 |
 Always protect your lungs...  Always protect your lungs with a good respirator for priming and a dust mask during prep. |
 Before you get started, its...  Before you get started, its a good idea to invest in the right equipment to support your bodywork. You can buy, rent, or borrow this equipment, which includes an air compressor like this Sears Craftsman 6-horse unit... |
 ...a high-volume/low-pressure...  ...a high-volume/low-pressure paint gun... |
 ...and a water separator....  ...and a water separator. |
 Aircraft paint stripper is...  Aircraft paint stripper is affordable and useful, saving you time during the stripping process. |
 Bare metal demands protection...  Bare metal demands protection and proper preparation. PPG offers at-home paint, not to mention professional-quality, as well as a variety of metal cleaners and conditioners to choose from. Metal cleaners free the surface of contaminates that can adversely affect paint adhesion. Metal conditioners etch the surface of the steel to prevent corrosion and improve paint adhesion. |
 When its time to cover...  When its time to cover bare steel, always opt for a self-etching primer/sealer. PPGs DP-series self-etching primers make for outstanding basecoats before paint prep begins. Two coats of self-etching primer first, then use a primer surfacer for surface work. |
 The key to achieving a perfect...  The key to achieving a perfect surface is investing time and patience. Keep reworking the surface until you achieve a smooth surface, then apply primer/surfacer. |
 After the self-etching primer...  After the self-etching primer has been applied and surface imperfections worked out, youre ready for primer/surfacer. In this case, were using PPG . |
 All body lines and tight corners...  All body lines and tight corners are worked by hand. Dry as shown with 220-grit sandpaper. |
 Follow the directions carefully...  Follow the directions carefully when using filler. You must have the right balance of filler and hardener. |
 Too much hardener makes the...  Too much hardener makes the filler cure faster, but it leads to cracking later. Take your time and do it right. |
 When the filler cures, grate...  When the filler cures, grate the surface as shown to take the filler down to a workable level. |
 Work the filler first with...  Work the filler first with 220-grit sandpaper and a block like this. Fill as necessarybut dont oversand. |
 Concave and convex corners...  Concave and convex corners get worked by hand like this. There is no substitute for your fingers here. |
 Finally, we work the surface...  Finally, we work the surface with 320- or 400-grit paper. |
 Covina Auto Bodys George...  Covina Auto Bodys George Clavdio applies PPG K200 to the surface. |
 3Ms Acryl-Green Spot...  3Ms Acryl-Green Spot Putty fills the small imperfections in the surface of the body filler. Dab some of this on, work the surface with 320- or 400-grit, then youre ready for primer. |
 Perfection comes from the...  Perfection comes from the guide coat, which is the light dusting of black primer over the light gray surface. When we begin block sanding, the low spots will turn up black and the high spots light gray. The black spots will need filling and smoothing. |
 Blocking or block-sanding...  Blocking or block-sanding a body calls for a long sanding board and a short one. |
 These boards help us work...  These boards help us work the surface to perfection because they help us find the high and low spots. Use these with the guide coat. |
 Before painting, wet-sand...  Before painting, wet-sand the entire body with 400- and 600-grit paper and recheck the surface. |
 Professional auto body painter...  Professional auto body painter David Vartanian of Covina Auto Body goes over the surface one more time to check for flaws. He massages and wet-sands with 600-grit paper as one final measure before the paint booth. |
 Vartanian stresses that you...  Vartanian stresses that you cant be too careful prior to the paint booth. Here he gently wet-sands and closely examines the surface for any imperfections, then works out the flaws by hand. |
 Mustang enthusiast Bill Kepp...  Mustang enthusiast Bill Kepp (right), goes over last-minute instructions with Covina Auto Bodys Vic Koroghlian. We suggest going over the body thoroughly with the paint shop before it goes into the booth. Its easier to correct problems before its painted. Be specific, and make sure your paint shop understands whats expected. |
 One final wipe down before...  One final wipe down before the body is rolled into the downdraft paint booth ensures a dust-free surface. |
 We suggest masking the body...  We suggest masking the body yourself, which ensures the paint goes where you want it to go. |
 Vartanian carefully tack-rags...  Vartanian carefully tack-rags the surface and checks for imperfections in the paint booth. |
 Were going to lay down...  Were going to lay down PPGs Deltron basecoat/clearcoat system on Kepps 66 coupe. This encompasses two coats of basecoat, then two coats of clear. |
 Vartanian may look like an...  Vartanian may look like an environmental clean-up technician, but this protection is necessary with todays urethane finishes. Here he applies two coats of Deltron basecoat, which dries to a dull, lifeless finish. |
 Next, Vartanian lays down...  Next, Vartanian lays down the clearcoat, which will bring out the deep metallic green finish. Note the use of a downdraft paint booth, which keeps dust and harmful paint emissions to a minimum. |
 Bill Kepps 66...  Bill Kepps 66 Mustang coupe is clad in clear and ready for the rub out. Even a low-buck paint job can look like a high-priced spread when you do it yourself. |
Undoubtedly the greatest hurdle awaiting the enthusiast on a car project is paint and body. Oh how we dread this one, with all that stripping, sanding, filling, priming, spotting, blocking, resurfacing, and--finally--laying down a finish in hopes of winning new friends and influencing the masses with an awesome ride. Achieving a flawless finish is not easy, even if you're starting with a dent- and rust-free body. Even an original body sports some imperfections, because factory finishes from 30 years ago were anything but flawless. We're talking sloppy lead work, subtle dings and dents, miswelded panels, and more.
