Just a calm before the storm post.  Getting close to a full re-paint on my 80.  Two words for anyone thinking of doing this job....' Block Sanding'.  Lots and lots of block sanding, from 80 grit up to 600 before final paint.  Paint quotes for a full job were pretty darn high, and even had a corvette shop in Socal say to me, "man you have done all the body work, you should paint it yourself".  Ok then.  Getting closer to that point, and wanted to see if anyone that has accomplished this at home has any last minute words of wisdom?  Or, any good tips?

Got all the paint, House of Kolor, Sealer, base, clear. An inflatable booth with extra exhaust fans, cleaners, prep rags, tack rags, good compressor with filters, DV1 paint gun, tape, proper masking paper and plastic, safety equipment.

Read up as much as possible and hours of videos.  I have painted smaller items before (airplane parts), but a full car, not so much.  I know this topic comes up every so often, but I figure it can't hurt to check one more time for any new words of wisdom.  Hopefully I will get this done so my car can see the roads again!  Thanks

I painted my '75 (twice -- wife didn't like the first color combo.)  Over the past 50 years I've painted maybe a dozen cars, each one gets a bit better.  One thing I found with the Corvette's fiberglass body is that it's not as easy to keep waves out of the finish.  I should have been more careful with the prep -- I had bought guide coat paint but decided (unfortunately) not to use it.  The body has almost no flat surfaces so a long flat sanding bar couldn't be used.

One thing that helped greatly the last time was that I finally bought a HVLP paint gun.  I had always used a Binks siphon gun in the past.

There are some good videos online on automotive painting that provide tips, including on where to start and then flow around the rest of the car so you are always painting from a recent wet surface.

It sounds like you have a great start with your preparation -- which is 80% of any paint job.

My '75 needs to be "cut & buffed" to get a mirror smooth surface, but I'm going to leave that to a body painter friend of mine (been waiting over a year for him to get to it).

Oh, one thing I noticed -- you said you sanded up to 600 grit; I had been told that 320 grit should be the final on primer in order to provide a good tooth for the finish to bind well.

I did not have any type of paint booth, I just painted in my workshop bay.  A booth would have kept overspray off of everything in my shop, but most of it is just dust at that point anyway.

Thanks!  Yes, Guide coat is the best way to go.  It's amazing what you find as you sand off the guide coat.  I used it at each step of sanding from 320 to 600.  I have a good quality HVLP gun, just hope the operator can live up to its capabilities.  Cut and Buff, I'm sure that's in my future, but if I can get a finish that can be finished with that process and not re-shoots, I will be a happy camper!

Yes, I was a bit concerned about losing the mechanical grip of the paint.  I thought 400 grit was like glass when finished, but according to the paint guys, and paint supplier (House of Kolor) metallic paints will show in 400 grit scratches. It's hard to fathom, but online videos seem to confirm this.  I am painting a Metallic, so 600.  I am laying down a couple coats of a sealer that matches the base coat first.  From what I am told, the sealer will adhere to the 600, and then from then on the subsequent coats are a chemical bond, assuming they are shot in the correct time frame.  And please if this sounds off, let me know.  That's why I posted, I know many of you have either taken on this task, or have had your rides painted and gained valuable info along the way.  Hopefully I will learn along this path and be able to post info or helps others!

Totally agree. I regret losing patience as I got close to the finish line with my bodywork, because I can see every place I didn’t spend enough time blocking now that paint is on. 

My plan was to do all the repairs and mudding, sand it down, prime it then have a shop spray it to save $$. Great in theory if I had just put in another 40-80 hours on guide coat and blocking. 

Good luck, and when you think you’re done… go back in and sand some more lol. 

I hope you stripped it down to factory primer before you started your body prep. Even though everyone I talked to advised me to do that when I did mine, I decided to let it go and just prep the existing body with the factory paint on it and then put a sealer on. After about 10 years I discovered why you don't do that.

