Mid 80s Ford – Exterior Painting – Paint Type?

[fredsmythson]

I have an 84 Tbird that I’m going to repaint… The roof, hood and trunk need help, because the clear coat has worn off and it has damaged the base coat. But, the clearcoat and basecoat on the sides of the car are still in very good shape. I’m thinking of trying to just paint the roof, hood and trunk, and then try to do some clearcoat blending… I’ll be using the same color as the original paint that’s on the car now…

I’m assuming that I can sand off the remaining clearcoat on the roof, hood and trunk; prep the old base coat; respray new base coat over the old base coat; and then spray the clearcoat. For a partial paint job like this, would I want an enamel paint or urethane paint? What products would be best for repainting a mid-80s Ford so it would look somewhat original? Mid-80’s Fords had a clearcoat that wasn’t as “glossy” compared to newer cars. Is there a clearcoat/basecoat system that anyone could recommend? Thanks!

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[Brian]

First of all, I closed my body shop in 2002, so I’m not as up to date on products out there. I’m used to using urethane based paints. The standard English paint system can be found across the country. Once you sand down to an even feel, you have to see if you’ve fine though to the primer or metal. If you sand down and have not gone through the paint or even if there is some clear left on it, you can start from that level too.
There are a multitude of types of clear coat. Whatever one you try, make sure it’s UV resistant or it will yellow and peel way too soon. Fords if the 70’s & 80’s experimented with new blends of galvanized steel. A lot of fords were factory painted with primers that didn’t stick to the new blend of metal very well, that’s why a lot of them had a dullness to them and premature peeling.
Let’s talk primers. It’s hard to get poor quality as long as you steer clear of hardware store stuff, go to a body Supply store. If your new there, tell them. They like showing newbs the ropes.
Bare metal gets a sealing primer, otherwise it will rust through. Building primers allow you to sand to a smooth level surface and they go on next. Etching primers are used on some surfaces, but not always needed if your already using the others. Other primers are used on aluminum.
I don’t know what color your car is. If it’s black, that’s easy. Only one true black so matching it is easy. Any other color can be matched at the body shop supply store. Take them a sample if possible. The paint code tied to the VIN won’t help much due to age and fading.
Recreating the exact shine may be difficult, but there are so many kinds of clear with many levels of Matt to glossy, so you do have options. Post some pics of areas you have more detailed questions on sometime if you like. I will help all I can.

[Rob Nebe]

Hey, you are talking about a 30+ year old car, even if it is factory paint. The level of prep work depends on the desired longevity of the new paint job. If you just want to tape everything and squirt some paint on it and be done, then just 220 the whole thing and go for it. But from your concern about the level of gloss to the clear, I assume you want this to be a nice, long lasting paint job. If that is so, then I recommend removing all the bumpers, mouldings, and trim and stripping the entire car down to bare metal. Then you can come back with all new , up-to-date materials for a lasting job. I know that sounds like a lot of prep work, but the end result is worth it. Otherwise, you are risking a waste of time and money. I hope this helps.

[Author]

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