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Handling Hot Hues

Paint tips from the pros

Ask any rod, custom or show car builder what their toughest decision was during the buildup, and the answer is likely to involve the paint job. Not only are there thousands of colors, there are also hundreds of other options such as types of paint, graphics, flames, pearls, tri-coats and color-change paints. Some builders may decide to paint their cars themselves, while others will rely on a pro.

20/100

Every paint decision is important, since the paint job is the first thing most people will notice, long before they set eyes on the engine or interior. You want a good first impression for both street and show cars, while track-only cars often have "20/100" paint jobs (it looks good from 20 feet away while the car goes by at 100 mph).

There are three basic questions to ask yourself before you decide to paint your own car. One, do you have the skill to do a good job? Two, do you have the time? It will take 100 to 150 hours. Three, what is your time really worth? If you can make as much or more money doing your day job than what the painter charges, you may be better off having it done by a pro!

Air Supply

A word of caution for DIY painters as well: The new paints, especially the Isocyanates, are highly toxic, and the fumes can be lethal. If you are going to spray them you must have a supplied air system with a paper uniform. Supplied air systems have a special oil-less compressor that pumps in clean air from outside the spray booth. Professionals require them, as well as an HVLP (high volume, low pressure) spray gun that produces less overspray than older paint systems. In addition, the materials used in paints are highly explosive, so there can be no open flames in the shop.

Most painters recommend base coat/clear coast urethane paints, although lacquers can still be found online. Lacquer was once the best paint, but urethanes have since surpassed them for durability and gloss. Lacquer is also hard on the environment and is banned in most states. The few surviving modern lacquers don't have near the shine of the old ones, so there's no point in looking for them.

Prep Work

Painting cars is an expensive proposition, but there are ways to get your money's worth. Spend the extra money on body prep before you paint, and make sure everything is filled and flat. Query prospective painters to make sure they have a proper spray booth and use quality materials. Many painters use high-fill primers that leave a thick surface. On fiberglass bodies (now fairly common on street rods and other types of project cars), these primers fill imperfections like pinholes in gel coat, but they do require more sanding.

Typical body prep consists of sanding the surface with a dual action (DA) sander using 320-grit sandpaper, followed by wet sanding with 800- to 1000-grit paper. Next, spray primer and sand it down with the DA again, using 800- to 1000-grit. Tight spots and crevices may have to be hand sanded. It is important not to sand through the primer anywhere (which is easy to do on edges where the paint is thinner).

The Clearing

Then apply four to five coats of the base color, followed by a like number of clear coats. Some pro painters will do a light sanding with fine-grit paper after the first few clear coats, and then apply some final "flow coats" of clear. Once dry, wet sanding the clear smooths out the orange peel (rough surface) that all clear coats have. This is done using a hard block hand sander wrapped with 600-grit, working down to 2000- or 3000-grit paper for a smooth final surface. Afterwards, buff the clear with a buffing product on a wool pad attached to his variable-speed power buffer. The final touch is glazing the finish with glaze on a foam pad.

Pro painters recommend matching the brands of primer, base coat and clear coat. Otherwise you can end up with solvent popping (pinholes), seeding, blistering and wrinkling in the paint. And never do bodywork near a source of airborne grease or solvent, like a detail shop or a fast-food restaurant. The almost-invisible mist can drift into your shop and wreak havoc. Contamination of the paint is probably the biggest reason for poor results in a paint job.

Pro Tips

If you decide to paint your car yourself, here are some tips from the pros:

* Make a long (about 24-inch) sanding block out of Masonite, with handles screwed onto each end. Stick roll sandpaper on the front, and use this flexible sander to take down high spots on the body.

* To get a better look at the body, hang a shop light on a pole stand and position it alongside the body. Then wet down the body and look at the reflections to see where it is wavy or uneven. Run your bare hand along the surface as well, because your fingers may "see" waves better than your eyes.

* Once the body is smooth use a good two-part primer. Fill all pinholes with polyester filler, then apply another coat of primer and sand with 400 grit. Spray the body down with a sealer, which is not sanded.

* Before shooting color, wipe the body down using only your hands and water. Wear a full paper painter's jump suit and let the water wet down the floor as well (keep electrical cords out of the way).

* A hot custom technique is ghost flames, subtle flames that only appear at certain angles. Ghost flames are backwards from regular flames, as they have a finish, but no start. Regular flames start with a yellow underbase, then the flames change color as they fan out. With ghost flames there is no underbase. After carefully taping off the flames, spray on multiple layers of subtly tinted clear pearls. Start with platinum pearl, then perhaps blue and red pearls. If you want to see what a ghost flame should look like, light a butane torch and look at the flames.

* Another sizzling paint effect is the use of color change paints. They are very difficult to shoot properly. You can't intermix brands of paints and sealers, and the air pressure at the gun cannot change (you will need a digital HVLP gun). The distance of the gun from the body, the temperature in the shop, the temperature of the reducer, the speed and motion of the painter, all are critical. At $580 per quart (with at least six quarts needed), you don't want to be re-doing much. Shoot it over a black underlayment. Some painters keep records of all variables when they paint a car, so that they can match temperature, angle, reduction and pressure should they need to repair the paint job later.

Painting a car can be done on the cheap, or can cost as much as the car itself. Just remember, the biggest part of the bill is for preparation. Prep work may be pricey, but it's the difference between a good finish and a truly great one.