Hello guys, I wanted to get some opinions from guys who may know. This car was factory painted in 1955. Within a month it was lettered in paint for Daytona. After racing (within a week of Daytona Speed Week) the entire car was painted on top of the factory paint. I don't believe it has been painted since. My question is this... How much of the lettering would have been removed? Is there any chance that the lettering might have stained the factory paint? I'm wondering because I'd like to know if there is any possibility of finding lettering beneath the repaint??? I appreciate any input... thanks guys! Josh
And this is how the paint sits today. The hood is rusty, but the areas that were lettered aren't bad at all. If there is any trace of the lettering underneath the white paint, what is the best way to find it???
Looks like there is rust showing through the paint, which makes me think you're not going to find any lettering. If the car had been repainted over the original paint, it would be protected better than that, has been my experience with old repainted cars.
What are your plans? I have sanded old trucks that were lettered and found them readable down to the primer. It depends on how they prepped it before the repaint. Did they strip it to bear metal and prime and repaint, you won't find anything. It they just sanded the lettering down and repainted it , if you sand the finish down carefully and slowly you will find the outline of the original lettering. Hope this helps.
I appreciate the input guys. I'm positive it was repainted once, but I'm ***uming it was immediately after because I know the car left Daytona without lettering. I only ***umed they couldn't fully get the lettering off. Could they have? My plan is to continue cleaning and de-rusting the car, while preserving what I can. I don't have a long term plan yet. I'm hoping I could find some trace of lettering in the rustly lower quarter panel section... since I will need to have these cutout and repaired anyway. I appreciate it, thanks. I added a second photo to show the sides which are less rusty. Thanks.
Yeah it's not that hard to get rid of, people buy cars with pinstripes and lettering they don't want all the time and get it off with out a repaint
I bet there's nothing left. If it was lettered and shown for a week, they could have wiped the letters off with thinner yet. As others say 600 grit and or a buffer will take it off. 99% chance it was 1shot, which can be taken off with degreaser. There would have been a noticeable paint step also, id say they're long gone, but who knows until you start taking off layers
Back in the day, we used to take the lettering off with E-Z OFF oven cleaner before repainting. There might not be any trace if it was done early on.
I agree. Company I used to work for had a sign painter letter all the new trucks. On one, he got the phone number wrong, transposed a couple of numbers. Nobody noticed it for about a week or two. He came out, put something on a rag and wiped the lettering right off, no trace of it left. Redid his mistake, and you couldn't tell it wasn't always right.
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