VintageRice Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I've prepped and painted a fair amount of cars in the past. Even worked at a custom shop a few years. But we did mostly new cars and just scuffed or blocked the clear and sprayed the car. With old cars I have a question, do you guys usually take the whole car down to bare metal? Or can I just block it out and retain the original primer/basecoat? I'm sure either would work but I'm curious which is best and done the most. I just don't know enough about the old factory paints and how they hold up. My car is straight for the most part. Just needs a few dings filled and some rust repair. I'm just wondring if its nessisary for me to take the whole thing down to bare metal. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I agree with the bare metal. even if the paint is in perfect shape, it is still about 40 years old. They have improved paints and primers a little in the last 40 years. You may also find that once you start to sand and prep the paint, the original paint was as not as good as you thought is was. Quote Link to comment
darin620 Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Strip it down to bare metal. and most important use A qualitty corrosion pertecting primer. I use ppg products worth spending the extra $ Quote Link to comment
steve g Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 in most cases bare metal is the way to go.... but you need to start your foundation with top quality materials and proper prep work... if you plan on skimping on quality materials (sealers, primers etc.)then you may want to consider leaving the factory materials and build off that. Quote Link to comment
VintageRice Posted March 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Yeah, I always use PPG or Matrix. Unless I'm painting something I don't care about, then I get cheapo Omni. I'll take it all the way down then. Thanks for the tip. Guess I'll go buy some 80grit DA pads. :) Quote Link to comment
a100addict Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 if your base is good you could prime then seal then topcoat. a good catalized primer/sealer is what i have used. as long as you do not sand through it will be good. case in point how many bodyshops sand a car to bare metal before painting. answer very few. Quote Link to comment
darin620 Posted March 6, 2011 Report Share Posted March 6, 2011 a body shop is only going to do as much as your willing to pay for. Theres a big diffrence from maaco and a restorashion shop. Quote Link to comment
VintageRice Posted March 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 a body shop is only going to do as much as your willing to pay for. Theres a big diffrence from maaco and a restorashion shop. True. Maaco will give you a free color matched radiator!!! :P Quote Link to comment
DanielC Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 Most shops that work on cars uses a flat rate system to bill you. If a job is expected to take an hour, they bill you for an hour. It it takes them a half hour, they can go on to the next job, and make more money. The mechanics goal is to do an acceptable job, and beat the flat rate. Same with auto body shops. Quote Link to comment
darin620 Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 any one planing on haveing work done at a body shop should be sure that thay know what thay are geting for there $. And check in on your car as work is being done to insure it is being done correctly. I have seen a lot of peaple pay good $ for shoty work becuse thay just dont know anybetter. Quote Link to comment
jamesja Posted March 11, 2011 Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 as a guy who works in a restoration shop and has done collision work for ten years i've seen it done both ways. when i do a restoration we chem strip, mechanically strip, or sand blast. then go from there (etch, seal with dp then bodywork). with collision work you are doing what the customer wants to pay for which sometimes isnt the best or proper way but if you use the right products correctly can yeld a nice product. original paint is usually sub par to todays standards so you need to decide the route to take depending on how in depth you want to go. if the paint is pretty nice you can get away with using it as a base as long as you use high quallity catalized products. ppg is highend and its all i use on our customers cars from quick to two year restos. also any good shop will always warrenty their work. i am doing a 1970 510 right now and it is stripped to bare metal, thats just how im doing my car, good luck. remember 2k always! Quote Link to comment
VintageRice Posted March 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2011 as a guy who works in a restoration shop and has done collision work for ten years i've seen it done both ways. when i do a restoration we chem strip, mechanically strip, or sand blast. then go from there (etch, seal with dp then bodywork). with collision work you are doing what the customer wants to pay for which sometimes isnt the best or proper way but if you use the right products correctly can yeld a nice product. original paint is usually sub par to todays standards so you need to decide the route to take depending on how in depth you want to go. if the paint is pretty nice you can get away with using it as a base as long as you use high quallity catalized products. ppg is highend and its all i use on our customers cars from quick to two year restos. also any good shop will always warrenty their work. i am doing a 1970 510 right now and it is stripped to bare metal, thats just how im doing my car, good luck. remember 2k always! Cool, thanks for hte info! And a local guy to boot. I'll hopefully se you around. Have any pictures of your build?? Quote Link to comment
jamesja Posted March 12, 2011 Report Share Posted March 12, 2011 garage built dime in the build thread. if you have any specific questions let me know i can answer or at least head you in the right direction Quote Link to comment
VintageRice Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Sweet. :cool: Quote Link to comment
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