Re: Just thought I would share....

by editguy Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:29 am

Long time bodyman/painter and automotive teacher here. One thing to keep in mind with metallic is the settings at your paint gun. If your gun is set correctly, you should have the metallic evenly dispersed. Do your adjustments on a big piece of cardboard or scrap of sheet metal. Also, sometimes (if you're doing BC/CC) if you see that you have some "streaks" before you start clear coating, hold the gun a little farther away and "mist" the paint on. That will usually do the trick. I also believe the original poster came to the correct decision - don't do a metallic for your first paint job. Get some experience with solid colors and then move on. There's a reason why shops have to charge the prices that they do.

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:00 am

I could not agree more. I have made progress since I posted last. The car is now painted and looks pretty nice. I ended up spraying it Sunday because the weather sucked and I needed to get it done before the snow flies.
Being stubborn I left the doors on and used a small detail gun to get in there. It wasn't fun but it worked. I just have to spray another coat on the front fenders and everything will be done.
I will get some pictures posted soon. Now I need to decide on either a white top or black top for the vinyl roof. I car is a dark blue. Almost black in the shade.

by thatfnthing Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:31 am

Great! When do I get to see it?

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:37 am

Not soon enough. I was supposed to get ahold of you this spring to discuss our cars. Where has the time gone. We still have to meet up.

by driveit Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:38 am

I have always loved a black top!

by Mcarlo77 Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:46 am

Can't go wrong with a black top if you're going with vinyl. It's a nice accent color with dark blue...and, not so pronounced as a white top. My '67 Cougar XR7 is a Med. Blue w/black vinyl and looks good IMO.

by Oldschool454 Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:14 pm

I used a single stage paint (original silver color) on my car and painted it in my 2 car garage with a 25 gal harbor freight compressor and 20+ year old siphone spray gun and got decent results. All in all I forked out about 225 bucks for the whole paintjob, materials and all. And I'm by NO means a good painter but I know the basics. I had couple spots that got little specs of debris in paint. I just posted some pics of it in a different thread a couple weeks ago. Props to you for not giving up though! It is tough working out of a garage.

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:44 pm

Sounds like a couple votes for the black top. Anyone else......

by dynchel Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:51 pm

Black would probably be a better choice, but I'm partial to white over blue.

by Oldschool454 Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:53 pm

One more for black...

by 77mali Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:21 pm

X2 on the black top w/ a dark blue (or medium blue). White ones go nice with a light or baby blue. My $0.02

by thatfnthing Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:37 pm

I'm going to go with the practical angle. I like both, and the white would give a better contrast with dark blue, but white is a damned bear to keep clean. The least amount of dirt will make it look dingy. Go with the black for less headaches.

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:28 pm

Sounds like I will be ordering the black vinyl top.

While we are talking about this; I need some help. I know our cars came with the single seam down the middle. I have seen a couple with the double seam and I would like to know where to get one. I have the skyroof option and think the seam down the middle will look crappy. I have a picture of a skyroof car with the double seam and it seams a lot nicer. Any ideas on what to do?

by 77mali Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:12 pm

Try these guys out for starters they have the double seam tops. They can most likely make you one if you don't see it in their product offering. My Malibu was built a full vinyl top car (not a Landau). The full tops for 76/77 were "Levant" grain. IDK if earlier years were the same or not or if the vinyl for Landau was different in any given year.

I seem to remember my 77 Cutlass (baby blue w/ white Landau top) was an "Elk" pattern I think, which is not nearly as rough a grain as the Levant.

http://www.perfectfit.com/24782/154122/Auto-Vinyl-Tops/Landau-Vinyl-Roof-Covers.html

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:31 pm

Thanks for the link. I have sent them my info and I am waiting by the computer.
Once the top is on and glass are in, it will look like a car again.

by 77mali Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:37 pm

No prob. Good luck with it.

by bitterfitter Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:32 pm

Just thought I would share.... - Page 2 673DD07A-0236-46B4-BA01-0C7DE0C72164

Just thought I would share.... - Page 2 A2D2F6F4-606D-4AE8-AEA0-3ED0293A01C0_1

Here are a couple quick pictures. Fender out drying in the sun and the trunk lid resting indoors. Here you can see the color in the sunlight and indoors with little light.

by driveit Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:15 pm

I love that color. What is it called again?

by bitterfitter Mon Aug 11, 2014 8:18 pm

It is called Moonlight Drive. I bought it from Eastwood. I have also seen it available through TC Global online.

by Oldschool454 Mon Aug 11, 2014 9:14 pm

Looks great! Gets my vote.

by bitterfitter Mon Aug 11, 2014 10:32 pm

Thanks guys. I'll post some more when I get a chance. Every time I look at it in a different light it looks a little different. Direct on in the sun it looks more blue. The less light, the darker it gets. I can't wait to get the car assembled.
I am still working out details about the vinyl top. But I am going to go with black. It seems there are many grains and sheens to choose from.

by Dinomyte Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:03 am

Wow. I'm usually a fan of bright / intense colours but I like this a lot.

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 12, 2014 8:05 am

Wait till I post a shot of how blue it looks in the sun. It is very blue. I am glad I stuck with this color even after the initial problems I had.

by driveit Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:36 am

I remember this. It was the one that looked purple to begin with, right?

by bitterfitter Tue Aug 12, 2014 11:41 am

Correct. I ended up getting another gallon swapped out. The first can, no matter how much I mixed it, had a reddish tint to it. This can looks just like the color you see even before the paint shaker. It was a shame to have to reshoot all the parts I started with. I am happy I did though.

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