The problems with painting in stages

[Zeke...PA]

The problem with painting in stages and going from can to can. I think the door was done in black primer and the rest in gray primer which I'm sure didn't help. Oh well the son saw some light spots in the left quarter panel when we had it outside to put the body on the completed chassis. Another problem, use the frame that the finished body will go on as I used a different frame when putting in the sills and floor, cowl, qtrs and tail pan. etc. on the rotisserie, The frames had some differences, but that's another story. Also had to have some inspiration so I set up my fenders and grille some what. Kind of makes this as a never ending project. Zeke

[Lawson Cox]

Your problem is the same one I had on my last paint job. I did not "box" the several cans of paint. Get a large plastic pail, enough to hold all of the paint you are going to use for the color you have chosen, pour all of the paint into the large bucket and mix the fool out of it, you can then put it back into several cans and they will all be the same when you apply the final coat.

[Ken Crans]

I had that problem too... I was painting everything seperate and could see the difference in color. That's when i sub assembled and did what Lawson did, pour all of color together in one can to do final spray.

[V12Bill]

I have the same problem. My original supplier went out of business after 75 years. My new suppliers formula is slightly different, but I think closer to the shade that I want. I'm on my third gallon of paint in two years and couldn't mix all that paint in one large bucket and not have it dry out before I need it.

[Lawson Cox]

Originally Posted by V12Bill

I have the same problem. My original supplier went out of business after 75 years. My new suppliers formula is slightly different, but I think closer to the shade that I want. I'm on my third gallon of paint in two years and couldn't mix all that paint in one large bucket and not have it dry out before I need it.

I had my paint color matched, by eye ball. I had asked the guy to jot down the formula so if I needed more it could be matched. Well, a year goes by and I got to thinking with so many small businesses going out of business, maybe I should get a copy of the formula for my records. The #%$&**)( paint shop wanted $125.00 for a copy of the formula. Naturally, I felt he was trying to rip me off and I told him where to go.
He did do a good job of matching the paint, however.

[Tim Armstrong]

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I painted the tail lights on my 46 3 times, nothing matched the rest of the car. I had used a different color primer on the lights. Reprimed with light gray like the rest of the car and had a perfect match. Color matters even if you cannot see it.

[Marvin/TN]

Looks to me like he didn't put enough paint on it. Back in the old Lacquer Days I always put 5 coats of paint on after the primer was covered. Red can be transparent and hard to make it cover. It helps to have a primer that can be tinted to the top coat color.

[flatmotor40]

I always tint the primer the color of car to be painted from the start.

[bills1020]

Dupont's test panels are black and white checkerboard. Do a test panel to see how many coats it actually takes to cover the panel. On metallic/pearl reds and burgundy it takes more than you would expect. Almost all color mismatch when painting in pieces is variation in the amount of basecoat applied. Just did a late model mustang bumper in a pearly red color. It took 4 wet coats to cover the primed areas that I repaired.

[40fordpu]

Tint the primer the color or the car??? Does that mean if you are painting the car blue you use blue colored primer??? Sorry I am a newbie

[joel]

Yes, that is exactly what it means. The tint is not exact to the shade you have chosen, but it is red or blue, etc; depending on your topcoat color. In PPG the K36 is tintable and there are others in different brands. This was started to reduce the number of topcoats, which reduces VOCs. The checkerboard test board mentioned above was to ensure the painter sprayed to " full color depth" which was a concept you don't hear much anymore. For painters on the barn, fewer coats means less paint and maybe less cost.

[40fordpu]

The depth of the color is determined by the amount of color coats correct, not the clear coats???

[joel]

Yes, on any paint that is now referred to as single stage, if it is catalyzed or not. However there are some manufacturers limits ( recomendations) as to the maximum thickness (mils) that the catalyzed paint should be. It's also important to follow the recommended flash times. By the way ,I checked the data sheet for K36 and you tint with the actual color of base ( DMD,DMC ) or urethane ( DAU, DCC ). Whatever brand products you choose, I would get the data sheets for the products and read them.