1973 L-82 4 spd

That's great info, and luckily for me, I did sand it all the way down.  I might have skipped that step, but as I started the work, I found some hidden repairs, cracks, and some spider webbing.  Under the color coat was a ton of high build primer.  Took a lot to remove it and get to the factory primer.  For those doing this, you can end up with lots of little divots in the body while aggressively sanding.  I'm sure a pro would not have those issues, but after some sealer, high build primer and lots of guide coat and block sanding, I think I have the panels straight, or as straight as you can on a C3 Body!  I've tried to read many of the paint threads, as well as many articles regarding corvette fiberglass.  Lots of good info out there. One thing I can say, you definitely want to do as you mentioned, strip down to the factory primer.  There are lots of hidden problems under old paint, some by age, some by novice mistakes, and probably some by someone trying to make a buck.  No matter which, anything you can do to mitigate issues showing through the new paint is going to be worth the work. 

Here is just one little Gem hiding fwd of the RH Headlight.  Wasn't at all visible in the paint (yet), but was not repaired correctly, mostly was bondo.  All good now!

One "gem" I found when doing mine -- the passenger side hood hinge had broken loose from the fiberglass, some idiot tried to fix it with bondo!

I did take mine down to the original primer, and though I did not find any huge problems, there were quite a few places where the fiberglass had cracked.  It was easy at that point to fiberglass a patch (after widening the crack to insure there was a good bond) then finish over it.

Something else that the friend helping me suggested and it was a good idea which was to set the car up about 6"-8" off the floor.  Also set up some 4' tube fluorescent lites on end on both sides of the car while we painted it.  

1973 L-82 4 spd

Thanks, that's some good info.  I will definitely raise up the car and skirt it down to the floor.  I also will set up some lights.  I also have a an LED light that attaches to my paint gun's cup.  It really helps to see how the paint is laying down and the overlap on each pass. 

Well, life, health and work for sure got in the way of painting. Oh yea, winter weather as well due to an unregulated temp paint booth.  But, finally got started!  Just like to share the start with people that enjoy their cars.  First up was all the areas that can't be painted once the car is together, jams, hood, bumpers, etc.  I chose a crazy paint scheme for my level of expertise, silver metallic base covered by a Kandy Base coat and then Clear, oh and first was a silver sealer!  So far, I'm liking the results, but the true test will come with the full paint job.  I am sanding off all the over spray and will have the car back together by tonight or tomorrow morning.  After that, blow up the booth and in for the full spray!  Hopefully either tomorrow or early Thursday.  Assuming it comes out half way decent, I will post more pictures.  If not, you can check the mental hospitals for my check in....

That's looking really good - I love that colour and the finish is wonderful.👍

I'm always in awe of people who paint their Corvettes - I re-painted my 1966 Austin Cooper back in the 70's, in my Dad's small UK sized garage, a lot of manual work before the days of easily available DA polishers etc!  It came out nicely in the end, but I couldn't contemplate the amount of work required to do a Vette!😱

I'll look forward to seeing the finished car.👍

Very nice👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻. Did body require any body filler?  If so, type ?

Very nice,  is this your first Fade application?  

Thanks, it was a ton of work.  Lots of issues with the body once the paint was stripped.  I am happy with the results, it may not be at full shop level, but I can say, I did it, and that makes me feel proud.  Here is the first pic after a grueling paint session. 11 coats of paint in total.  

Yes sir, all I have ever done was solid painting before.  This is a Candy, and I had my doubts about tackling it, but I can be delusional when it comes to my car!

Yep, tons of body filler.  These cars were loaded with a lot of high build primer at the factory.  Once the paint was removed and sanded down, all the imperfections showed.  Plus, cracks and past repairs.  As it is basically an SMC fiberglass design, I used products designed for SMC to make repairs, then standard Body filler for leveling, I used Rage Evercoat.  After that, glazing compound, after that heavy layers of high build primer.  That's when sanding gets endless.  Blocking the primer from 220, to 320, to 400, to 600, with guide coat in between each.  The 600 grit was due to the type of finish I was applying.  A sealer over that, a silver base with metallics, Candy base, then Clear.  It would have been a lot easier with a solid, but I apparently go with work harder...not smarter  :) 

Wow!  That is a paint job to be proud of.

