Musings

[mrtexas]

Being the novice car painter I am I didn't order enough paint for the 3 cars I either painted or had painted. Next time I will order at least 2 gallons of paint or 2x what I think I could possibly need. I bought my paint from TCP Global because they supposedly have their own custom color matches for Ford paint. Their restoration shop line of paint is also 25% of the cost of PPG concepts. I have also talked with their paint expert "Johny paint chip" in the past and was pleased with his knowledge.

Car #1 was my 29 roadster. I ordered PPG concepts rose beige circa 2006 from TCP. Thru inexperience I didn't put 4 coats of paint needed to cover the primer. I had to reshoot one panel and then the color didn't match. I sent in a panel for them to match in 2015 and ordered up a quart of Restoration shop single stage urethane. I re-shot a couple panels. It was a good match but not perfect. The slight difference would only be noticed if I pointed it out to someone. I'm very happy with the result.

Car #2 was my 36 woodie. I ordered a gallon of bambalino blue restoration shop paint and the painter ran out. I ordered another gallon a few months later and the match was perfect.

Car #3 was my 28 roadster pickup. I ordered a gallon of paint of rock moss green. I discovered the passenger door was rusted out and I did a terrible job trying to put in a patch panel. My painter shot the car and then I learned the door I repaired didn't fit. I didn't check fit before the car was painted. So I bought a repro door but the gallon was used up. I ordered a quart. It didn't match and was way off. Rock moss green is dark blue green. The quart was dark green. So I sent off a windshield stantion to get color matched. I paint TCP $60 for matching. I shot the door and the match was off by a mile, again dark green instead of dark blue green. I then cut out a square of the original door I botched the match on thinking well the stantion may have been slightly off color. I bought another quart and paid another $60. The result was the same, another quart of dark green paint. So I ordered a gallon of their unmatched paint thinking well the match was off because of a quart vs a gallon. Wrong again. I contacted TCP with the story and sent them a photo of the bad match and said I thought they owed me a quart of paint that matched. They said blend the paint. IMHO the match was so bad blending wouldn't work. They said they would match again(for the third time) for at my expense. At this point I gave up on them on them. I asked my painter to have his usual supplier do a match of Dupont paint to the complete old door. I just got word that my painter sprayed it out and the local supplier nailed it. I'll see as I get the paint Monday.

Car #4 was a 63 Corvette. I let the painter buy the paint. When it was done I got a quart of paint for touch up. Turns out I needed the quart. A local repair shop scratched up my flawless and expensive paint job when they installed a new 5 speed transmission for me. I was speechless. I touched up the scratches with basecoat but still haven't sprayed the clear.

Car #5 was a 49 woodie hot rod. Car came painted and a quart for repairs. I'll buy a quart of activator and do a couple touch ups. Car was supposedly "finished" but had a small problem with steering I thought I could fix easily. The problem turned out to be major and I spent 6 months fixing it. It didn't cost a lot to fix but a lot of time. This is the car that convinced me I don't want another project.

Lessons learned
TCP has terrible customer service and their paint matching is hit or miss

Buy 2x of paint you need so you don't run out.

Be sure all your body parts fit before you paint them.

Next time(and I hope there isn't a next time as I don't intend to restore another car) I may order a quart of TCPGlobal paint, have a local supplier match it, and then get my gallon from the local guy.

I won't buy another car that needs work. I enjoy driving them more than working on them!

Get a second opinion before buying an antique car.

I'm looking at a fresh restoration of a 55 Corvette as my next purchase. Car is not available from the Canadian snowbird until April as he is snowbirding in the States until then. This will also give me time to sell 2 more cars before purchasing another. He might also be interested in a trade. Pay more and get one finished!

Finish the car you have before buying another one. Owning 5 cars at once overwhelmed me with repairs as I learned any antique car is a work in progress even if it is "finished"! I've had as many as 4 out of 5 cars out of service at one time. I have 3 out of commission now.

2 antique cars owned at one time might be better for me.

It has been a long lesson for me to decide what I want in an antique car. I've decided I really want one that doesn't need work. Let someone else do the work and then I can enjoy it.

Well I will write the manager of TCPGlobal and report my experience with their color matching. I'll also give them a sample of their 2 matches and what the local supplier did as evidence. Nothing will probably come of it but he may not know what is going on with customer service.

[mrtexas]

I bought the TCPGlobal paint because is is $140 a gallon instead of $450 a gallon. Didn't buy PPG primer either. I went with Southern Polyurethane primers. Went with Kirker black. Didn't think it prudent to make mistakes with $450 a gallon paint.

