June 2002
- August 2002
Maych's paint and body work is nearing
completion. Hopefully, he will be ready to come home in the next
couple of weeks. In the meantime, I thought I'd use this episode
to talk a little about the kind of paint
system we chose to use on Maych and a little about how
Alan went about the task.
Sticking with my plans
to keep Maych as stock and original as possible, I
knew that I was going to re-paint him in the original colors.
This meant we first had to identify the original colors.
Normally, the option sheet on the glove compartment door lists the
paint codes, but, as luck would have it, my option sheet referred to
the paint as simply as "wht/red orange/wht".
This was less than helpful, as there are many shades of white
and who knows what "red orange" means.
Lacking the
paint codes, we had to resort to taking a sample piece to the paint
supply store and matching it to the paints that were available for my
model year. Luckily, the color choices in 1972 were somewhat
limited so finding the correct colors was not very hard. The
white turned out to be pure white, code 521 and the
red-orange was hugger orange, code 524. With
the colors correctly identified, the next task was to decide on the
type of paint system to use - base coat/clear coat (b/c) or
single-stage?
For those that don't know, a b/c
paint system involves the application of a couple of coats of clear
paint laid over a base color. The base color used in a b/c system
is usually a metallic color, though solid colors can be applied as long as the solid color is specially mixed to accept the clear top
coat. This system is used by most auto manufacturers these days
because it permits the overall paint film to be held to a minimum
while insuring a rich, lustrous finish (because of the clear), thus
reducing cost and labor.
A single-stage system, on the other
hand, is nothing more than a solid or metallic color applied over a
primer/sealer. A clear coat is not normally applied, although
one may be applied if desired. Because the color is color sanded
to remove small flaws, this system normally uses solid colors.
Sanding a metallic single-stage color almost always results in
"splotches" in the color.
At first I was leaning toward the
b/c system, but Alan (the paint and body guy) recommended we go with a
single-stage paint, as it would be more appropriate to the type of
restoration I was doing. The more I looked at vintage vehicles
that had been painted with a b/c system, the more I decided that this
system looked just too "modern" for my taste. If I
were doing a custom restoration, I'd likely go with a metallic b/c
paint job, but for Maych I decided a single-stage paint
would be more appropriate.
Even though we decided to use a
single-stage paint, we wanted the benefits of modern paint
technology. The original paint on Maych would have
been enamel, but the best single-stage paints today are acrylic
urethanes. These paints produce incredible gloss and are more
durable and flexible than enamels. They also have excellent UV
protection and chip resistance.
The paint Alan choose to use was
Acme ProSingle. You'll notice the photo at the top of this
episode shows Acme ProSingle and Sherwin-Williams hardener and
reducer. No, Alan wasn't mixing brands. Acme is actually
manufactured by Sherwin-Williams. Don't go looking for Acme
paint at your local paint shop though. Sherwin-Williams has
since decided to combine the Acme and Sherwin-Williams brands under
the Sherwin-Williams name. Just for your information, some of
the other major brands manufactured by Sherwin-Williams are Dutch Boy,
Pratt & Lambert, Martin-Senour, Kem-Tone, Lucas, Rogers, Krylon
and Cuprinol.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to take
a lot of photo's during the actual painting process. Alan began
laying down paint about the time my wife and I were in the process of
selling our home and moving to a new one in another town. Every
move I've ever made was a pain in the butt and this move was certainly
no exception. Anyway, here's the painting process in a
nutshell.
First, Alan painted the door jambs on the cab,
the
insides and
jambs of the doors, the insides of the fenders, and the inside
edges of the hood. While these items cured, he painted the bed,
applying the hugger orange first and then the white.
Next, Alan painted the dash. As I chronicled in a previous
episode, I had already painted the dash, but I wasn't pleased with
how it turned out. With our decision to remove the front windshield, I decided
now would be a perfect time to have Alan repaint the dash a nice satin
black rather than the "ultra-flat" black I had painted it.
When the paint on the fenders, doors, and hood had
fully cured Alan re-installed these items and got them all
properly aligned. Getting all these items to align properly takes a
lot of shimming and adjusting, so re-installing them prior to painting the
exterior areas lessened the chance of scratching up the new paint.
After all the items were properly adjusted, Alan painted
the cab and the fully assembled front clip. Like with the bed, he
painted the hugger orange first and then the white areas.
The only remaining item to paint was the tailgate.
Alan saved it
for last because he couldn't remember exactly how the two-tone paint was
applied. Luckily, I had this picture of the tailgate with the paint
on it. I emailed him the picture, and once it was painted, Maych's
new paint job was complete. Time now to bring him home.
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