Paint and body suggestions...
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
Paint and body suggestions...
ok heres the scoop, im 17 working on a 1979 corvette i got a couple years back. the paint is less then perfect and i finally got a lil extra cash so ive decided to strip and paint the car. its my first time doing anything of the sort, let alone on a corvette, so gimme some tips here...what kinda paint to use, one step or two step, best way to strip the chrome off the car, do i paint the car with hood and doors on or off?...and/or anything else you may deam helpful. thanks alot.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,812
Likes: 1
From: New Albany IN
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'06-'08-'09
Your going to paint it yourself? Do you have any experience painting a car?
Either way, I suggest you getting the book:
"Automotive Paint Handbook" by John Pfanstiehl. Its the one that has a C4 on the front cover. There is A LOT to learn about doing body work and paint. You will spend probably 90% of the time sanding and filling because that is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do before spraying a drop of paint on it. The body has to be absolutley perfect.
As far as stripping...its a debate between stripper and a razor blade or sanding. If it was me, I would sand. Make sure you use a good wax/grease remover on the body before starting to sand or you will just imbed it more and could possibly have problems later with the paint.
Get a good book to read as a first step. Research it and do it it the right way!
Either way, I suggest you getting the book:
"Automotive Paint Handbook" by John Pfanstiehl. Its the one that has a C4 on the front cover. There is A LOT to learn about doing body work and paint. You will spend probably 90% of the time sanding and filling because that is the MOST IMPORTANT thing to do before spraying a drop of paint on it. The body has to be absolutley perfect.
As far as stripping...its a debate between stripper and a razor blade or sanding. If it was me, I would sand. Make sure you use a good wax/grease remover on the body before starting to sand or you will just imbed it more and could possibly have problems later with the paint.
Get a good book to read as a first step. Research it and do it it the right way!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,036
Likes: 2
From: Huntingburg Indiana
Using a single stage paint works fine, but with a metallic, basecoat is easier. Removing every piece of trim will make a nicer paint job. If you are painting the jambs, take the hood and doors off. If not, leave them on and tape the jambs up.
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 3,700
Likes: 834
From: WI
For a newbie, I think using base/clear is the way to go. You WILL have imperfections and probably some bugs, etc, let's face it. With base/clear, nearly all imperfections can be sanded and buffed out leaving a near-show quality finish.
If money is tight, there are a lot of "Universal" urethane clears and 2K primers on the market that aren't significantly less expensive than premium brands and work/last great. They will give you 80-90% of what the "Premium" brands will, from my experience. Evercoat, for example has decent primers and clears. You can spray universal urethane clear over PPG Omni, or Dupont Nason colors. I've used lots of "Universal" urethane primers and clears in the last few years and I've been impressed with the quality. Use them on my own vehicles along side the more expensive brands. A lot of shops use them too. A lot of guys in the biz think some of the no-name universal 2k primers are as good or better than top name products. The technology is "out-of-the-box". Of course, if money isn't an issue, definitely go ahead and use a name-brand system.
Good luck,
Mark G
If money is tight, there are a lot of "Universal" urethane clears and 2K primers on the market that aren't significantly less expensive than premium brands and work/last great. They will give you 80-90% of what the "Premium" brands will, from my experience. Evercoat, for example has decent primers and clears. You can spray universal urethane clear over PPG Omni, or Dupont Nason colors. I've used lots of "Universal" urethane primers and clears in the last few years and I've been impressed with the quality. Use them on my own vehicles along side the more expensive brands. A lot of shops use them too. A lot of guys in the biz think some of the no-name universal 2k primers are as good or better than top name products. The technology is "out-of-the-box". Of course, if money isn't an issue, definitely go ahead and use a name-brand system.
Good luck,
Mark G
Thread Starter
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
alright new problem, what is the trick to getting the old front bumper off? ive looked at my haynes manual and loosened every freakin bolt on the front end, but it just aint comin loose. is there a simple way to take the whole assembly off with a few bolts? maybe a website with a better diagram of how it works?
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Drifting
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 1,523
Likes: 1
From: grand prairie texas
Originally Posted by mybabyisa79
alright new problem, what is the trick to getting the old front bumper off? ive looked at my haynes manual and loosened every freakin bolt on the front end, but it just aint comin loose. is there a simple way to take the whole assembly off with a few bolts? maybe a website with a better diagram of how it works?
Team Owner
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 23,831
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From: Springfield MO
St. Jude Donor '07
Originally Posted by slowup
U gotta be kindding me. U mean to tell me its hard for U to decipher U from you?
Call me a grumpy old man...but it bugs me.
