I am going to have a full quarter put on and a lower fender panel on one of my 55 Birds. When I got the car is has a newer 2-3 year old single stage urethane paint job which really came out nice. The only problem is the guy I got the car from hid alot of sins with thick bondo and now its cracking and shrinking which is why I am replacing to all metal now. Now these Early birds are all welded together and I just wanted to hear some professional opions if I can have these two repairs done and the paint blended to look good. Few local guys said I need to paint the entire car in one shot but I dont have the scratch for that now.
Of course it can be done, to me it sounds like they care what it ends up like,,it also sounds like a nice car. But the problem thats not mentioned here is likely that it's a matter of blending the repairs thats the issue. Is it a candy, Pearl, or Metallic or Custom color ? It could be too hard to match so they suggest to overall paint the car to a very very close color so the guys on the HAMB don't poke fun at you later.
Im guessing since its shot single its already a solid color you shouldnt have any problems .. . . I usually spot everything in with base and clear and you usually cant tell. . As long as the old paint is still good . . . the difference is how it will look after a few years in the sun . If the rest ist still decent i wouldnt paint the hole car right now . .i would repair said spots and shoot that part . .if you had bondo issues there your gonna have them other places, no need to paint something your going to have to repaint. . .fix it as it arises and spray it with base clear. . . eventually you will have a complete new paint job !!!
car is a orange/red no special color and the rest of the car looks nice except the driver side which took a beating by yours truly. I have no knowledge on blending or paints but i do undersatand how base/clear works and always hear lacquer was the best to blend. I am partially thinking guys just need the work so they want to push a full paint job. in a few weeks I am going to give it a shot and hope for the best. I just didnt want to see color variation seams along the deck and top fender area. In the meantime I am calling up a few more shops to get other opinions.
If its a solid single stage, it should be no problem to blend. Like mentioned if it isn't sun faded and the body shop mxing and spraying the paint has a clue, you should be in the clear. Whether they do it in SS or BC/CC is up to them. Depending on the situation, I would spot in with base to match and re-clear the entire panel. If it was an entire panel being replaced, I'd try to put whatever is on there back on.
Hey, So if I understand this correctly, your hangin a new quarter and a skirt patch panel on the front fender? The biggest problem I can see is a dead-nuts match on that red colour! Reds & yellows are always a *****, given they're chemical colours from the get-go. Whatever you wind up with for a match, I'd stand clear of any clear blending into the existing single stage finish or the job will probably stand out like "a southern gentelman in a lumber yard!" This era 'bird' doesn't offer much in the way of areas to hide a panel paint, so you're lookin at a blend for sure! I'd figger on a blend into the Header panel, the Cowl & the Dutchman at the rear, and figger on shooting the complete side of the vehicle, since blending 1/2 way into the door would really be dumb. S****ey Devils C.C. " Humpty Dumpty was pushed ''
The best way to get the best results is.:keep your blend within the area sanded (with 1200) I cheat and spray a clear coat down as a base where you are blending into then blend your color into the clear, but within the sanded area. now coat the rest of the panel with your color, as normal. then after it dries ,sand the blend area and the area still exposed with 1200 sand scratch, buff and you should have an invisable blend. no sweat !!!
I agree, once its polished if its a solic color you will never tell it was repaieredn no need to paint the entire car
______________________________________________________________ I have done some spraying in my time, always checking with friends that are full time body guys and I asked that question a few years back and was told you can't do a propper blend with single stage.
_______________________________________________________________ There is only one way to guarantee a color match is to have access to the paint the car was painted with and the paint has to be super. You are working with a red/orange...... anything with red in it is usually the first color to start fading. With some of the colors on these cars today.... the time you waste trying to match the color and not succeeding, most shops get as close to the color that they can and spray a whole side, it is cheaper in a long run for them to do that. Too many variables in the paints today, one more or less base coat, same with a candy or metallic and same for the clear all change the color. To try and keep guessing it is easier to spray a side, if the car was hit in a few spots, they'd paint the whole car. Insurance only pays "X" amount of money for paint....if you are personally footing the bill, I'm sure the painter would be glad to take your money on a trial and error basis and that would not be the painters fault. Good luck with your repair....
over the years ive repaired many single stage jobs, using the methods already posted. you can get a pretty good repair using a blend, but in the long run the blend will fail. urethane clears, and solids will not blend , chemically and are prone to break the blend eventially. you can still get many years out of it if you are careful, and a good painter can make it undetecable for a while. i usually treat them as a 2 stage job, and blend the color in b/c and then clear them. if i have access to the same paint that was used, and the rest is in good shape ,i may just paint a complete panel. got to judge each reapair on those criteria. in the long run, 2 stage jobs are easier to repair, and its not unusual for a shop to reccomend a complete when looking at some one elses repair. cars like those early t birds are a painters nightmare when it come to spot reapairs, with the no breaks in the body skull skull
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