[lucky1]

3 years. Never again.

[HoovDaddy]

Nice work and there is satisfaction in doing it yourself whether it's the entire project or just a part of it. Above all, as long as you have good neighbors. lol

[NeighborsComplaint]

All my body shop experiences have come with complimentary winter storage, even when started in April.

[OCMDGTO]

Nothing like pulling up to paint jail to see your POS sitting outside with no work done on it the last few weeks

[OCMDGTO]

More progress. Getting a new quarter panel soon

[Tim Corcoran]

The cost of a good paint job is outrageous most people don't want to re-finance their house to paint a hobby car which is why I decided to paint it myself. Of course a paint job is never just a paint job you still need to do body work, chrome bumpers, replace rusted trunk pans, polish stainless trim replace rubber seals around trunk and doors interior molding and detail etc... No matter how the paint comes out I am sure it will look better than it does now. Actually I am looking forward to the project a lot of work but it will be in my hands and I will work at my own speed. So if it's in paint jail at least it will be my jail.

[64speed]

My Bodyman was 10 hours away. He called and sent pictures every day!

[OCMDGTO]

Exactly that, Vertigo. Small shop & short handed. The part that kills me is the month of nothing being done on it that I could have been driving it or working on other stuff. All part of the game. Makes me wish I had another car so I could always have at least one working.......some day.

[vertigto]

Originally Posted by OCMDGTO

Exactly that, Vertigo. Small shop & short handed. The part that kills me is the month of nothing being done on it that I could have been driving it or working on other stuff. All part of the game. Makes me wish I had another car so I could always have at least one working.......some day.

Frustrating...I'm sure.

[Stuart]

I have a '66 F-100 pickup that spent time in paint jail. It was close to done and was actually in the paint booth getting the first coat of paint, when the shop got shut down for an EPA violation. They padlocked the doors, and my truck sat untouched in the booth for months, until one day the shop owner called me to let me know he was going out of business and the bank was coming the next day to seize the place. So, I had to break it out of jail before they got there...I scrambled around and found another shop that could finish the work, then got a rollback truck to pick it up and haul it over to the new shop. They were able to finish things up and I finally got the truck back about a year after when it was supposed to be done.

Fortunately, things went much smoother for the next car I had done, a 1986 BMW M535i. That shop kept me updated with weekly phone calls and emails with photos, the work progressed as planned, and I got the car back right on schedule.

[ZeGermanHam]

Ugh, that gives me cold sweats just reading it.

[Tim Corcoran]

Any stories of the first time you (anyone) painted your car at home? I'm not talking about a pro but an amateur with no autobody/painting experience

[HoovDaddy]

Originally Posted by Tim Corcoran

Any stories of the first time you (anyone) painted your car at home? I'm not talking about a pro but an amateur with no autobody/painting experience

Junior and senior year in high school co-op I worked at a Ford dealer as a painters helper. With a little knowledge my buddy and I decided after graduation we would paint cars in my dad's garage. I had a '64 442 at the time and I decided to do a wild paint job with all the latest techniques that were shown in the latest issue of Dupont News (1970). This car would sell some paint jobs if it turned out. Dad had a compressor, we had sander, but no polisher, so we had to wet sand and hand rub all the cars. Everything we did was lacquer. In 1970 a gallon of the best Dupont lacquer was about $25 and all the supplies to do an entire car were less than $100. We could do a full job like below in one week. This style was popular back then.

We cruised Woodward Ave. almost every night of the week so with that exposure and word of mouth we had steady summer jobs for 2 years doing custom paint. We made mistakes and thought we screwed up peoples cars really bad sometimes, like painting lacquer over enamel, but you learn how to fix what goes wrong. Then the neighbors killed it, too many noisy cars or maybe the paint fumes. My buddy went to California to do it full time, and I went to College.

The light blue portion of the stripes and the panel painting was Metalflake. The blue faded to Plum Crazy with added flake. The side panel had Imagineering (the thin stripes) and Cob Webbing both done in Plum Crazy. '68 Camaro hood scoops mounted to sheet metal risers. It took 24 double coats of clear lacquer to bury the flake and cob webbing. I sold the car 2 years later for $650 and it hadn't started to crack yet. I still dabble with car builds and paint.

