Well I finally reached the point on the ’29 Ford Roadster where I originally thought I would begin – Just sanding and slinging the spray gun. Of course there is an order to the process. I always think that the smaller the area painted, the less effort any mistakes will take to correct. The first thing I did was make sure the underneath of all the panels and the wheelhouses were covered with paint and protected. I did this with the urethane paint that went on the bottom and inside the body. The next step for me was painting the front door posts and sill plates (rocker panels) including the accent color along the body moulding. Afterward, the cowl panel and the gas tank were ready to be mounted.

The only thing left after that was painting the body and the only real hard part to that was taping off the accent color. When painting an accent color the biggest trick is having the patience to tape well and spray in thin even coats just until the the undercolor is covered. I did paint the doors and rumble seat lid at the same time as the body just to assure that the color matched once it was assembled. You might be surprised at the difference in color out of the same can of paint simply because of stir times or weather (drying times/humidity).

After the base-coat colors; three coats of clear coat to fill any edge left along where the two colors meet and… to give enough thickness to color-sand any dust out and buff for ’depth’ and shine.

Except for a short one showing the completed car, I don’t think I’ll post any more articles about this car. I painted the hood, fenders, and side panels within a month of receiving the job and many of those pictures are posted as featured photos on this site. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to email me. versatile-industries@live.com. Thanks for reading.

The right quarter panel took quite a bit more work than the left did. After block sanding, priming, and guide coating, the final sanding to make sure there are no sand scratches or waves in the panel is ready to begin. I’ve chosen to wet sand simply because I think it makes for a cleaner workspace but dry sanding works as well. I’m starting wih 320 grit and moving on to 400 on my way to 600. The second picture on the left shows the panel after the first rinsing. The second down on the right shows what’s left after the second sanding and all the residue has been rinsed away again. Notice how there is less and less of the guide coat as the scratches and low places are sanded out. Finally all of the guide coat is gone and there is a smooth surface ready to accept the finish coats of paint. A couple of notes here: First, if you sand through both the guide coat and the primer, there are a couple of solutions. If there is still guide coat left near the sanded through area, it’s likely more filler is needed. If not, more primer may fill in any low areas after more sanding to take down the high sanded through area. Second, again, now is a really good time to use the water to make the panel shiney and make a final check for straightness. It’s the last chance you’ll have before you paint and it’s a good mimic for the final coat.

Body filler is designed to bond to bare, clean metal. I always feel more comfortable if the metal is scratched a bit;  at least as aggressive as 80 grit. Spreading filler is not an exact science so I’ve put masking tape along the body moulding and the body panel seem so filler does not get into the creases and crevices. The masking tape was peeled before the filler hardened.

To get a flat straight finish typically will require the use of a sanding block however, we live in the real world where machines are wonderful for saving time. I use a 6 inch dual-action (DA) finish [palm] sander just to knock the rough areas and for initial shaping.

Once the filler is sanded and even, there are likely to be ‘pin holes’ and deeper sand scratches that need to be filled. Glazing putty as a final coat with a new spreader and a final sanding with 150 then 220 grit should make the filler ready to be primed.

While priming is a good time to use the shine from the initial wetness to check the straightness of your bodywork. It’s even better if you have a portable lamp to set at one end of the panel. The primer I’m using is the the etch primer that needed to be applied right after manufacturing. I use a brand that is both a metal epoxy and a two part filling primer/sealer. It has some ‘body’ to it. Many of the etch primers are the consistency of water. If you are using one of those, it is necessary to follow up with a 2K urethane primer to make sure the 220 grit scratches get filled. As a final step a ‘guide coat’ of a contrasting color is misted over the primer. In the next article, I’ll show how the guide coat is used – thanks for reading.

For completeness sake I am mentioning stripping and repainting the inside of the body. Stripping the floor pan was the same as the underside but the side walls required machine and manual sanding to avoid the warping sandblasting can cause. Another difference about painting the inside was all the braces and hidden small areas that needed to be coated. There were places where a standard spray gun would not fit. Luckily they make a smaller version.

As I said in my first post about this car, I was really surprised about how much damage there was on a new body. My first step was to find all the dents. To do that I employed a hand-sanding block. Once I had sanded down to the bare metal, the primer remaining showed me where the low spots were. Next I started filling those areas with smooth, thin coats of body filler. Its never a good idea to expect to fill a dent with one coat and the smoother it can be applied, the easier it is to sand – very important when fewer machines and more muscles are used for sanding. Two other hints: Its best to purchase body filler from a professional jobber rather than a chain store (non-professional bondo can dry to the consistancy of concrete!), and don’t be afraid to try sanding with a rougher grit sandpaper (maybe 36 grit) before the filler is completely dry. Just keep a blowgun handy to blow the soft filler out of the sand paper. These hints can save both time and effort without effecting quality or durablility.

The first indication that I had a problem with the primer showed up when I started grinding the doors. Even though the doors were new, they had many dents along the edges. As I started grinding, the primer started coming off in small circles instead of just from the sand on the grinding disk.

I had a couple problems once I noticed the factory primer popping. First, I needed to show myself and my customer that it wasn’t an issue with the doors only. To do that I laid several strips of masking tape on the trunk lid and left quarter panel then pulled/yanked them up.

Sure enough, the primer came off with the tape. My second problem was how to remove the primer. My choices were sand it off, sand blast it, or have the body and parts chemically dipped and strip it that way. Each choice has its own pros, cons, and costs. As it was, I chose a combination of sanding and sand blasting. I wasn’t a huge fan of the chemical dipping but the more I research different methods and and post-dipping treatments, I’m becoming more open to the procedure. More on that in another post… Thanks for reading – Kevin