Hi, I have a 82 that I use as my daily driver that I want repainted. I know people say the "right way" to do it is to take it down to the fiberglass, but from some research I've done it looks to be quite expensive. Since 82 was the first Corvette to be produced in Bowling Green (I guess the second year if your consider half of the 81's), I know all them had the urethane clearcoat. Does that mean I have to strip it all the way down? I would think that I wouldn't have to since it's not the harsh acrylic paint of the years before. Couldn't I just scuff, prep, and shoot? How much do you think that would cost? The car has the original paint still on it. Remember that this is a daily driver and does not need the most quality paint job. Thanks for any and all help

 

Factory paint was acrylic enamel with clear coat; not urethane. How you prep for paint is entirely up to you.

 

You have to figure out how much paint is on the car. I know you said it is original paint but unless you bought it new you don't know. If it had recoats you should take it down but if it is the original you should be able to go over it. Just seal it before the top coats. As for paint quality, it is a corvette and they all deserve the best.

 

Thanks to 540vette and easy mike for the help. 540vette, what sealer would you recommend I use? And the order for a repaint is sealer, primer, basecoat, and clearcoat; is that correct? Again thanks for all the help

 

Correct. If your painting this yourself then have the guys at the paint supply store give you the proper directions for the procedure and materials. For best results start with a manufacturer and stay with it unless the supply place will recommend different products such as primers. But for any warranty issues you MUST stick to one product line..

 

Thanks tak82 for the reply. That is probably good advice to stay with the same supplier as much as possible

 

If the car needs primer, you will apply that to the areas needing attention and then seal the whole car and then paint. No need to spray primer on the whole car if you are not stripping it.

 

If you choose not to strip remember that any and all surface imperfections like rock chips, spider cracks, star cracking and stress fractures will show through the next paint job because they will not be repaired in the average "scuff seal and shoot" repaint. I also suspect your car has some peeling issues and some bare (or down to primer) areas due to normal wear and tear... if that factory finish is severely weathered (and it almost certainly is) it will make a poor base to apply a new coat on top of.

Can you post up some photos of the "problem" areas on your paint so we can all see how bad (or good) things are with your car? That will help us advise you best.

 

Thanks for all the help

 

Actually, I don't necessarily agree across the board that one needs to stick with the same products across the board. These days, urethane paint products aren't new technology. Everyone and their brother seems to have a 2k primer and lots of different clearcoats out there, many of high quality. I've used several different products and really like some of the non-main brand primers. Besides being less expensive, many are more advanced in their ability to be tinted. You can top coat with just about any urethane basecoat, because it's a mechanical adhesion, not chemical.

I would be willing to bet that more than 1/2 the shops use a primer from a different company than the topcoats, just because there are some very good, inexpensive makers of undercoat primers.

But that said, there are some really good mid-level products that will give you a long-lasting shine, particularly on a car that spends most of it's time garaged. Dupont's NASON or PPG's OMNI have reasonably priced primers and top coats. I painted my vette with Nason years ago and it looks great. But it's entirely up to you. Nothing wrong with PPG or Dupont premier line if you are son inclined to use it. You might be set on Dupont Chroma paint line until you price it up. I DO agree that it's probably a good idea to stick with the same base and clear manufacturers, although, I have sprayed Transtar clear over other basecoats and gotten great results. Problem with doing that is good luck trying to get support if problems arise.

What I DON'T recommend for saving money, is using cheap products across the board. I never advocate trying to save money using low-dollar masking tape, or sandpaper, or wax & grease remover, etc. Trying to save money on cheap products is asking for trouble that THAT usually ends up costing you money/time.