painting etiquette

[richard]

yes i know we have been here before !  BUT i need some advice please ......

The Gordon needs painting but the car - and its many panels - are in very different finishes now , the question is , and has been for several years , how to bring all the finishes together .  i have various metals coated in different ways so do i need to strip everything back to bare metal which would be VERY time consuming or what . at present due to blasting there is NO rust or oxidisation .

1) The central steel tub and rear kids compartment were blasted and red oxided years ago and are sound - the new galvanized floor was given black smoothright underneath

2) the bonnet top , and various other panels are brand new uncoated alluminium

3) some panels were etch primered on one side by the man who made them for me

4) some new allumium panels i hand painted in ( red oxide looking ) Finnigans special metals primer - i hoped this would be similar to an etch primer

5)some old alluminium parts , i.e.wing tops , are left with a bit of bare ally, old paint and new filler all well sanded and smooth

6) due to repair there are patches of bare steel   

7) there are quite a few areas where i tried for effect grey primer , blue and cream gloss from aerosols   

due to there being ten seperate panels and the tub i need to bring them to a similar compatable condition before undercoating /glossing by spray gun .

HOW DO I DO THIS ?

[Rusty Chrome (Malcolm Parker)]

Hi Richard, I'd highly recommend having a chat with Ken & Lyn from Buxton in Derbyshire who sell a wide variety of paints and finishes at different classic car and bike shows around the country. They gave me plenty of helpful advice and they really do seem to know their stuff. 01298814813, 07778165966 07779143188

[richard]

i will certainly do that malcolm , thanks very much i will report back 

[marcus]

I cannot help, but interested to find out what you do, it seems quite a hotch-potch to deal with!

[Bob Purton]

I would be inclined to take it all down to bare metal again Richard. I know its more work but could be well worth it. You could paint it and it all looks fine, then months later a panel here and there could start to wrinkle as it slowly reacts to the non compatible paint underneath it.
It wouldn't take all that long to block it down with a bucket of soapy water and some wet and dry.

[richard]

good ideas , thanks .i have spoken to ken and will meet up with him at Rufforth Autojumble on Saturday .The idea of blocking it all down with wet or dry strikes horror in my heart Bob - my hands are in very much the same state that Robs knees are with arthritis - its a horrid thing and brought the end to both my fathers hobbies , car restoraton and sailing and he then died at at 58 ! whilst I am only 57 ........... ooh err 


must get in quickly before Bob's reply - well you should have got on with it 10 years ago then !  - of course he would be totally correct 

[marcus]

I did find some primer/undercoat for DUF which was designed to cope with different sub-strata but not sure if it would be right for ALL your different surfaces!

[Rob Dobie]

Have a look at this Richard, it may help. http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/spray-painting.htm

Back in 1976 after I repaired my Peel and Scootacar with filler etc., then wet rubbing down by hand (hard work) I covered the surface with a mist coat and then two coats of high build cellulose with hourly spacing, leaving it for a day, rubbing down with a 600 grade wet & dry, left a day, then two coats of cellulose top coat. All this was done outdoors in the hot spring and summer with no face or mouth mask and smoking a cigarette at the same time. I was a nutcase even then! Last time I did any spraying on a metal bodied car was in the 1980s again with cellulose and never had any problems with paint failure, maybe I was lucky. Haven't done any spraying for years now.

I'm sure you can today buy a first coat sealer to cover all the different paint surfaces on your Gordon. Is there a spray paint dealer near to you that you can, hopefully get some information?

Just a thought. Can you still get cellulose finish now?

[Bondbugcrazy]

For me I would go back to metal and etch prime before laying down a 2k high build primer coat. Then flat the high build then mist coat and block it back, fill as required where the mist reveals the flaws and then high build once again.

Once the second high build is flat coat with black 2k and check for ripples or highs and lows. If good to top coat, scotch pad the black coat and lay down the 2k top coat. Remember to lay down a tack coat first each time you paint.

If you have any paint that is not etch primed to the metal then bare metal it.

[marcus]

Do it well, do it once!

Big barrel of elbow grease is the only way to do it well.

[Barry]

When is 'Bob-a-Job' week?

The rubbing down must be worth two shillings for a couple of keen scouts?