I also found out about the demand for Model As as that age group is now in their 80s and 90s. Not a lot of demand and I waited almost 3 months before I got a call after advertising on ebay, craigslist, and hemmings. And my 29 roadster was a bargain. No other ones out there with a fresh restoration for $18k. This will sure temper my offers on other cars where the liking crowd is getting pretty old. I'd say 50s and early 60s cars and older are having a decrease in demand due to deaths. Don't see many cars older than 1955 on any of the auctions.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Mr. T,
Sorry you cain't git even ONE response. Don't have any constructive advice, but I had a lots of reading practice as I read it 3 times.
I've felt like the LONE RANGER at times, also, when I've asked a question & nobody ANSWERS!!--BUT, I've MASTERED the DELETE POST button thingy. Is it possible that I might ACCIDENTALLY delete ALL my POSTS?????
Bill W.

[mhsprecher]

No comment on the paint, but it sounds like you learned many lessons there.

I bought my As at reasonable prices. Both were older restorations and have been lots and lots of fun. I thought about restoring a car, but I figured I never would get done. Both have needed work, so they have kept me busy.

I am buying two V8s, one of which is a nice original, unrestored car and a restored pickup that I just could not resist. I may have lost my mind.

My plan, such as it was, was to have one A and one V8. Now I have two of both. The roadster just presented itself to me and it was too good to pass up. I have loved owning it. It needs new cast iron brake drums, so that is a winter project. I may get the wheels powder coated, too.

I would love to restore one some day, but it is likely that that day will never come. I would need to retire first, I think.

[pat59]

You may find buying completed cars that that are not completed at all. And that you may end up redoing the majority of the work again. The best part about doing a car youself is that you'll be happy with it.
-Pat

[CarlG]

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5 years ago I bought my "restored and complete" Pickup. I now have poured into it an amount equal to or exceeding my original purchase price, just to make it a daily driver. And it's not finished yet. Like most of us, I don't suppose that it ever will be "finished".

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Mr. T,
Even talented painters have some HORROR stories to tell about when things went wrong???
As Leo was doing a final cleanup on a Mercury Bobcat, he literally BLEW all the paint off, with an OSHA approved blow gun!!!--+*$^^$#%^#
Bill W.

[Bob Bidonde]

Because of the cost of paint, I think the days of rattle can paint jobs are near at hand.

[mrtexas]

Originally Posted by pat59

You may find buying completed cars that that are not completed at all. And that you may end up redoing the majority of the work again. The best part about doing a car youself is that you'll be happy with it.
-Pat

That describes my 49 woodie.

[Hoogah]

Thanks for your detailed insights, MrTexas. Your problems are not confined to DIY spray jobs. I have a mate who is doing up a late 30s Willys and whose painter ran out of paint and then couldn't match the colour. The whole car was rubbed back and resprayed. Now the paint finish has started to craze on some panels. What a nightmare!

Also thought your musings on the "ideal" number of cars was interesting, but of course the right number will vary depending on each individual's circumstances. Thanks.

[ronn]

Buy 2x of paint you need so you don't run out.

ditto!

Because of the cost of paint, I think the days of rattle can paint jobs are near at hand.

agreed- that's why I use Maaco............................!

[tbirdtbird]

you'll need at least 2 gals of single stage per car. Mix those 2 gals together in a brand new super clean 5 gal pail and then pour back into the gal containers. That way no surprises later on color match.

with a quality color product with high solids you should only need 3 coats of color. Cheap paint tends to be watery and doesn't cover well; you'll use more, diluting whatever savings you thought you had made

most use grey primer, way easier to cover than black

60 bucks to match is a rip since they just shove your part under a scanner. Local paint suppliers do not charge for that service. Maybe cheap isn't so cheap after all.

finally, if you ask, most all local paint suppliers will give you 10% off. Nothing off if you do not ask. Remember the markup in car paint is 300%

[Keith True]

I use a gray sealer on most everything,except equipment.These two trucks were painted out of the same gallon.I use the short line of PPG,I can't remember if it was Nason or Omni.It is an off the shelf fleet color.48 Ford red.The paint guy I use did some research,it is one shade off Rubelite red,and actual A color.With activator and reducer I got 6 quarts of sprayable material for about $130.There is virtually NO guarantee with the short line paint.I think I did the A about 8 years ago,the dump was done with what was left over two years ago.The dump truck is the true color,the A is just a lousy picture taken while building it.It really covered great.I have had reds that covered poorly with a half dozen coats.Years ago I painted a few dozen Farmall tractors with Ditzler.It didn't cover well,and the color,or pigment seemed to pull away from any sharp edges.I changed to Sherwin Williams (Napa)at the time,that cured my problems.