That is as deep a paint as any pro shop!  Nice work!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👍🏁🇺🇸

Thank you for sharing!   

Thanks Bill!

Most Welcome.  Also, if anyone is interested, I used a DeVilbiss DV1 paint gun.  I highly recommend it if you are painting more than one time.  It's a bit pricey around the $650 range, but it delivers a great finish and comes with multiple tips.  My compressor is a bit old, and this gun can spray at tip pressures in the 15 psi range (at the cap).  So, I had less overspray, and the compressor had no issues keeping up with the low demand.  Comes in a Basecoat and clearcoat model, but really the Basecoat gun works equally as well for clear too.  No need for two guns, even pro reviews said that.  Thanks again! 

Supply and tool info will be shared with George Kakarian at S-Rank Automotive in North Hollywood, CA.  He painted my ride.   3 primes to meet his standards.  Pics below are a couple steps of process.   Dale at ASIRA AUTO in AZ crafted the Carbon Fiber hood using my design of custom hood to house performance adds

A detail question if having personal experience has confirmed:   If car has been fully painted under 3 months ago and finish is very good but just needs that “Thing” to make better!   Any suggestions?

Thank you for listening 😎

Fantastic Look, love the body and that hood is awesome.  Paint looks great in the photo.  The only thing I can think of, assuming it has not been accomplished already is to wet sand and buff out the clear coat.  What they call color sanding, although that's an old term as with a two stage finish you are leveling the clear, then power buffing it.  That removes any imperfections and leads to a show car finish and adds more depth to the paint.  It can be a lot of work, and with all of the drastic body lines on a vette, you have to be careful at every line.  The paint is thinner at those points.  It's a natural thing and pros know not to sand or buff excessively on a body line.  You should not have any issues doing the sanding/buffing on the clear at this point.  But, always best to check with the painter and paint manufacturer for any guidelines.  The clear I used can be buffed out long after it has been applied to the car.

Don't know if anyone else has other suggestions for enhancing your finished product?   Enjoy that Beautiful Vette!

Info to take to the bank!  I’ll talk with painter about your steps.  The car is always calling😎

That looks phenomenal! Love the color!

My thanks!  I will surely see if this applies.   Go make a memory👏👏👏🏁🇺🇸

Nice work👏👏👏

I am amazed at your paint job, the blow by blow description was great to read. 

I painted a 55 Chevy once  "outside" and it was  sort of OK - I had no skills at 20 years old...... my Mom help paper mask it off LOL!!!!

It will be a lot more scary when I finally get to paint on Blu 72,  I think it was hit everywhere except on the doors, none my fault. Seems to be a 20 year project now....

100 degree days now have killed the enthusiasm to get the inside back together.😄

Bruce
72 Coupe L48 4sp
Custom Blue/Silver/Pearl

(Click for a larger pic)

Yes, the heat is a bummer for getting things done.  I have been wet sanding and buffing the clear coat.  It takes the starch out of me, but the the final result will be amazing.  The paint came out really good, but its amazing how much smoother the final clear is after this.  Lots of work, but worth it.  With a home style paint booth, there are always a few dirt nibs in the paint, so this takes care of it.  

Tony;  Just curious -- what type of paint is this, and can you tell us the progression of the paper grits you used?

I painted mine with urethane, and I tried finish sanding it and made a mess of things.  Ended up re-clear coating the rear deck. 

Bill,

Well, I am no pro at this, but I read a lot and did a bunch of research.  I have basic skills, so I was hoping to build on those.  After I did all of the body work, which was a complete strip, repair all I found, and then blend in the new fiberglass bumpers, I finished that up with 220 grit.  during the body work I went from 60, 80, 120, 180, then the 220.  I also did some block sanding with guide coat from the 180 to 220.  Technically, that step could have waited, but I was hoping to only need one round of high build primer (which worked out, only one round of high build needed).  I got lucky, the high build was a Upol brand and flowed out nicely.  Thats when all of the guide coat and blocking gets underway.  Each step in the guide coat/blocking stage moves up in grit.  I went from 320, to 400, to 600.  I went to 600 because I was going to spray a metallic, not a solid color.  I went with the recommendations of the paint system I was using for the final grit.  Apparently, metallics can sit in sanding scratches as fine as 400 grit.  In different lighting, the metallic will align in the scratch and be visible as a line or dull spot.  All of this sanding was done with dry paper.  Although, I did try out some 600 from a company called Eagle Abrasives.  It's more like a cloth and can be helpful in avoiding scratches that can form from too much sanding dust building up in a paper type of product, also the edges are soft, so no scratches there either.  I was a little worried about going to 600 and having good adhesion, but it was no problem at all.  

