Painting c2

[Ken S.]

Hi people I have A 64 Coupe that had the nose knocked off it.
It now sports an immage front clip.
The back half is original paint and the new clip is rough.
The body shop wants to strip the old paint.
Is there A correct way of doing this and will stripping harm the gel coat?
Or should the car be sanded down.

[Timothy B.]

Re: Painting c2

Ken,

Given the damage you report I think I would go ahead and strip the original paint with paint stripper because it will not be a hard job if it's original lacquer paint.

Don't let them sand the waves out of the original panels. There will be a factory sealer on the car that IMO is OK to leave on. A production body shop can mess up a nice original car so be careful.. Keep it simple

[Ken S.]

Re: Painting c2

Ken,

Given the damage you report I think I would go ahead and strip the original paint with paint stripper because it will not be a hard job if it's original lacquer paint.

Don't let them sand the waves out of the original panels. There will be a factory sealer on the car that IMO is OK to leave on. A production body shop can mess up a nice original car so be careful.. Keep it simple

Thanks for the help Tim

[Jim D.]

Re: Painting c2

The body shop wants to strip the old paint.
Is there A correct way of doing this and will stripping harm the gel coat?

There is no gel coat on the original part of your car. Your CI replacement front clip may or may not be gel coated. Depends on when it was purchased.

[Dick W.]

Re: Painting c2

Ken, before you strip the old paint, I would go thru the exercise of getting the paint color scanned and have paint mixed. Have your painter shoot a test panel and compare it to the original.

Sure the paint manufacturers have off set colors for classic vehicles, but it has been our experience that the colors are close, but require some tintings to get a good color match.

[Paul S.]

Re: Painting c2

Can't Agree More With What Dick Said. Do Your Homework On "correct Color" Before You Strip It. Deciding On What Is A Correct Shade Of Paint Is Tough, After The Fact.

[Tim E.]

Re: Painting c2

Cut out a little 2" X 4" section from the rear valance right behind the rear license plate....then you have a sample of the original paint to use later! The shop can easily glass up a patch. The judges take a point when they catch it, but you have a permanent record of the unfaded, original paint. Tim

[Patrick H.]

Re: Painting c2

Cut out a little 2" X 4" section from the rear valance right behind the rear license plate....then you have a sample of the original paint to use later! The shop can easily glass up a patch. The judges take a point when they catch it, but you have a permanent record of the unfaded, original paint. Tim

Using a razor blade he may be able to lift a piece of the paint to save. At least I'd try that in many locations long before I ever cut out a piece of the body.

Heck if the exhaust bezel panel is original it's easier to just replace it with a repro and keep the original one with original paint if you really want a sample.

[Michael G.]

Re: Painting c2

Assume front was original as rest of car. May be a more reasonable source for obtaining original panel for color swatch rather than cut into original body. No point in disturbing original glass if other option is available.

[Tony S.]

Re: Painting c2

Guys. I'm not so sure about relying on scanning the original color. I doubt that 40+ year old paint is the correct shade any more. When I was at the Heartland Regional last weekend, an original paint job next to me got dinged because the shade had seen the effects of the sun and elements over the decades. If it was a situation where you were keeping the old paint but trying to blend in the new section, then I would agree 100 percent. But if you are recommending that he strip the whole car and start from scratch, then I think he's better off getting the correct factory colors as it was new. Why start off with a new paint job looking like a color that has a 40 year old fade to it?

JMHO.
Tony

[Dick W.]

Re: Painting c2

Guys. I'm not so sure about relying on scanning the original color. I doubt that 40+ year old paint is the correct shade any more. When I was at the Heartland Regional last weekend, an original paint job next to me got dinged because the shade had seen the effects of the sun and elements over the decades. If it was a situation where you were keeping the old paint but trying to blend in the new section, then I would agree 100 percent. But if you are recommending that he strip the whole car and start from scratch, then I think he's better off getting the correct factory colors as it was new. Why start off with a new paint job looking like a color that has a 40 year old fade to it?

JMHO.
Tony

Good idea, but what you get today is an off-set of the original color. I have DuPont color test plates for a lot of the early C-3 colors. You know the color is good when you can lay the plate on the hood and not see ANY variatin. The paint that you buy online, or get mixed locally will be in the same color family, if you are lucky it will be a close cousin. I have never seen any of the modern materials that were very close when you sprayed the first test panel. The original formulas are worthless today. There are areas on the car, door jambs being one, that should have very minimal, if any fading. The lower section, below the belt line should not have much fading.