Last month, we showed you how to go about achieving a perfect paint job on your vintage Ford. We got into the science and physics of dent removal, working the body filler, guidecoating and block-sanding, getting down to the business of perfect paint. When all guidecoating and block-sanding is finished, we need to lay down a final primer coat as a sealer and paint foundation. Once this is accomplished, we're ready for painting. But, getting ready for painting is never easy. The body and the area where we will apply paint must be hospital clean. The body must be washed again and again until all dust and fallout has vanished down the floor drain. Areas not being painted should be masked to keep overspray away.
When it's time to go inside the paint booth, it must be hospital clean. To achieve a dust-free finish, a paint booth must have a clean filtration system. To further ensure freedom from dust, the floor should be wet during all phases of painting, as should the filters. Wet them down before painting. During the painting process, all doors to the paint booth should be closed and remain closed. Doors should be opened only when the filtration system is turned off and the air is very still. Dust winds up in the paint and clearcoat whenever we open a door, allowing dust particles around the door and doorframe to become airborne. This is why we stress an antiseptic paint booth. Ideally, you will have a high-tech, downdraft paint booth with a heating system to bake on the finish after the application of paint is over.
The body is thoroughly washed...
The body is thoroughly washed from stem to stern to remove allcontaminants. Ted Polisky uses a high-pressure washer and blasts everyarea to remove dust and grit.
The door openings and jambs...
The door openings and jambs are masked to keep paint overspray away fromareas to be painted a different color. Note the Latex gloves, which keepskin oil off the surface.
All areas are wiped with a...
All areas are wiped with a tack rag to grab any stray dust. The tack ragis a static cloth with an appetite for dust.
The magic begins here with...
The magic begins here with a three-step paint process. This is House ofKolor's Kosmic Kolor urethane paint system. We're shooting a deep royalblue pearl metallic, which will actually change color depending on howthe light hits the finish. First, we will lay down a black basecoat,then Cortex Blue Pearl basecoat which means both are used with aclearcoat top finish.
(above & right) Because we...
(above & right) Because we are painting Gary's Mustang a Cortez Blue Pearl Metallic, thebasecoat is actually black in color. The decklid and hood undersides,doorjambs, trunk area, and cowl are painted in this satin-black basecoatfirst. This phase is disappointing because there is no color--just black.