66 Mustang paint questions

"Desert Lurker" wrote

Answer is, it depends. I just had my '69 Sportsroof done. They did an awesome job. Jut look at the pics here...

my car was there, a '65 coupe came in that the owner had done as muchas he could and then brought it in for paint. The shop ended up strippingeverything to redo it. A reputable, quality shop will most likely notguarantee the paint unless they know what they're putting it on. Course youcan always go to Earl Scheib for the paint, but even they will want to scuffyour work just to make sure it'll stick (for a year or so anyways).I've known some guys that have doen awesome work in their own garages, butthey had lotsa practice. Metallics are harder to shoot because they don'tlay down really smooth, it has a lot to do with the size of the metal flakein the paint. I saw a 7 series BMW that the owner had painted with bass boatmetal flake color shift lime green crap. The paint guys hated the stuffsince it was so thick they had to shoot it onto the car through a primergun. Then they had to lay out a lot of clear to bury it. Too many layers ofclear just accentuate the problems with the metal flake, but it's the onlyway to bury it. The car looked like a pimped out POS. It wasn't "smooth" atall and had tons of orange peel with no way to rub it out correctly.

Pick out any color you like. I suggest a plain nonmetallic/non pearl color because IMHO they look better on the classics. Cleaner anyways. It is ALWAYS possible to find the SAME color you like without the metal or pearl. This is what I did on my '69. I picked out an Audi pearl blue which was really cool, then I got out the Sikkens color chip book and found the non pearl match. The car is awesome now! You can make it anything you want. It comes down to how much want can afford to spend. You can still get quality work for economy price. My paint only cost $5600 for a complete color change. That included rust repair on both quarters, floor pan, door bottoms, fender aprons. That was a double baked base clear with 3 coats of clear (4 on the hood to bury the stripe). Just look at the pics...glass! Most other places would probably be in the $9000 range for the same work.

I found a paint guy through a local club, and another through a classic car dealership.

The one the dealership put me onto turned out to be good enough to have his work covered in Hot Rod magazine and others. After inspecting the vehicle (which had a fresh "Scheibe/Miracle/etc" paint job so brittle you could flake it off), he allowed that if I was willing to do a lot of the labor myself; remove chrome, gut the interior, etc, he would drop the price down and have it done in a couple of weeks.

The one the club put me onto, a fellow club member, has a total shop at the back of his property, offered essentially the same deal only a lot cheaper.

Every other shop I tried gave estimates of a year and $6000 and up unless I fronted the cash up front, and it didn't matter what I was willing to do. As most openly said, there was no real profit margin for doing a complete "frame off" type repaint. Their real money came from insurance work.

As for Erle Scheibe-Miracle-???? types. First they get you in the door with a cheap offer. Then they tell you that any body work has to be redone (added cost), and if you want the car mask off it's an added charge, cleanup of things like overspray onto other parts is extra, Oh, and that's the cheap paint, so if you want the good paint, it'll cost you extra. Etc etc etc. I just sold a 66 fastback with an MAACO paint job. There was white paint on the chrome around the windows, on the inside of the front tires, etc, and you could just tap the paint and it would flake..... not scratch or gouge, but actually flake.

In 1977, a friend and I took his car to Earle "I'll paint any car for only $39.95" Schribe. The final bill totalled over $600. Then he was going to give a 10% discount. My friend nixed it, brought the car home, rented a sprayer system and hot lights, used old sheets he got from the hospital and did the job in his garage for something like $275. Came out looking pretty darn good, and it was a first time try. If you looked close you could find goofs, but from 10 feet... OK.

You'll get what you pay for. Look for refereals. Check local clubs. Make soem ph>Two questions, both have likely been answed before as I pop out of my >lurking mode

V'ger jma(NOSPAM)@snowcrest.net

1965 Mustang Fastback 2+2 Vintage Burgundy w/ Black Std Interior 289 ci 4v V8 oem A Code Dual Exhaust C4 Auto converted to AODE 8" Trak Lok Vintage 40 wheels BF Goodrich gForce T/A 225/50ZR-16 KDWS tires Built in San Jose, CA on my birthday, May 10th ; ) Restoration by: Cool Mustang Restorations Cool, CA

This month's Mustang & Fords has a '66 on the cover done in one of my favorites, Emberglo. Check it out.

Hey people, who has links to DIY paint DVD's?

For me, it's better to hire the job out. I don't have the time, tools, or patience to do it correctly. I'll just screw it up.

Here's how I pick a paint color. Walk around the parking and take a look. That's how I found a Ford Mist Blue for my '69 FB. Oncce you see a color you like, go to the dealership and get the code. Looking at paint chips just doesn't tell me enough.

Emberglo is a great color. Indian Fire is another favorite of mine. My sister had a Medium Copper 73 Montego 351. Good running car. Look at what they call a Montego now. Something seriously got lost in the gene pool...

-- Mike

93 Cobra