Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

[Greg L.]

Well I'm almost ready to give this whole painting thing a try. My new compressor is pretty much set up and I ordered my new gun and PPG lacquer (Cortez Silver) today so they should be here in a week or so.

One thing that I never really thought of is where should I start the actual painting and what should my path be around the car?

Basically what I need to know is, what is the best path to take around the car so that I have good flow(both me and the paint) and no dry spots with this PPG lacquer?

Would you do the jambs and hood surround first...last or during the complete paint job?

Thanks, Greg

[Richard P.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

There is a video "Concours Quality Auto Paintin For Your Car" by Al Sowash, who is a Bloomington Gold painting instructor. It addresses your questions fairly well and, I think, is available from the NCRS bookstore.

[Bill M.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

Well I'm almost ready to give this whole painting thing a try. My new compressor is pretty much set up and I ordered my new gun and PPG lacquer (Cortez Silver) today so they should be here in a week or so.

One thing that I never really thought of is where should I start the actual painting and what should my path be around the car?

Basically what I need to know is, what is the best path to take around the car so that I have good flow(both me and the paint) and no dry spots with this PPG lacquer?

Would you do the jambs and hood surround first...last or during the complete paint job?

Thanks, Greg

Greg:

I recommend doing all the jambs etc. first and then mask them so the overspray from the panels doesn't get on them. That way all you have to spray is the outer panels. You can get tired spraying a whole car.

I would shoot all the exterior panels at the same time with a metallic paint. Not as important with a solid color.

I think I started on the right rear fender vertical surface and finished on the right rear fender top surface, but it's been years! I tried to minimize overspray from the last panel getting on the first panel. (My car is a convertible. I would start on the top (careful with the hose) for a coupe.)

Do a trial run paying attention to the air hose to make sure you don't drag the hose in the wet paint. Primer will help you develop a technique.

Make sure your primer coat is all one uniform color. I had to re-spray my car because most of the primer was dark brown, but I did some touch-up in light gray. You could see that through the top coat.

Use a system to make sure you don't get condensation. You can get water dripping out of the gun. I set my water separator in a coffee can filled with water and ice.

Try to keep the paint thin. Thick lacquer is more prone to cracking.

I've only sprayed one Corvette (lacquer), so I'm no expert!

Good luck!

[Alan S.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

Hi Greg,
I've picked 4 photos that hopefully will give you some sense of sequence. This is the painter I've posted about before. He's painted a few Corvettes in lacquer in the last 35-40 years. Note the body has been raised up in the last photo.
I think the best lesson I learned from him is that " there is no problem that MORE paint cures".
I really hope these help!
Regards,
Alan

[Steven B.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

I have a friend who was an ACD body and paint judge and also owned a shop. He has had a Polo white '54 for decades that he restored and a number of others. He always started on the top, horizontal surfaces (top, hood, deck) and then went down the side so he could blend and also not accidently drag a hose or his clothing across fresh paint. I watched him a few times before I attempted my first job. Always remember to thoroughly clean your brush when finished.

[Joe C.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

Well I'm almost ready to give this whole painting thing a try. My new compressor is pretty much set up and I ordered my new gun and PPG lacquer (Cortez Silver) today so they should be here in a week or so.

One thing that I never really thought of is where should I start the actual painting and what should my path be around the car?

Basically what I need to know is, what is the best path to take around the car so that I have good flow(both me and the paint) and no dry spots with this PPG lacquer?

Would you do the jambs and hood surround first...last or during the complete paint job?

Thanks, Greg

Greg,

I do believe that you picked yourself one of the most difficult colors to paint evenly. Metallics are more difficult than solid colors, and silver is among the hardest.
Metallics are very dependent on ensuring that the metal particles migrate to the proper level within the paint film. Gun pressure, humidity, overlap, and sprayer distance from work are ESSENTIAL.
Most original metallic painted cars showed a line down the center of the roofline. This was due to the fact that the 2 different painters on either side of the car used slightly different techniques.
Exercise extreme care!

Joe

[Chuck S.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

I have a friend who was an ACD body and paint judge and also owned a shop. He has had a Polo white '54 for decades that he restored and a number of others. He always started on the top, horizontal surfaces (top, hood, deck) and then went down the side so he could blend and also not accidently drag a hose or his clothing across fresh paint...

That's what I've seen experts demonstrate as well, Steven. Alan's pictures also show that same approach, except it's obvious the jambs, ledges, and plenum edges were painted before starting the exterior panel surfaces.

Additional information on side painting would be to "walk the car" making overlapping passes the entire length of the car without stopping or pausing. This will help avoid areas of heavy build from overlapping the ends of short passes at door and fender gaps, and avoid blotching of the metallic. Keep the gun at the same level during the entire pass, and perpendicular to the panel surface, both up/down and right/left. Remember the definition of perpendicular from school; it does not mean horizontal...on the bottom half of the door skin, you should actually be spraying upward to be perpendicular. This technique is NOT easy and takes some experience to do it consistently and uniformly; better make some dress rehearsals with no paint in the gun.

In general, overlap passes about 2/3 for better uniformity with metallic colors. I'm not sure about lacquer, but with urethanes it's best to spray the first coat as a light "bond coat", then spray subsequent coats wet for gloss...be sure to use proper temp range reducer and adjust your fan spray (material rate) to perfection to reduce runs.

I think you can forget about keeping a "wet edge" with acrylic lacquer...I'm thinking lacquer dries fast enough that the first pass on a panel will be tacky before you finish the last pass on the same panel. But, it shouldn't be a problem; that's one of the advantages of lacquer...once you buff it, you can't tell where the dry edge was.

[Jim T.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

When I painted my 70 in 1990 with Dupont lacquer, Donnybrooke Green, I painted my t-tops, vent grilles, side vents, hood, wiper cover, and headlights removed from the car. Used Dupont sealer over the primer just before the first color coats. Living in south, I waited for the "perfect day" for low humidity. Used an air filter to trap any moisture entering the gun.
Use polishing compound not rubbing compound after using the different grades of wet sanding.

[Greg L.]

Re: Painting a 69 Coupe...where do I start?

Thanks guys.

I'm sort of and sort of not looking forward to doing this which is maybe why I've been putting it off and looking at other options like finding someone to spray it for me.

The two problems with that is (1) I can't find anyone in or around town that knows how to spray lacquer anymore AND (2) anyone that thinks they can spray lacquer(I had one guy bite so I told him that I'd supply the paint and he said to make sure that I supplied the hardener too!) or any paint for that matter want $5000 and up to just spray it....

Anyways I've been listening to all of your advice and Gary Nabors has also been helping me over the phone so I hope that with all these resources at hand that I'll be able to pull it off.

I'm glad that I asked about where to start because I was going to start at the front but I see that it's best to start at the back and work my way around to the front and then back again. I might end up with a "stripe" down the center near the gas fill but it sounds like it's supposed to be there anyways. Someone once said that we restore cars....not get them ready for a beauty contest.

Oh and Joe...ya I know this is the worst color for a beginner to try. If it was a solid color I wouldn't have flinched and it would have been painted last spring!