Scr8p I need to pick you brain for a minute

[biff85ta]

I have been working on a friends collection to bring them all back to life and as soon as good weather hits his Tenth Anniversary TA will be going out for paint. My question comes from what I should expect or request when talking to a shop about doing the paint work? The original Lacquer is dead in most places and flat gone in a few but the car is absolutely solid. This is not a looks solid type deal the car is low mile 22k original but it did spend some time under a carport instead of a garage so the paint suffered. What materials would you recommend and keep in mind this is not a show car but it should be nice. Also do you think there is any chance the OEM decal set he purchased in the mid 80's is still any good?

[scr8p]

I think the decal kit would probably be shot. Kind of in the same boat with the factory stripe kit for my Monte SS. I never thought the car would never get done. Waste of $400......

First thing for me would be to blow the whole car apart, including the front and back glass, and strip it down to bare metal. Jambs and all, then start from there. If you don't have a lot of, or any metal work that needs to be done it's really straight forward. Do whatever needed body work there is and get it in primer. Spend some time getting it blocked and it's ready for paint.

As for materials, that's really gonna depend on the shop. Everyone has their way of doing things that are dictated by the products they use. Some places use epoxy primers, some use etch primers and 2k urethanes. Some use still use solvent based paints, many have moved over to water base. As long as their products are all compatible with one another, and the shop knows how to use them, you should be fine no matter how they would go about it.

I'm half asleep right now, so if I need to get more in depth with anything for you, I'll try to do better tomorrow.

[biff85ta]

I think the decal kit would probably be shot. Kind of in the same boat with the factory stripe kit for my Monte SS. I never thought the car would never get done. Waste of $400......

First thing for me would be to blow the whole car apart, including the front and back glass, and strip it down to bare metal. Jambs and all, then start from there. If you don't have a lot of, or any metal work that needs to be done it's really straight forward. Do whatever needed body work there is and get it in primer. Spend some time getting it blocked and it's ready for paint.

As for materials, that's really gonna depend on the shop. Everyone has their way of doing things that are dictated by the products they use. Some places use epoxy primers, some use etch primers and 2k urethanes. Some use still use solvent based paints, many have moved over to water base. As long as their products are all compatible with one another, and the shop knows how to use them, you should be fine no matter how they would go about it.

I'm half asleep right now, so if I need to get more in depth with anything for you, I'll try to do better tomorrow.

He got the decal kit for about $100 because the dealer goofed and ordered the manual kit for someone when he had an auto. It was a just in case purchase. There should be no actual metal work on the car as it was always an extra car and was never driven in foul weather. I have been all over the car looking and haven't found a spec anywhere. I haven't dealt with any body work since the early to mid 90's and it appears that the prep is still similar but everything else from there has changed. This is not a restoration so much as a rejuvenation so is pulling the glass really all that necessary?

[scr8p]

I guess you could leave the glass in. I know a lot of places wouldn't do it for basically a paint job. If it were my car, or a car we were doing, they would get pulled. It's just the way we do things. Just like there are people out there that would spend thousands of dollars on primers and paint, then spray it over 35 year old lacquer. That's not something we would do.

[biff85ta]

I guess you could leave the glass in. I know a lot of places wouldn't do it for basically a paint job. If it were my car, or a car we were doing, they would get pulled. It's just the way we do things. Just like there are people out there that would spend thousands of dollars on primers and paint, then spray it over 35 year old lacquer. That's not something we would do.

I get what you are saying and I agree but it isn't my car and I think budget might become a bit of an issue.