Has anyone here painted their Vette themselves? I am goint to attempt(yes attempt ) it this spring. It isn't a show car nor restoration, it's a driver, so I'll shoot it myself for now. My question is where did you obtain your paint? I would like to go with the original Buckskin(finally decided). I am looking for ideas on where to purchase original colors.

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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

All G.M. cars were painted with DuPont lacquer in the good old days,any autobody supply shop that handles DuPont paint should be able to mix it for you,in quarts or gallons,no problem. Ron 78

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C3VR Lifetime Member #93
 

The big problem in painting yourself is the facility and equipment to produce an acceptable product. I have painted from my garage with mixed results. My water seperator worked fine on the limited surface of a motorcycle, but failed on a van. The van turned out great until the seperator couldn't keep up and I ended up with spots where water got into the line. It didn't matter, as it was an old rusted work truck, but could have been a disaster if a vette. My suggestion would be to find a Macco or Earl Scheib type paint facility that will accomodate you. I was told they will shoot any paint you bring them by a fellow I used to work with. He had an old Gremlin painted a two-tone gray that came out super. You could spend more for upgraded equipment than they charge to paint you car. Just a suggestion to consider.

Thanks for the quick replies

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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

I painted my 68 firebird in my garage, using dupont bc/cc. It came out pretty good, except for the dust spots. I used a turbine HVLP setup. If you go to maaco or earl sheib, bring your own paint, and mask it yourself. They buy the cheapest paint on the planet and spend about 5 minutes masking, and it shows. Joe

www.photohost.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=16806

|UPDATED|11/23/2003 4:51:09 PM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

I am planning on shooting it myself. Though I have never painted a car, I have painted using the same equiptment, hence I say "attempt". I have seen some very respectable paint jobs come frome some of the most un-paint friendly environments. Though the painters were obviously better than I am, I will be painting in a fresh new garage, so I am confident of a acceptable finish. If not, I'll just have to start over. But thats how you learn.

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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

My friend and I are going to paint our cars his 67 and my 71. Not lacqure though going to paint it the color then clearcoat. It's all in the prep. I heard there is a self leveling base coat that is pretty thick but if done right the paint will look like glass. But you need a diffrent gun to shoot it . Our project will start in a few weeks . I'll keep you informed

Thanks that would be great. I believe I am going with acrylic enamel w/hardener. not sure about clear yet though. Looking forward to hearing more on your projects

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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

I agree, it's all in the prep work. For first time painters, bc/cc is the easiest and most forgiving. Acrylic enamel is very hard to spray, especially metallics.
http://www.autobodystore.com/
Browse thru this website and ask them questions on the bulletin board:
http://www.autobodystore.com/cgi-bin/config.pl?index
they are very helpful. Joe

my car was repainted when I bought it it had a lot of dirt and orange peel under the florecent garage lights but it had a lot of clear coat so we wet sanded and buffed it good and now it looks great

|UPDATED|11/25/2003 4:25:28 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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|IMG| C:\Documents and Settings\Ted\My Documents\My Pictures\my corvettes\100_2377_DCE.JPG|/IMG|

Wow - I admire you for attempting something like this with your Vette! I'd be too afraid that mine would come out like this:

https://www.c3vr.com/vrforums/message_go.asp?MID=12794

Eric76 said: Wow - I admire you for attempting something like this with your Vette! I'd be too afraid that mine would come out like this: https://www.c3vr.com/vrforums/message_go.asp?MID=12794

Mine might , but it all comes down to what you start with. If my vette was low milaged, or in good original condition, I wouldn't think of painting it myself, ok I would think about it, but would let professionals do it.
I bought my Vette for $2500(gotta love parents), drivable, and it only needed weather stripping, carpet, seats redone(leather), shifter console, T-top headliners, door panels(deluxe), brake system leak fixed, bumper covers replaced, headlight vacuum probs solved, tires, and paint. Funny how before a project becomes yours, you can see how easy and fast it should completed. Before I bought it, I thought my father was wasting time and being cheap,"just spend the $$$" I told him. Now I own it, and I find my self doing the same thing he was doing. I wait until I find a real deal before buying needed parts. New carpet, complete set,$112 bucks on Ebay, and it was right here in town, no shipping, no tax.
Painting it myself may not create a show winner, but I will learn from it, and down the road, if needed, I can shoot it again. If you can't see a flaw in it from 3ft or 5mph, it will work for now. It will be a driver, a fun driver, and hopefully something my son(5yrs old now) will be thrilled to recieve when he hits 16.
Thanks for the links Joe, they are now in "my favorites".

|UPDATED|11/25/2003 7:14:43 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|


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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

Lacquer is getting harder and harder to find. The VOC content is slowly killing production. Acrylic with a hardner is a good bet. Very durable. It does take more skill than basecoat/clearcoat (bb/cc). Many of the cars in the 80's had a waterbase, which was repaired with lacquer.
To repeat, the prep work is more important than the paint itself. I have repainted many cars, and am an ASE master body tech, as well as master auto, master truck. I teach auto at a Tech College. With that in mind I have had some good sucess in some nasty conditions. But some of that is just luck. Wet the floor and connect a ground strap from the car to the floor to stop static from attracting dust to the finish. You would be amazed the difference this makes. The air flow from the gun produces static buildup. Good luck.

Thanks for the info Ken

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'76 L48 Auto Project |IMG|http://www.freewebs.com/privategod/Mine2a.JPG |/IMG|

Alex

I have painted my 93 and it came out pretty good. I would suggest a bc/cc and not a lacquer paint. It is much more forgiving.

Also, you should remove every thing from the car. Remove the taillights, side markers, trim, etc. The front and rear bumper require a special flex additive if they are the soft type. This will keep the paint from flaking off them in the event of impact.

Use either PPG or Dupont brand. Although you will want to stay away from the Dupont Omni as it lasts only about 5 years before it starts to fade and dull.

Alex

If I had the place to paint..I would be doing the painting myself ( with Hubby's help of course! )

ALl the ''work'' has been done here at home in the carport!!!

Final paint will be done by a friend of ours that has a paint booth.

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STW!!
Debbie AKA Rose
NCM Charter Member #3445
My Corvette

My son and I have painted a couple of dune buggies. One we painted by covering a wooden temporary frame with blue tarps, one we painted in a garage where we put clear plastic on the garage walls.

I think it's a great idea to do it yourself if you're not building a concours machine. It's no weird science. Just go to a auto paint supplier and ask a million questions.

Here's an idea how we painted the 2nd dune buggy.. After the acrylic lacquer paint dried we wet sanded (or color sanded) the pink and waxed it.
http://canney.net/funnybug/funnybug6/index.html

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http://canney.net