1952-59 Ford My baby is going to the paint/body shop

Well I made the rash decision to get the paint and body work done. I been wanting it done and finally found the right price. It's 2 hours away, I drove down and looked it over friday. Feel good about it. They are pretty new shop starting up, but all been doing the work for 15 plus years for other body shops, finally went out on their own. So, I got a great price from them to do the work, I will keep this thread updated as it goes. They are going to send me daily pics of the progress.

Things they will do while its there.

Bodywork
Sealer/Primer/Base/Clear Paint (including door jambs, trunk, hood, etc..)
Cut and Buffed when done
Welding in new p***enger side fender panel
Weld in trunk panel and spray with factory coating
Degreased and Undercoating sprayed underneath and fender wells
Install new gas tank and straps
Run new stainless fuel line and flared

Some of this stuff I was doing myself, but they basically included in the price of body/paint to sweeten the pot, so have at it!

Wish me luck, I am nervous. The car will be dropped off tomorrow.

 

I'm excited for you! Like to paint mine too.

 

man thats great. wish i could do something like that. howd you find those guys did they do something for a buddy?

 

Similar boat, mines getting knocked out and primed, maybe paint. Depends on how much money I've got, and what the body man says to do.

its exciting!

 

How neat! Just be sure to keep tabs on the boys to be sure work does not slow down or stop. This is very common in custom paint shops, especially those with slow cash flows.

Be very sure to "pay as you go" - no more than 10% at a time. They complete 10% of the work to your satisfaction, they get 10% more money. This will keep them honest. I'm sure they are nice people, but take this as a very strong word to the wise...

Everybody has their own color preferences, but I'd caution against any "trendy" designer colors or bright colors like yellow, orange or even some reds. They just don't "wear" well over time. You just kinda get burned out on them.

I bought a brand new '69 Nova SS in canary yellow. It looked great on the lot...but after a few weeks I wished I had bought one in dark metallic green or some other earth color. Man, was I ever sick of yellow! I didn't own that car very long.

On the other hand, my '55 Buick is factory "Galway Green", a bright Kermit-the-frog green. I've had it for over a year and still love the color...

Go figure.

 

Oh... One more thing: If they said they'd do all the bodywork without bondo, they're lying. Can't be done. Sorry. Long experience on this end says so.

There is simply no way to smooth out ripples in the panels without body filler. What you've just agreed to is a ready-made excuse for them to turn out imperfect work. You complain about wavey panels, they come back with, "well, you told us not to use any bondo, so we didn't".

Besides, the judicious use of bondo isn't a bad thing, and will make good bodywork just that much better. It's the over-use of bondo that's bad.

I'd suggest that you visit the shop every day instead of looking at photos. Check on the quality of their work yourself instead of taking their word for it. A smart customer is a good customer...if they've got nothing to hide.

Another thing to watch out for is cost-overruns due to "hidden defects" that were not discovered when they gave you their first estimate. If you are not careful they can run the bill up on you so fast it'll make your head spin...and you'll have no recourse other than to pull your car out of the shop half done.

I have worked in body/paint shops, I have managed high-end restoration paint/body shops and have even owned one for a while. There are a thousand ways to cut corners, and if they've given you a lowball price, you can bet they will.

I hate to be this negative on a day on which you are so excited, but I'd rather give you some cautionary advice than to have you think you're getting a really good deal, let your guard down and then find out too late that you didn't.

Just be careful, okay.

 

I wish you the very best ! I also agree and make sure you agree with a certain amount of cash per either every other week or on a monthly payment PER work to be done in that alloted amount of time . With them starting out , that is why you got a good deal . There is a shop down the street that did the same thing to get some work in . I saw their work and there are good at what they do also .
Just make sure you have everything in writing and stop buy once a week to see what's done and take lots of pictures ! the pictures will be great to have in "Your build Book " for you to have for people to look at and it's going to be your ONLY way to prove what was done to the car for the money you pay them . I know it may sound a little overboard but it's your hard earned money that you are paying for a Professional kustom job on your BABY ! I have heard of so damn many horror stories and there is another body shop going through this with a bad customer right now . I saw what the guy brought in to be fixed from another so called body shop and the butcher work and welding was the worst I have ever seen and safety wasn't considered from the previous shop .

Now since they say they use no body filler , then are they going to do the car in lead ? If you want that perfect finish , the car will have body filler on most of the car , then block sanded to get the "Perfect" finish . I don't know of any other way of doing it without bodyfiller . ALL the cars get a skim coat of some sort !

Anyway , color wise , well I am not a Chev guy but I will say that is a beautiful Chev ! $125,000 well they are out of their minds but each to his own .

