Prob, a stupid question, but I will ask anyway. I have a 53 210 that has the original green/white paint. Overall the paint is in good condition minus one small cancer spot on the drivers rear fender. I am not fond of the color at all, and want to paint it something else, not sure what color yet. My question to you all is, do I need to strip it down to bare metal? Thank You
fix that rust spot, and technically no you dont need to strip it all down but i would recommend it. A lot of nasty shit can hide under paint, that you didn't know was there until it is in bare metal.
Thanks guys. Kustom7777, I should of been more clear, my bad. The car has the original color but it is not the original paint job. I would say it has been painted within the last 15-20 yrs. I sure hate to take it down to bare metal if I dont really need to. There doesnt appear to be any cracking or peeling, maybe just a few chips on the hood and some door dings. Whats your thoughts? Thanks
Find out if it's Laquer or Acrylic. Wipe it in a spot with Laquer Thinner on a clean rag. If it's Laquer, the color will transfer to the rag. If not, clean the bad spots up, scuff the rest, and shoot a new color.
Hey bud,I own a hot rod/restoration shop and my advice to you would be that if you want to take the cheapest and fastest way out you should fix all bad areas first{rust,chips,etc} prime,then wet sand car and primer with 600 grit paper and put 2 good sealer coats down.What that will do is seperate your new paint from the old and basicaly eliminate any lifting or bleed through.Having said that you need to count the layers of paint as you feather edge the chips....if you have more than 2 paint jobs my suggestion would be to go to bare metal,because you run a strong chance of the new sealer/paint soaking into the old and it will dye back{lose its shine}.Hope this helps....feel free to contact me if you need further help....Gary
graythirtyford, I started the task of sanding. It looks like there has only been one paint job done on this car. Under the basecoat is primer and then a layer of red something, then metal. Not sure what the layer of red would be. Any ideas? Do you think its necessary to take her to bare metal? Overall the current paint is in good condition. Thanks for your help.
im stripping my 54 f100 now and its a total bitch, but im glad im doing it. tons of filler in it and some patches that i wanted to replace. im happy because im learning as i go and doing things the way i want to do them. i plan on shooting tinted clear over the bare metal. anyhow, i guess it depends on if you are in a hurry or not. im not so i am taking my time. take care and have a blast.
Thanks Willy59, and jgang. I am not in any rush at all, I want to do it right the first time. So if I take it to metal, how long can it sit in my garage bare metal without putting primer on?
The semi-easy way out is to strip any areas that look questionable down to metal. If theres a crack find out why and figure out if it needs to be remedied or if it cracked from age. Chips mean either a rock hit it, or maybe there's bad ashesion in one spot. Explore everything. Sometimes a few little rust speckles peaking through paint is thin, pitted, rotted metal underneath that needs to be replaced. I would only do this if theres only one paintjob on the car now. If there are multiple jobs on it, it may be better to take the time and strip the whole thing.
One place to check for hidden rust is under where the the side SS strips were. I just finished painting a 54. The car had very little rust, but when I started sanding thru the primer, there were many places, along the place the SS strips had been, that were rusting from the metal out. Had to sand blast quiet a few places, to remove the rust. I guest water stayed under the trim strip?
I forgot to add, these places were around and within 2" of the holes where the "trim strip clip bolts" went through the body, to hold the SS trim strips on. I guest the moisture got behind the paint and primer through these holes.
its not bad striping cars paint...just use a good abrasive wheel, and it would eat right through it all....you can find other rust spots that has been hidden or bondo by striping it down... i would recommend it.
I am getting the vibe that taking it to metal is the best route. How long could I leave it in my garage bare metal, before priming? I only get a few hours a week to devote to it. The wife has other plans for my time I guess.. ha!
Related question. Any way to keep a patina on a 1951 chevy with out painting it with clear? I want to stop the rust till I can paint it someday? got original paint but top and some sides have rust patina. Someone told me I could use Gibbs penetrating oil, and someone else told me WD40. I don't want fisheye when I get ready to paint it. Any ideas?
I didn't see where you lived, but I have high humidity in my shop and usually don't have a problem leaving things exposed for months at a time. Even if some surface rust appears, a quick scuff will get it off. I wouldn't worry about it. Unrelated. Fail.
Is the car a running car? If it is, fix the bad areas and enjoy it. Stripping it to bare metal could uncover a lot of previous body work that you'll end up redoing. My vote would be to not strip it. After you get the bad areas fixed, then repaint it.
If you strip it wear a mask! I'm sitting here at my desk this morning with a wicked head ache and some dizzyness,, sanded the last bit of paint from my '38 plymouth.. three coats of paint.. God knows what kind of paint was there... But man I wish I had worn better protection throught the whole thing.. even went home sick once earlier in the week... now I know why, or I'm pretty sure I know why. Was covered in the dust from stripping with a 3M wheel and the DA. Now what to do about painting it! I've got a two part epoxy primer to spray, maybe I'll take it back... It's got to have Iso's in it.... Even the Acrylic Enamel hardener is loaded with the stuff. Some damn scary threads on here about painting.... damn even had to go back and correct the spelling on too many words in this ...
FordCragar, if I dont take it all the way to metal, should I take it to the red oxide primer or just the primer under the basecoat?
Okay, so I started sanding the drivers door using my DA and 80 grit pads, I went down to the red oxide primer. I have decided against bare metal. Next question, after I am done with the 80 grit should I go back over it with 120 or 220, seal it, then primer? Thanks in advance.
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