Its always best to use a paint system from one manufacturer.  I used House of Kolor Paints.  They are more pricey, but hey, we all sink money into our cars!  The paint was 4 different substrates.  First a silver sealer, 2 coats.  This goes on right after thoroughly cleaning the car multiple times, and tacking.  Follow the instructions for flash times, and reducer types.  After this flashed, 3 coats of Orion Silver Max.  Again, using the Data Sheets for mixing, and flash times.  I increased my flash times as my booth does not have as good as airflow that you would find in a real booth.  Temps were in the mid 70's in the booth, so great for painting.  Next was the Kandy Brandywine.  This product is not a true candy, it is more of a candy base coat, but mimics a candy.  Each coat makes it darker, but stays translucent enough to let the silver flake shine through.  Always tack in between all coats.  After this, the final product was House of Kolor Show Klear. This is a Urethane paint.  Three coats, with the final two being full wet and heavy.  The first coat gives it a bond, the subsequent coats flow out really well.  It actually continues to flow for up to 20 minutes from spraying.  With the clear, temps are very important to use the right reducer.  Many pros use a slow reducer even in mild weather as the longer drying time gives more flow out and less orange peel and rough spots.  But, it can run and cause drips faster.  

Letting the clear dry per the data sheets, I was then able to start the "color" sanding.  I am using 2000 grit, 2500, and 3000.  I am actually using a dry sanding system instead of wet.  I was anxious about this, but tested it out on some practice pieces and it's working well.  I am using the 3M buffing system, called Perfect IT.  It's 3 different polishes, and three different polishing pads.  I have found that wool works best for initial cutting, then the medium and fine foam pads.  

I haven't see any issues sanding the clear so far.  I let it set up for almost 2 weeks, although they say that it can be sanded within 48 hours.  I think as the clear is reduced and catalyzed, the mix ratio, booth temp, and humidity levels are super important for it to dry correctly.  Also, very important are the flash times between coats.  That can also be an issue if solvents are trapped and cant release.  You can get solvent pops and it can cause the outer coat to be softer longer.  I also read that airflow over the car is very important when clearing.  Apparently, the solvents leave the paint in a gaseous form but can hang in the air and drop back down onto the paint.  Keeping good airflow is important, even after the last coat.  I was told to let the airflow continue for a good 2-4 hours after the final coat, and even better to leave it for as long as you can.  I also increased my flash times to give the solvents more time to gas out in between coats.  

Ok, I might have droned on a bit here.  Hope I answered you somewhere in all of that!

Thanks for all the information! I probably messed up by starting the "color" sanding with, I believe, 320 grit.  In places there was quite a bit of orange peel in the clearcoat, and I wanted to remove that, maybe a bit too quickly. . .

When I did my two cars, I started wet sanded with 400 and used that until there were no shiny spots which denote low areas in the orange peel. From that point, I would go up a couple of hundred on the grit and I think I finished with either 1200 or 1600 grit. 

1973 L-82 4 spd

320 might have been a bit too aggressive. But, some of it depends on how much clear you have to work with.  If the thickness is there, it's just a matter of progressing to higher grits.  At the end, a finer scratch is easier to buff out, but not being too familiar with buffing, it just helped me.  Also, I am using a dry system with a different type of grit.  Even though I'm going to 3000, this system makes the 3000 cut like a 2500 p type grit. 

Yes, it really is telling as the high spots sand don leaving the shiny spots.  It's very much like all the guide coat blocking....except going too deep makes for a very bad day :)