I have seen so many Orange cars at shows and many like the yellow ones . I hope I am not harsh but just my opinion . I really do like "two tones on the 50's cars for some reason . They just plain look great ! I am not sure about your interior or the color but that should go well with the paint color you choose . I love Candies if you can get someone to do a good one and pearls are really beautiful too .
I have seem some very dark , like purple/g****/blue color if you can understand what I am referring to . It's a deep dark color but just has that thick , deep look to it with a pearl white top with some glitter in it .
I also really like gray & silver colors too , with some black or dark blue colors . I am very particular to the ford dark blue , dark silver and gray colors since I have owned cars with all these colors at one time or another .

I understand that you are looking for something a little different than the same ole colors at every car show you go to . I still love a two tone and have you considered a gold and pearl white or a green and pearl white .

It's just so damn hard to find the right colors for your car due to the way they can make so many shades of a single color now is hard to see what would be the best for your car .

I do wish you the very best with your car and keep the pictures coming for us to see !

Jim

 

thats cool man! sounds like a good deal.
when it comes to color, have you seen that 54 chevy "citric acid" in person?
i saw it at the autorama this past year and this dark orange looked sooooo good in person. I would push to go just a little darker like this one but i do think orange would look great on it!

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I wanted to go a little darker, that citric acid car color is ******ic. Wait a minute, I may be to old to say that now.

That's more like what I had in mind originally, any idea the color name?

I guess I coulda been clearer. They just don't like bondo, the brand. They are going to use filler where they hav e to and then glaze it.

I am not even gonna sit here and say, "well these guys are different" cause I don't know. I have been researchin shops for a month, and reading about experiences. I have wore this guy out about it all, talkin horror stories, extra charges etc..he offered a written contract with a set price. He said the price is the price, I looked everything over and if I am wrong its on me. Other than if a part is needed for replacement that's to bad to reinstall.

These guys are tryin to get there name on the map which is why the good deal. I dropped in on them to check out and was pleased with work they were doing, and he showed me pics of the cars when they came in, and then I got to see the work they did first hand on the car in the shop. They aslo don't hav e all the obverhead of big shops, which helps.

The reason for daily pics is that they are 2 hours from me. All the shops close to me want a mint and work by the hour only. Don't get me started on that, I don't play that game. I want a quote, in writing for the job, period and that's what I got.

So sure there are some uneasy's here, but would be anywhere. I feel good about and am taking the chance, I just hope, really hope, its a good move.

Also realize there is 1000 ways to cut corners, and I honestly probably don't know 995 of them. Never done bodywork myself. The bottom line is, I don't have the funds for a showcar with flawless body n paint. I wanted a decent job to get me by for 5-10 yrs when I can do it all right, frame off job. Right now it looks bad, waves, ripples and paint oxidized beyond repair. I actually considered a maaco 20 ft paint job just for now. So just saying that I realize I probably won't be returned a showcar, but if they are good it will come home 1000 times better than now, which I can live with. So my expectations are for decent, they promise awesome, anywhere in between will have me smiling

 

Its important for you to stay excited and into your project for the shop to do the same. A weekly scheduled visit to inspect the work and to pay on the bill will help. If you see something that you question, let it be known and don't just wait and see how it works out. Did they give you an estimated completion date?

 

not totally sure about the paint code but you could ask these guys...
http://www.ozkustom.com/About_us.html

 

it looks close to the gm factory color i seen an avalanche today that color and have seen pontiac vibes that color.

 

Welp, she is gone



Turns out he is a Hamb'er to, go figure. I had this site pulled up on the computer when he stopped by and he said he was avid HAMB visitor. I feel like she is in good hands. He is real excited about making it the car it should be.

 

OK that's a little more clear on the body shop and what you are wanting as for a nice looking car . I now understand about the "Bondo" word too now !
Yes you can get some good prices from some guys just trying to break the ice . I have seen some very nice paint & body work done from many no name people that are as good or even better than a bigger name guy's shop .
I am glad that you are feeling good & pretty sure about this shop with the work you expect to get done from them for what you are paying . I wish you the best and everything works out good for you !

BTW , you aren't the only one who thought about having Maaco paint your car . I thought about doing all the body work and having them shoot the car for me nut then I started to think about it and figured if they can paint a car for less than $500 , then I might as well try to paint the car myself ! I have even considered a satin black then clear coat the car .
I have also looked into the Duplicolor ready to paint quart cans of paint you can buy for less than $20 a can . They even have candy colors now . I like their dark blue that is close to Ford blue and maybe use some of the white on the roof . Yea that's a typical color but if it looks OK that is fine with me . I know I will never have a perfect paint job because I can build another good running Ford and still have money left over for the price these people want for a paint job !
Screw that , I would rather drive a primmered car than spend an arm and a leg with a second mortgage just for a bird to **** on it and a some *** scratch the paint job at a car show , just for the hell of it .

