I just wrapped up (except for a few loose ends) my first attempt at
painting. I first had a long talk with the folks at my local auto paint
shop - brought some pics of MGA's, discussed potential colors, and told
them what I wanted to do with the car. They recommended a Dupont
Urethane system. We discussed black (the original color of my car
according to the code) but settled on red as it is a bit more forgiving
of body imperfections (my bod ain't perfect and my car is just slightly
younger than I). After washing my very dirty '59 MGA with Simple Green,
I took it down to the metal with 80 grit paper on a DA air sander.
Removed all old bondo/filler... Cut out rust spots & patched. Then
treated metal with cleaner/etcher (1 type for aluminum, another for
steel). Used a self etching primer (Vari Prime 2 coats) followed by Ura
Prime (primer surfacer 2-3 coats). Sanded each coat of Ura Prime with
600-800 grit paper. Used dust coats on each coat of the Ura prime
except the last (was sort of cool in that the Ura Prime was gray and the
dust coat was black - looked like one of the old Me-109's or something
out of Mad Max). Sanded the last coat of Ura Prime with 1000 grit paper
(note all sands are wet sands), washed it well and hit it with 2 coats
of base coat. Followed that with two coats of clear coat, wet sanded
clear coat with 2000 grit to remove bug tracks and dust particles - hit
it with another clear coat and 2000 grit wet sand then buffed it with a
pro quality buffer using fine buffing compound on a foam pad at 3000
rpm. Followed the whole thing with a corn starch rubdown. I am
completely happy with my paint job and never expected to have done such
a good job myself.
Hints:
1.) talk to the folks at your local auto paint shop - explain your
situation and buy what they suggest. I made the guys at the local paint
shop part of the project and stopped in periodically to ask questions.
For the money I was giving them I figured they owed me some advice.
Don't patronize a place where the salespeople can't/won't explain how to
use their product.
2.) don't short cut the prep stage - I found it useful to think of the
base coat/clear coat like a dye for easter eggs rather than a paint.
3.) use a dust coat to find low spots - they are especially noticeable
if you're painting a dark color
4.) I found that closing my eyes and rubbing my fingers over the
surface was a great way to pick up those edges that were not completely
feathered in.
5.) Cleanliness is important but a lot of us don't have spray booths.
If you spray outside, pick a still day and bring parts inside to dry if
possible. I had problems with bugs - the little rascals would land on
my clear coat and then wander around before finally bogging down. I
found it best to let em go until the final sanding/buff. For the clear
coats, I used an oil/moisture removing cartridge on my spray gun in
addition to the regular regulator/moisture trap.
6.) Buy or rent a good buffer. I bought one as I've some more paint
jobs (the '84 is next) and a pro mechanic bud whose tools I borrow from
time to time. I can now repay him by lending my buffer.
I imagine I've spent almost as much time on the prep and paint job as I
have the rest of work on my '59 MGA but it has been worth it. I've had
great results with Dupont Urethane - there are other paints and other
manufacturers - some may be better/some may be worse but I think the
real key to quality is the care and expertise of the person using the
product. I'm no pro but kept on working until I got it the way I
wanted. I redid a lot of spots and the above hints represent lessons
from my mistakes - if I had to do this for a living I would go broke.
-ralph cordell
'59 MGA
'84 turbo regal
'87 grand national
'96 roadmonster (her car)
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