint and Prep

[Christine A.]

I am looking for some recommendations/opinions on the kind of paint prep and actual type of paint:
-Strip or Sand? If stripping what/who's product?
-Use acrylic lacquer over the original acrylic lacquer? the color is black

[Mike T.]

Re: 65 Coupe Exterior Paint and Prep

Christine - Was your 65 ever repainted since new? Any body repair needed, any cracking or bubbling seen in the existing paint? I suspect most painters are going to want to remove the existing paint completely. Some folks will suggest going down to bare fiberglas while others will say it's okay to leave the factory prime as long as it's still well adhered. Can you post up some pics showing the paint condition? Also, is your 65 a factory Black Corvette?

[Christine A.]

Re: 65 Coupe Exterior Paint and Prep

Mike, the original color was silver and we believe it has had one repaint and possibly done at a very early age as if the owner at the time simply wanted a black exterior. It looks like it was a very good job as the inside door jams are still in good shape paint wise. There are a few stress cracks near the lower corner near the windshield, lower corner near the back window and around the headlight door opening. there are a few scratches and chips in the paint. I have owned the car door the last 10 years and prior to that it was owned by a friend of ours for 20 years. Here are some pictures of the paint.IMG_0015.jpgIMG_0016.jpgIMG_0014.jpgIMG_0012.jpg

[Mike T.]

Re: 65 Coupe Exterior Paint and Prep

Are you going back to the original Silver or staying with Black? My 65 Coupe started out as Nassau Blue but had 'soooooo' much bondo on it and very poorly repaired fiberglas that we wound up going down to bare glass with Captain Lee's Stripper and then using a DA sander and hand sanding. At the time (mid to late 80's), Lacquer was still available so I painted it with Dupont 99S Diamond Black. You could have your old coating removed with soda blasting as long as the surfaces are cleaned off properly. As for which paint to use afterwards, most folks seem to like the Base Coat/Clear Coat, especially for any metalflake types of paint like the original Silver but for solid colors like Black you can use a single stage paint. Have you dropped by any of the local body shops yet to get some estimates?

[Christine A.]

Re: 65 Coupe Exterior Paint and Prep

Not sure yet about going back to silver. The car is looks so good with the black leather interior. Getting references and quotes from local shops, our previous painter (who was absolutely meticulous) has health issues and has not painted for quite a few years.