It's just what makes you happy with your cars color and how it looks . I have seen rattle can really bad looking cars at shows and the guy is happy as hell just to have that old car . I just look at it this way , if you like your car the way it is , what else matters ?

Jim

 

jim, got a tractor supply near you? check out the price on a gallon of tractor paint. its enamel which fades but hell look at the maco style jobs in a year. and they only have the basic tractor colors. but you can mix them and make your own color. so m thinking about it.

 

I have some spots at the Fords Carsile national event . This year there was a Maaco tent up and we couldn't figure out what they were there for . Well Friday morning here comes this "Trailered" Ford in and unloaded . Beautiful car and paint job was beautiful . They were trying to say this is what their "Presidents" paint job looks like ! Everyone that say that car said yea right !
When did Maaco start doing a great paint job like this one . I did go oner and talk with the guy there and he said that's how they all come out . I told him if he can put that in writing and I will take the pictures of the car here that you claim you did , I said I promise you I will have my 55 Ford done by you guys then . He said they can't do that !

I really like the John Deere semi flat black they have . JD does have some good strong paints . I have seen paint kits that are single stage which are a nice driver paint that really comes out good for way less than $200 .

Jim

 

Just updating some pics as I get them...All the trim and handles are removing, should start blocking today

 

Please, don't leave the door locks on the doors. Might seem like a good idea now, but you'll regret it later. Totally breaks up the lines in the side view.

Put a good solenoid system into the doors and shave 'em completely. You can hang arm-style microswitches (O'Reillys) from the inner window supports so that a light touch of knee to door panel will pop the latches. That's what I'm going to do with my Vicky.

Also... They're going to have to DA the snot out of your car to remove all the deteriorated clear and then seal and epoxy prime what's left before they start blocking. If they paint over the deteriorated clear the new paint will have a very tenuous bond to the car and may go bad later. Good paint is all about good preparation.

Looks good so far!

 

Eric, you give me to much to think about . Its like the emblems, I already have all new ones. I have new door handles, new locks, new emblems, etc to make the outside all perty again. I have decided to shave the hood completely, and have only the trunk lock in back.

I may leave them on the doors, may regret it I dont know, but they dont bother me, but it does look GOOD without them from pics I have seen. I will have to do some research on that and think about it.

Looking at the pics I am not sure if those handles have ever been off. That green (Meadowmist) is the factory color!

 

I was speaking of the locks, not of the door handles which I simple-mindedly ***umed you had decided to remove anyway. My point: if you remove the handles, remove the locks as well.

But, if you're going to retain the handles...which is a pretty good idea if you're going to keep the theme mild...by all means keep the locks as well.

 

Ok I am with you now. I was planning on keeping the handles and locks both. They are just removing everything for bodywork and paint and then will re***emble with my new parts. On the trunk I will probably retain the lock only, which may not be ideal, but since shaving the ornaments and emblems was an afterthought, I dont know what I would do different right now with the trunk latch, and of course those things all start adding costs at the shop if I have them start fabbing stuff like that up.

 

Naw, I think it'll look just fine with the emblem removed and the deck lid lock retained. I'm glad you're shaving the hood. It'll look a bunch better. Still looking for good pinstripe examples...

 

Little progress...

 

Awesome! Keep the progress pics coming!

 

Fender cut and EMS panel tacked in place and test fitted

 

Fender patch lines up good!

 

Im looking forward to seeing your car finished! Im not a professional welder by any means, but those tack welds look questionable.

 

ohhh weee.. i bet you're getting excited!!!!

 

Just a few pic updates. P*** door has some major filler, it was caved in by my uncle 20 years ago about a month after getting it painted

 

Well, its taking much longer than expected, but I am staying relaxed, I think. I visited the car yesterday and took some pics, here is a few. Hope to be in paint in a week or so.

I also have the bumpers and parking lights at the chrome shop getting a new triple plate! Awesome

I also bought NOS stainless trim since mine had a couple of dings in them. They will be polished before putting on.

The downside is I didnt have the funds to get the grill chromed right now, so it will stick out some. Its in really good shape though so maybe not to bad. I think a friend of mine and I are going to make a custom grill since I have access to some good stainless material and he is quite the fabricator. He made his own stainless bumbers and grill for his 35 ford and they are top notch! Maybe, dont know yet.

The hood just got shaved and its still being worked on