Hi all:
Anyone who has been following my restoration thread knows that my wagon is pretty much a stripped down shell at this point. The EXCITING news is that I have secured my storage spot for the next year, so I no longer have to worry about what I can/cannot do, since I have the space to do it in.
Back to the "stripped shell" premise. YES, I AM GOING TO RESTORE/REPAINT THE BODY/INTERIOR, since it "makes sense" to. I have to ask - for those who have had the option, or would be in the same position:
1) Is ORIGINAL (color) paint the BEST way to go? Why/why not? Is originality important?
2) Is ORIGINAL (formulation) paint the BEST way to go? Should I use enamel or modern urethane?
Trying to get an impression from the forum audience. Original >seems< to be best, but trying to get opinions. THis car is in no way going to be "ultra-modified", so I have no desire to go "wild". But I'd like to change it up a bit, possibly.
THANKS!
Chris
Wow, Chris! There will probably be as many different opinions on this as there are members! Since you asked, here's mine:
Modern paints are superior in almost every way to the paints of yesteryear. Unless you are trying to build a 100 point show car, I'd say go with modern paint.
As for color, staying original is definitely best if you want to show the car competitively as it keep your paint codes accurate, etc. Personally, my feeling is that when you've taken a car apart to the extent that you have, any color you desire should be okay to put back on it. If it were my car, I'd stay Pinto-correct in my color selection, but I'd go with my favorite color.
Dwayne :smile:
If it were my car, I'd stay Pinto-correct in my color selection, but I'd go with my favorite color.
Dwayne :smile:
[/quote]
Dwayne:
Yes, hope to get a variety of inputs - thanks for yours! What do you mean by "Pinto-correct"? Does that mean only using a color that was available for the Pinto at that time?
Chris
It's your car and your money to paint so you should paint the color you want, not what onother person want's. Fred :)
Quote from: Fred Morgan on April 15, 2010, 11:35:17 AM
It's your car and your money to paint so you should paint the color you want, not what onother person want's. Fred :)
Agreed Fred, not asking for paint color suggestions, just looking for opinions and arguments for/against originality and paint types.
Chris
I can't vouch for enamel-versus-urethane but as for color itself, I prefer keeping the original color. One, because it coincides with the VIN- door tag. Two (at least for me), it's one of the colors that were out there in '76. Three, because that's what the car was born with. I'm a sentimental fool so it follows that I would rather keep the original colors of my cars, even though they're not particularily my favorite colors. In the end follow your heart. What do YOU want to see every time you go to drive your car? I hope this helps. :D
forget the original style paints. even if you could get them its a major pita and they dont resist fading and cracking like any of the new stuff.
are you going all the way down to steel?
here are some of the products we have been using that are effective and budget friendly
marhyde makes a pretty good single stage etch primer that requires no catalyst to go right over the bare metal. we have found a fantastic and well priced body filler called UPOL lightweight gold. spreads really nice, sands like butter even the next day, goes on fine enough and without pinholes that it doesnt need finishing putty and its cheap like dirt.
in the realm of paint if they have not gone all waterborne in your area yet the nason stuff from basf is cheap, decently usable and available everywhere. standox is nice stuff on the more expensive side of life. single stage or b/c can work with a single stage giving you more of the factory "look" without the need to use 30 year old paint technology.
I am using a single stage urethane base and when i finalize the whole body sometime next year we are just gonna scuff and clear the whole thing after the graphics are painted et all.
if you want to do the underside but don't want to use that crappy asphalt undercoat por or prime then get a shutz gun and a gallon of rubberized rockerguard followed by paint.
woo hoo fun.
Good luck, I'm out to spray some primer.
OhSix'
OhSix9:
This is REALLY great info and I appreciate the detailed response. QUESTION: If I am NOT going down to bare metal (and I am not), how would you change the materials list that you suggested? Thanks!
Chris
Wow, depends. If you went down to bare metal (meaning inside doors, trunk, etc.) then paint it any color you want, you all ready did the work for that, the brighter the better. However if you didn't do a complete tear down, I personally cannot stand a paint job when you open the hood or trunk and see a different color or remnants thereof. On the other hand if you have an all original car and are going to restore the interior original, etc. then I would go original paint to match it to the day it left Ford and found its way in to your home.