[bdk1976]

Originally Posted by HoovDaddy

Junior and senior year in high school co-op I worked at a Ford dealer as a painters helper. With a little knowledge my buddy and I decided after graduation we would paint cars in my dad's garage. I had a '64 442 at the time and I decided to do a wild paint job with all the latest techniques that were shown in the latest issue of Dupont News (1970). This car would sell some paint jobs if it turned out. Dad had a compressor, we had sander, but no polisher, so we had to wet sand and hand rub all the cars. Everything we did was lacquer. In 1970 a gallon of the best Dupont lacquer was about $25 and all the supplies to do an entire car were less than $100. We could do a full job like below in one week. This style was popular back then.

We cruised Woodward Ave. almost every night of the week so with that exposure and word of mouth we had steady summer jobs for 2 years doing custom paint. We made mistakes and thought we screwed up peoples cars really bad sometimes, like painting lacquer over enamel, but you learn how to fix what goes wrong. Then the neighbors killed it, too many noisy cars or maybe the paint fumes. My buddy went to California to do it full time, and I went to College.

The light blue portion of the stripes and the panel painting was Metalflake. The blue faded to Plum Crazy with added flake. The side panel had Imagineering (the thin stripes) and Cob Webbing both done in Plum Crazy. '68 Camaro hood scoops mounted to sheet metal risers. It took 24 double coats of clear lacquer to bury the flake and cob webbing. I sold the car 2 years later for $650 and it hadn't started to crack yet. I still dabble with car builds and paint.

That paint job is killer. Love the first pic - even the background. Check out how flat and manicured the lawns are!

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by Tim Corcoran

Any stories of the first time you (anyone) painted your car at home? I'm not talking about a pro but an amateur with no autobody/painting experience

It can be intimidating. When researching what you need, and what steps you need to follow it can become confusing awfully fast. You'll get 10 different answers from 10 different people.

When I started doing my own stuff, I just jumped in with a full paint job. I used NAPA brand primer and paint, and quality fillers like Rage Gold. I took my time doing the body work, constantly block sanding and checking my work.

I like base coat clear coat jobs, as it allows me to wet sand the car totally flat and smooth. I haven't mastered laying clear down flat enough to be happy without wet sanding it down, but on a classic car I'd be wet sanding it regardless.

I actually painted that 77 SE I posted with Summit Racing paint. I think all the materials cost $500.

Heres a pic of the door and roof before I wet sanded it. Anyone who's done bodywork on a 2nd gen knows those doors are a pain to get straight. They're huge and flat, and unforgiving in black.

[OCMDGTO]

Tex I hear more and more guys adding AC/creature comforts to their cars so their wives will ride in them. Maybe these women are on to something

[bdk1976]

Originally Posted by Tim Corcoran

Any stories of the first time you (anyone) painted your car at home? I'm not talking about a pro but an amateur with no autobody/painting experience

I did my 65 GTO 100% at home in a 2 car garage with absolutely zero previous experience with body work or automotive paint - minor rust and moderate body work, epoxy/2k primers, bc/cc in a light metallic (iris mist). I did get a few runs in the clear but that was easy to remedy and block flat.

Lots of work and a ton of preparation, but if I had any complaints about work or progress, all had to do is look in the mirror. After almost 15 years it has gained some scratches, scrapes, and dings from driving, but overall the paint still looks great and has held up great with a lot of time outside in elements and quite a bit of local driving.

I can't fathom sending a car away to "paint jail" - hell now that I've moved on from a packed 2 car garage to a large shop, I plan to keep everything i possibly can 'in house', outside of a couple of engine machining processes and chrome plating moving forward.

[crm318]

My car was destroyed in a hail storm in April 2019. Every single square inch of the car was inoperable. A frame up restoration was done with all new sheet metal and refurbished nose. About to receive the car next week. 3 year job.

[HWYSTR455]

Originally Posted by crm318

My car was destroyed in a hail storm in April 2019. Every single square inch of the car was inoperable. A frame up restoration was done with all new sheet metal and refurbished nose. About to receive the car next week. 3 year job.

Insurance job? Just wondering. Considering upgrading my insurance is why...

My bird went to a paint guy who does work on the side, was supposed to be 3 mo, but, pneumonia put him in the hospital for almost a month, and he is still not back to 100%. He assured me it will be done in Aug/Sept, fingers crossed.



.

[OCMDGTO]

Car is back in the shop getting worked on! Pretty sure I'm going with Liberty Blue