The paint I'm using is from TCP Global - Restoration Shop - Acrylic Lacquer. The "slow thinner" dries a little bit slower to give a smoother surface, especially when used to thin the clear coat (the top gallon paint can). In addition, I used a PPG lacquer retarder recommended by TCP Global to slow down the evaporation of the solvents for a little better finish in "this heat". All of the paints/primer/clear are mixed with 50%/50% thinner. By the way, my first order was just about 1/2 of what I need to finish the car. Scroll down to see the math of figuring out how much paint/thinner/clear coat that you really need to do your project.
This is the primer and cleaning solvent and my $16.00 Harbor Freight paint gun with pressure regulator and final moisture/oil filter fitted to the hose. If you get this gun, TAKE IT APART FIRST and clean out all that damned plumbers putty that they used on the nozzle assembly. The outside white ring, if you damage it, can be thrown away anyway. It does nothing to seal the nozzle fitting. On the one I bought, I had to take it to the basement and put it in the vise to get the nozzle off. Also got that little "paint gun rack/filler bracket" too. GLAD I did...it's VERY handy to hold it in position while you are filling the tank. Decided that a turkey baster is the best way to transfer paint/primer/clear coat from the cans to a mixing container, then poured through a paint strainer. Going to have to get a glass turkey baster, as the one in this picture completely melted after about 30 minutes......
Harbor Freight paint guns with pressure regulator and final moisture/oil filter fitted to the hose. I set the gun up with 90 psi at the compressor tank, 45 psi at the gun without pulling the trigger, 10 psi with the trigger pulled half way (no paint feed). I also added the additional pressure regulator on the compressor to get the 45 psi feed. I also adjusted the spray pattern for a nice straight sided oval pattern with the pattern adjustment on the gun. Paint feed adjustment all the way open. I also couldn't pass up getting that tiny touch up gun, just in case I need it. Besides, it's so CUTE !. By the way, literally EVERY video/instructions I have watched or read always say to disassemble the gun every time you use it, get out the brushes, etc. and clean it all up. Well, call me lazy, but I thought after the first couple of times, I decided that was BS. Here's what I do now. Pour a couple of ounces of cleaner solvent (or thinner) in the reservoir, shake it around for a few minutes, and spray it out. Follow one or two more times, shaking and turning every direction while you spray until nothing is coming out of the gun. IT"S CLEAN. Also, I have yet to change out the disposable tank. See other pictures about the jars of paint. TCI Global recommended the PPG Duracryl DTX 1140 retarder for spraying in hotter weather to slow down evaporation of solvents. Cost me over 50 bucks for a quart. A note about the tiny spray gun. POOOR quality control ! The little bitty stamped wrench that comes with it to remove the nozzle promptly bent beyond use when I tried to disassemble to clean it of the dang "plumbers putty" that the factory uses to assemble the gun. The nozzle nut is so tiny that there is no hope of removing it without a very thin wrench. Guess I'll have to make one. The nozzle is CRAZY tight, just like the larger gun, and yes, it's chock full of crap/sealer. GRRRR
Got this little air filter/oil separator and desiccant filter for the air supply, just like a professional shop. HAHAHA...well, close. This Harbor Freight filter/drier comes with an extra bag of pink desiccant. I painted the front fenders, hood, and trunk lid with the first batch, then changed the desiccant and got another "red filter" for the spray gun to paint the balance of the car. The quick connects are arranged so I can bypass the filters if I'm using compressed air just to blow things off and not waste the desiccant capacity if I don't need to have real dry air.
The first part/piece to be painted; The lower lip of the grill - to hone any skills that I may not have...ahahaha
Another tip I learned from YouTube and from The H.A.M.B. - Premixing the paint layers so I don't have to deal with mixing as I spray. Finally got my glass basters, as plastic basters melt immediately with lacquer. Each of these formulas is 50% color plus clear and 50% "slow" thinner plus a couple of capfulls of retarder. Left to right: 100% color, 75%/25% color/clear, 50%/50% color/clear, 25%/75% color/clear, lacquer cleaning fluid. Each jar and lid are labeled. Theory is that layering in increasing percentage of clear gives more depth to the surface. The 100% clear/retarder mix (with 50% thinner) will be mixed as I use it. Funny... they all look nearly identical.........hmmm UPDATE: I just got some 2.5 quart (64 ounce) nylon? plastic buckets with snap on lids from Home Depot to remix all these formulas for doing the "balance" of the car. These work fine for fenders, hood, trunk lid, front lower lip and rear lip. But this is not enough paint for larger "layers". Scroll down for more info on calculating your paint quantities.
