Merv warned us to make sure the car itself was clean. Even though we had a spotless work environment, if the car is dirty, the air pressure from the spray gun will move that dirt into the air and back on your paint. A gentle shot of air through the cowl from the shop blowgun was all we needed to see the sanding dust and crud that had built up. Lesson learned: Make sure all the nooks and crannies are clean before going into the booth. | 
The more you remove from the car, the better the paint job will look. Set up some saw horses or painting tables for small items like bumper guards, headlight doors, marker-lamp housings, valances, and so on. |
Use a solvent-based degreaser and a clean rag to wipe down every panel you will paint. Do this several times as you prep the surfaces.You don't want any silicone, dirt, or other material contaminating the surface and ruining your paint application. | 
Some of our body parts were new reproduction items that required a scuff with 800-grit sandpaper to remove any gloss from the surface, and then Danny Gaydos from CCCF applied a quick shot of lacquer primer as a sealer-yes, Auto-Air will go right over lacquer too. |
You might be wondering about all the dark spots on these valances. While sanding, you might break through the primed surface to bare metal (the owner had already primed the car to prevent rusting after metal repairs). These bare metal spots require recoating with primer, and in this case, we quickly spot primed the areas with the lacquer primer on hand. You can't do that with conventional paints. | 
Here's our '68 Mustang, part urethane primer/part lacquer primer, all masked off and ready for some Pearlized Black. This poor hardtop, owned by my neighbor, Russ Aljoe, had been through three previous body shops and several mishaps during the '05 Florida hurricane season and still hadn't been painted. Note the amount of room we have to work in. You can get away with less room, but you have to be more careful of your surroundings and your air hose. |
Once we had spot primed all of the areas that we broke through-which was quite a bit with three inexperienced helpers sanding away, including yours truly-they had to be sanded down again in preparation for our Auto-Air basecoat. | 
Danny uses a typical paint strainer that can be purchased at any auto-paint supply house to keep out any potential spraygun-clogging contaminants. Notice he's pouring the Auto-Air right from the gallon container with no reduction or additives. |
By painting the inside of the trunk lid and hood first, we can later fit these large panels to the car and apply our clearcoat to the complete body all in one day. We're not rushing because of the paint; Auto-Air can be left on a car without clear indefinitely. We're rushing because it's a Sunday, and we don't want to get in the way of CCCF's normal work schedule on Monday. | 
Notice the first coat of Auto-Air's paint goes on light, similar to a guidecoat. You'll typically use a 1.2mm spray tip and 35-40 psi of air pressure. The second and third coats apply more material. Don't apply heavy, wet coats with the Auto-Air product. This is where many old-time painters have problems because it's harder for them to let go of what they've been taught. Craig Kennedy from Auto-Air told us he'd rather teach their paint application techniques to someone who has never painted a car before because they don't have to unlearn past techniques. |
After the first coat is applied, let air and time take their course and dry the finish. Infrared lamps or forced hot air reduces the drying time, but you don't want to rush this step. You want the finish to be completely dry before applying the next coat. Typically, painting in 70-degree-or-warmer weather will help too. | 
We hit some of the stubborn areas that were not drying completely, such as the corners of the trunk and around the door hinges, with a little hot air from a heat gun. A hair dryer will work for those painting at home. Again, make sure the paint booth area is clean, otherwise your heat gun will pick up dirt and blow it onto the surface. |
Once the second coat was completely dry, Merv and Danny loosely bolted on the front fenders, hood, and trunk lid. This allows the pearl in the paint to flow properly from panel to panel when the last coat of paint is applied. This is something that should be done with metallic paints as well since painting panels separately will result in different shades or reflectiveness of color when the car is assembled. | |