howy03

iTrader: (2)

well I am ready to start my bodywork and was hoping for some suggestions and paint help. first when it comes to paint supplies I will not sacrifice to save money.I will be getting the car somewhat prepped in my garage and I am not quite sure who is spraying yet.I plan to fix a few tiny dings and 2 very small rust spots.I have purchased all new seals and gaskets removed the old and bought a new t top bar.The int is gutted and all new parts are waiting.(carpet, 4th gen seats,headliner,etc). I need to know what the factory color is of my 1985 TA.My father was the original owner and lost the rpo code sticker. I need to know what is a good brand of paint, base clear.I will be putting back the sticker kit and silver hood bird.I see alot of (maroon gta's).Do these have gold metalic paint?and is it possible to use silver metalic with maroon.Do I need to take it down to bare metal or just scuff.and can I use a quality rattle can primer to cover my few repair spots any brand suggestions would be really appreciated.

redfivexw

Hi,
You have some good questions. As far as the paint color, you would need to post a better picture of your car, you should be able to go to autocolorlibrary.com and look up your year and match it up. As far as stripping the car goes, if the current paint is not severely chipped or peeling, i would scuff it and leave it. You can use spray bomb primer, however it really does not give any substance and your bodywork will suffer for it (rattle can primer is very very thin and really is just good for temporary cover. A good 2k primer-surfacer will really build up and allow you to get the smooth surface. As far as paint brands, i recommend PPG deltron if you can afford it. If price is an issue, use ppg omni or shopline (ppg's budget line). It sprays out really nice as well. I have used both and been happy with both, i actually see very little difference in the two different grades. good luck

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

Having the carpet out it should be easy to see what the color used to be. Any autobody supply store can look up the paint code if you know the general color and the year of your car. They can also help you with a quality spray can primer. We use U-Pol High 5 at the shop for some of the small things and U-Pol Acid 8 for the little things that need etching primer. Remember that most primer isn't weather proof and needs to have paint over it if you are driving your car or it is sitting out while you are working on it. And as far as paint goes I also recommend PPG but you should talk to whoever you are planning to have spray it and see what they are comfortable spraying. If you buy the same brand of product your painter uses then you have the option of letting him supply some things that are a little cheaper purchased in larger quantity's, like the hardners and reducers and then you'll only pay for whats used and not have some expensive leftover products sitting around going bad.

howy03

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for your tips.I think I would like to use the ppg products one of the guys a may paint the car works for an autobody supply shop and uses only ppg products.He suggested using the omni line.I will look into those spray cam primers.They will only be a temporary cover till the car is primed and and painted.I would love to paint the car myself as I have many years spraying experience on high end caskets but my garage is not good for spraying as I have asphalt floors.so I plan on getting the body as perfect as I can then have it painted.One more question should the car be painted with all the ground effects,rear bumpercover,and nose removed.I need to remove the bumper cover to repai a small rust spot. Thank again I added a couple pics maybe you can better see the color.

redfivexw

You car looks to be in really nice shape, i would definitely leave as much of the original paint on there as you can. As far as removal of parts, i would take the ground effects off the door and rocker and paint the bumpers while they are on the car. You could paint them off the car, however there is a real good chance you will gouge or scratch the paint during installation.

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

Wow your car does look nice ... and original! All the stripes and lettering even. If you plan on putting the letters back on you mite want to take some detailed pics and measurements so you can get them in the right spot.
As far as what to remove and what to leave a general rule is to remove anything that touches the paint. That includes bumpers, mirrors, handles, locks, mouldings, vents, lights, ground effects... everything! While you do need to be careful reassembling things, it's important that the edges and joints are prepped as well as the rest of the car to prevent peeling in the future. And you also don't want to bridge the gap between the parts with paint and have it crack and have an ugly line there. So for the best job everything comes off.

redfivexw

I would disagree with the removal of the front and rear bumper. If you are painting the car the same color, it really does not hurt to leave them in place. I have painted many cars, most of them with the bumpers in place and never had a problem with peeling paint, etc. Now, if there are issues with your original surface near the edges of the bumper where the two surfaces meet, then yes take them off. Otherwise you would never know the difference

greatpumpkin_68

i would agree that you should remove everything.. bumper covers, ground effects, etc. if you don't then the seems where they meet will fill up with paint and clear and it just won't be as clean of a job. if you take your time and do the work it will be a nicer job. it all depends on what you are looking for in a paint job.

just my .02

howy03

iTrader: (2)

Thanks guys the car is a low mile 85 owned by my father since new.He had it sit in storage for years and would take it out a couple days here and there.Had not run the car for 3 yrs and told me to come get it if I want it .He said he paid more to store it than he paid for the car.I decided to pull all the Parts of as I found some small spots that need fixing.Ive upgraded all the suspension with spohn and UMI LCA's sway bars, panhard bar, and sub frame connecters.Put in summit 1 inch lowering springs.painted all the undercarage with sem rust shield and then undercoating.All the brakes are oem style for now I did use hawks front pads.Not bad for 6 mnths worth of work.One more body question.what is the best way to repair 2 cracks in the sail panel.

1piece@atime

iTrader: (1)

I hope the crack is the small one right at the rear edge of the T-top and not those large white lines in the sail panel.
If it is the small one then you have to get the parts off from around the area and weld up the crack. It would be best if you could get a piece of metal in behind it but I'm not sure if that area is accessible. If you can get in there form up a piece quite a bit larger and then when you weld it in drill a few 1/4 inch holes thru the outer layer and plug weld it to the new inner piece. Seems to me there is a factory lead joint right around there. Thats may cause a problem if it's real close. You have to get all the lead off before you can get a quality weld.