First piece of the exterior just painted and clear coated. This is the lower lip at the front of the car. It is slightly wavy but most of this piece is hidden behind the grille and there is a chrome strip that mounts on the series of holes across the front. Painted this (four coats of color then three coats clear) in just about the worst possible conditions (80 degrees and near 80% relative humidity), but it still is coming out pretty good. After 24 hours cure time, then sand and polish after that. The paint is going on very well without any weird surface effects that you read about all the time about "problems" with spraying lacquer. I had very slight "hazing" but I hit it with a heat gun (YouTube trick) and the haze went away immediately. So far, so good....! ! !
A little hand sanding of the clear coat - starting with 1000 grit, then 1500 grit, then 2000 grit, then finally 3000 grit 3M foam pad.. a little messy.. and makes my fingers hurt. Has to be thoroughly cleaned and wiped down between sanding grits. Otherwise you will transfer some of the rougher grits to the finer grit sanding operation. If the surface has very much "orange peel" (or overspray), start with 400 grit then 800 grit to get the big stuff off. That's the beauty of lacquer. You can have a pretty terrible surface and make it come out like glass.
Then with a power polisher and some Meguiar's Ultra Finishing polish compound. Did not sand/prep the area where the holes are, because a stainless steel trim strip covers that area. It's nearly strange that after sanding and cleaning once you start with the power polisher and Macquires, it takes about 5 seconds to get that shine !!!! Pretty nice !
Just got a brand new trim strip. My old one had LOTS of dents, dings, and scratches. After about 3 hours of filing, sanding, etc., it still looked terrible............soooo.. there went another hundred bucks....The stainless strip is going to be polished, as you can see the bleary reflection. Ok, so there is a nick right there. I'm not going to worry about it....
I don't like the term "orange peel". Rather..... "a little bit bumpy"... when sanding ---I actually think that starting with 400 grit, then 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, (do an EXTRA 3000 grit sanding with a sponge block in larger circles to minimize the small circle scratches) and sanding in small circular motions, working all the way over the surface in two different directions pretty much does the job. A body putty spreader works well for a squeegy before wiping down with microfiber cloths. I wash the microfibers regularly. Lots of elbow grease but turns out rather well.
You can see the sanding pattern better here - once it dries. Don't worry, I'll spray it down again to squeegy it off....Then do a final 3000 grit sanding with the 3M foam strip wrapped around a sponge in larger circles to minimize the 3000 grit scratches. As long as the residue is white, you are not sanding through the clear coat. You can see that I tend to stay away from the edges while doing general sanding, but come back later to sand near the edges being very careful not to hit the edges. It's also important to squeegy and wipe dry after each round of sanding to see any areas that may need more attention, and which areas to stay away from so that the entire surface "comes down" the same amount. HINT: If, while you are sanding, the residue starts to turn the color of your paint, STOP. That means you have sanded through the clear coat, and you will be sanding into your color coat, and if you have chosen a metal flake/pearl, the "look" of your paint job will be ruined.
The Judge - Pontiac style hood mounted tach...I found a vendor in Chicago that had these made without the Pontiac name/logo on the face.......No edge polishing...might scuff the corners. I've always been partial to Pontiac for a few reasons. Our family had a whole series of Pontiacs back in the '50's, In 1960, Mickey Thompson set the land speed record at 400 mph in a (4) Pontiac engine powered "Challenger I", Steve, my brother, chose a '58 Pontiac engine for the "original" '49. That's also why my 383 is painted the same color as the engine we had in the first car.
There was only one place that was so bad that I had to rough sand down to metal and apply some Roberlo then fine sand to level the surface. Next is to "320" the entire trunk lid, reprime and start another 100%, 75%, 50%, 25% color coat then three layers of clear. Then sand again... I'm getting tired............
Not really a painting function, but part of finishing up the trunk lid. The wiring is threaded through some small holes behind the support structure and comes out next to the driver's side hinge on the lower left of the picture. This is also in my "wiring the car" gallery. Just got a mercury tilt switch to be mounted on the trunk lid to turn the lights on when the trunk is opened.
Since the "new mounting" of the gasket strip using a couple of stainless steel strips to stabilize the location of the gasket, a few of the old holes were exposed, so a tad more body work and masking and repriming was in order. See the "Hood Hinge Retrofit" gallery for more on this subject.