Okay, so how do you get there from here? We thought about this question, then we contacted Bill Kepp, a fellow Mustang enthusiast brand new to classic Mustangs. Kepp picked up a '66 Mustang six-cylinder coupe body for $400, complete with pink slip, mountains of decaying paint and Bondo, and abundant prayer in tow. It was a homeless Mustang looking for a place to have a major accident. The car, and Kepp, needed fast, affordable answers.
Like most of us, Kepp didn't have a liberal budget to work with. So we put on our thinking caps and went to work. A vintage Ford buff on a budget needs to plan a project carefully, beginning with the paint and body. But paint and body does not have to be expensive. If you do all the preparation yourself, practice patience, and true the body to perfection, you can expect to spend at least $1,000 by the time your body shop has applied the paint. If you farm out the preparation, you can spend as much as $5,000-$7,000. Are you beginning to understand why you need to learn the finer points of doing body prep yourself?
Stripping
No matter what your budget is, you should strip all the paint off and begin with a clean foundation--bare steel. Because we're talking low buck here, there are really only two answers--aircraft stripping or aggressive sanding. An aircraft paint stripper is an affordable way to strip your Ford's body chemically . Brush it on (in the shade only) and watch the paint wrinkle up and fall off. If only it were that easy. An original factory finish will wrinkle and fall off with help--the use of a wire brush and a putty knife. When you're down to the steel, wash the body thoroughly with detergent, baking soda, and water to neutralize the effects of the stripper.
If you're going to sand down to the surface, start with 40-grit, then 80-grit paper and an orbital electric or pneumatic sander. Work the entire body down to the steel surface, then work the steel with 220- to 240-grit paper. Once the body is clean and bare, you're ready to work the steel to perfection. Sounds easy, doesn't it?
Prepare It Yourself
We enlisted the help of Vic Koroghlian at Covina Auto Body in Southern California to show us how to prepare a Mustang body properly for painting. As we watched these professionals massage the steel to a paintable condition, we concluded it wasn't anything we couldn't do ourselves, given patience and close attention to detail. We're going to show you how to save thousands of dollars, because 90 percent of a good paint job is preparation. After preparation, there are countless ways to save more.
We looked to PPG Finishes for our primer, paint, and clearcoat finishes because PPG products have yielded outstanding results for us in the past, including on our own Project Ed '65 Mustang coupe, which appeared on the cover of the Mar. '98 issue of Mustang & Fords. If you buy the PPG primers and finishes yourself with the idea of farming out the final painting to a body shop, you will spend upwards of $1,000 in materials, plus the labor for the paint job, with a total cash outlay of $2,000-3,000. That's not bad for a beautiful, glistening finish.
You have other options when cash is tight and buying paint is out of the question. MAACO, Earl Sheib, and 1-Day Paint & Body are all good options for the enthusiast on a tight budget. If you prepare the surface yourself and achieve a perfect body, any of the nationwide economy painters can dress your ride out for around $500. The key to success here is detailed preparation. Take your time and be stubborn about quality, and you will achieve good results for less than $1,000. Don't expect a show-quality finish from the economy painters. However, you can be strutting your stuff proudly when it's time to cruise on a Saturday night, because the economy painters lay down a nice finish for less than $500. All you need is a perfect surface.
One more thing. Whenever you're dealing with the economy painters, always go for the highest-quality paint available and mask the body yourself. Whenever possible, opt for additional coats of clear and spend the extra money to get it. This will enable you to color-sand and rub out the finish without going into the color coat.
With the help of Covina Auto Body, we're going to show you how to prepare a vintage Ford yourself the way the professionals do and achieve professional results.