1971 Finish in the Fenders

[Jerod M.]

I have some original(?) wax pencil marks and three North American Rockwell decals in my fenders. The finish is a mix of black paint, no finish, and a small amount of "rubber undercoat". What are the judges looking for regarding the "black out" finish inside the fenders? I have admittedly not hit the archives yet on this subject.

[Edward J.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

Jerod, I f your car is unrestored, take a closer look at everything, the black out process is generally the inner fenders and not the back side of fenders, and maybe spotty, The undercoating is much of the same the back part of the lower front fender and the top parts of the the front fender. the rear is about the same as the front, if your car has shoulder harnesses they had undercoating on those reinforcment brackets.

A note if the original undercoating is still intack leave it there and refinish around it. It can not be duplicated easily.

[Jerod M.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

That is exactly what I have...spotty factory undercoat / black-out applied to the inner fenders. It does not look particularly pleasing to the eye, but I definitely do not plan to scrape/remove the factory finish. I am wresting with the decision of spraying a uniform coat of black paint over it or leaving it as-is. It's very clean under there but spotty and inconsistent in black color.

[Don L.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

FWIW, in my recent national judging experience, I was told that the wheel well black out was done by underhand spray, therefore, the black out feathers to zero near the outer lip. Judges look for body color in the wheel well near the outer edge.

Hope this helps.

[Patrick H.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

FWIW, in my recent national judging experience, I was told that the wheel well black out was done by underhand spray, therefore, the black out feathers to zero near the outer lip. Judges look for body color in the wheel well near the outer edge.

Hope this helps.

Some very good pics of it in my folder below if you wish.
98% of restored cars go way overboard on blackout compared to what St. Louis did.

Patrick

[Don G.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

Jerod

Your description appears to be typical factory production. My recommendation is don't try to enhance it. You risk an over restoration deduct. Careful cleaning with a weak Simple Green and water solution and nothing more.

[Jerod M.]

Re: 1971 Finish in the Fenders

Okay, will clean only...no paint!