Quote from: popbumper on April 15, 2010, 11:17:03 AM
If it were my car, I'd stay Pinto-correct in my color selection, but I'd go with my favorite color.
Dwayne :smile:
Yeah, that's what I meant.
Dwayne :smile:
Dwayne:
Yes, hope to get a variety of inputs - thanks for yours! What do you mean by "Pinto-correct"? Does that mean only using a color that was available for the Pinto at that time?
Chris
well depending on how much you wanna spend and what you think would look good be that a stock appearance scheme or a full on wild show scheme with about 100 colors and 1000's of graphics lol thats all up to you ive had my hand in quite a few full on show cars and a few ground up restos in originality and ill tell you the same thing i told them its your car your gunna have to pick what you want on it im not the one who gunna have to look at it everyday and say man i wish i woulda done this the first time.
Its always easier to do it right the first time.
As for the older/newer paint debate id have to say hads downNewer and my favorite kind is House of Kolor. House of Kolor paints/clears are the best when properly sprayed . Last car we used it on was a 88 s10 with a fullsize frontend on it and before that was a 97 civic show car and it was a silver base with planet green candy. When you looked into the paint in person it was so smooth and just looked like a mirror .Heres a link to some pics of the civic
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/341790 (http://www.cardomain.com/ride/341790)
House of Kolor has so many colors that if you cant find one that would look good you obviously didnt look . Their paint costs more but you get wat you payed for.
i would probly go with newer type piant from my understanding the older paint was baked on the newer does not need that,from what you have detailed in your thread go with what ever color and style paint job you want, the car is no longer "original" with some of the minor mods and up grades you have and will do. now the car is an extension of you and the way you want it. any way you look at it is still a pinto and will always get attion for being"i rember when ..."
phil
Chris,
the materials list pretty much stays the same. pull any dents and rough the area with 36/50 grit down to the metal and give the filler some tooth to stick to.if the body filler will be thicker than say a 16th use a medium or long strand fiberglass filler to built it out then use the upol over top. finalize the bodywork and wipe everything down with a final prep to remove any dirt oil. etch prime any bare metal . even a single spray bomb of this stuff goes a long long way since you dont have to go over places you dont break through. if f the old paint is in good shape and it only has the one factory paint job on it there is no reason to strip way down. typically you would follow up the etch with several complete coats of hi build primer, block sand and repeat. if alot of the old apint is really good you can often spot prime your repairs and use it much like the first complete primer coat and block it all out much in the manner of a scuff and paint. anyways either way consider the process. primer, block, final putty and fill any imperfections / pinholes also now is the time to apply any seam sealer you may want to use. prime and block again then typically spray a final coat of primer that is overreduced as a sealer, flash it off and then wet on wet your selected color coat followed by clear if so desired. the treatment of the undercar is the same as before. por 15 then undercoat and paint or whatever you wanna do
thats it in a nutshell
lets see usc makes a nice finishing putty called icing that takes hardener. stay away from the air dry stuff at the auto parts store its junk. sand paper will typically be 36 ish grit to rough up where you want to bondo, 80 grit for the majority of the rough work. block the first time with 180 2nd time cut with 240 finish with 320 then paint color. honestly this is one of the most important things. cheap paper sucks.
house of Kolor is great paint but pretty pricey to learn with. If this is your first try and you intend to do it all yourself get a decent gravity feed hvlp type spray gun and a good mask. 99 percent of a nice paint job is in the preparation before the first coat gets sprayed.
OhSix'
Thats a hard one popbump ,,Id say thats a choice you must make alone,but if it was me you know where id be coming from .....stove bolt stock!!!!!
Thats kind of a hard one personally i would go with a color that i liked to look at and not worry about the factory pinto colors. You say your staying unmodified but you can still have a nice piece of eye candy that will turn some heads, so i would say pick a awesome color that you would like to see in the driveway everyday. Then most important part, take it over to ohsix9's house and buddy up with him, :lol: :lol: he sounds like he can lay down some color.