Frame paint Ken, From my research, the frame was originally painted with something called "Recon" which was a tar based paint. Provided an egg-shell type finish. That is how every car is done here. Suspension parts in Semi-gloss, slightly more gloss than the engine compartment sheetmetal. I use an epoxy based primer/ topcoat, topcoat gloss is controlled by ratio of gloss catalyst to flat catalyst. Very nice product to apply, excellent coverage, after curing durablity similar to powdercoating. Only drawback is that it's not UV resistant. So it's an undercar/underhood product. I paint virtually everything under the hood/car that is black, with this paint. Here is a pic one of the cars in the shop now, ignore the hot rod parts on this one, frame and suspension arm colors are correct. JW
You just had to sneak that pic in with the cross drilled/slotted rotors mounted on a tubular control arm setup with coil-overs and make us all jealous, didn't you Jim?? Man, that looks sweet!! :bglasses:
Jim- Thanks for the reply. That sure is a great looking picture! Can the paint you're using be shot by a home hobbyist such as myself? Or is it difficult to work with? I emailed Jim Lore and he responded that he had his paint guy shoot his. I suppose I could pay someone with experience to come over to the house and shoot it after I prep it properly. Kinda hard to move the car right now... I really like the idea of durability approaching powder coat. It would be a shame to get all these parts looking pretty and then to have a couple of rock chips take them out. Thanks for responding. I appreciate the education! :TU:
Jim Lore- Sorry that I hijacked your thread. I'll ask Jim more about the paint and sheen elsewhere...
Ken No sweat. I prepped it by a combo of Preps All and Scotch brite. Like you we are working from jack stands. My friend who is experienced used a device with a remote sump that was loaded with the epoxy paint . It sat away from the car . The nozzle was on a 25 foot hose. It would have been hard to do it otherwise with the sump on the nozzle. If you want to take a chance you might rent one. Personally I would not learn to paint with my X resto project being the test bed.
That's about as sound as advice can get. LOL I'm going to give Jim W. a call and talk to him about this paint. Thanks.
Concerning your engine compartment Hey there Jim I was wondering if you could tell me what color of black paint you used to paint the firewall of your car, the inner fender wells, the frame, and the core support. I believe they are all supposed to be the same color, and I am doing the same project of restoring the engine compartment right now. Not only just the color but what type of paint you used, and where did you get it.
engine compartment So I noticed that Jime Weise was talking of the paint to be used for the suspension, frame, firewall, etc. It seems to me that there are a few different people saying different colors, so I was wondering if someone could bring me into the light on all of these colors.
Not to be a dork here or anything, but the original frame paint on my 72 ragtop was a deeper and glossier black. I'm sure I have a decent pic here of the original stuff, I'll try to find it. Also, they must be sprayed hanging vertical because it had runs running lengthwise on it... Once again, nothing is as simple as it seems. later Tim
I will post some bottom pics of our frame and pans sprayed as described while on jack stands. I think you will like the results.
That would be great Jim! I'm anxious to see how it came out as that is exactly what I'm trying to do here. I talked to Jim W. yesterday and worked out getting some of that same paint here.
As promised, picture of frame with original and 30 year old paint. Note the runs... Just more info to study (no I didn't put the runs back in!). Later Tim
Tim, I do believe the picture that you show is very, very close to the color of the frames we do here, my picture is somewhat misleading, due to the flash which makes the frame paint look more grey. It's a deep black, just not real shiny. Jim's pics are taken farther away, and are more representative of what it looks like in person. JW
Thats the problem with pictures, every screen, every camera and the conditions picture was shot under all make them look different. I was just trying to confirm the color... Thanks Jim! Later Tim
Jim Weise' engine compartment So I posted a message yesterday on what type of paint and what color code and brand did you use to paint the firewall, inner fenders, frame. If you could let me Know Jim I would appreciate it.
More Info on paint So jim I read your thread and I would like all the Info. regarding the paint for the parts in the engine compartment. How much is it or how much do you think I would need to buy to do the firewall, inner fenders, core support and frame. Let me know and I will buy some from you, Thank you.
Jim; Beautiful job. Can't wait to get to that point. I just got the body off the frame on Sunday; will begin working on the frame this week, hopefully. I am thinking about powder coating the frame instead of painting. Any thoughts? Len
Len That is a tough one. It is more durable, looks newer,( does not look orginal,) but is harder to repair if it did get chipped. The powder coating is cheaper overall. For example, there is a place near Statesville NC that will blast dip and powder coat your frame for about $500.00. You must pick up and deliver. Considering time and labor you cannot beat that.
I agree with everything said above. It may not look a 100% authentic to those who know the difference but it looks beautiful, and is brutally tough. Powdercoating is basically a paint too, just how it is applied that is so different. And that is one of the big advantages I saw especialy with the convertible boxed frame, since static charges basically attract the powder to the metal, you can fill the frame up and the excess will fall out before it gets baked on. The chassis is covered inside and out perfectly. How many times have you seen a nice painted frame, move over a touch and you can see rust plain as day indie the boxed sections?? It is tough. had some thin metal parts coated. You can bend the metal back and forth until it finally breaks, the powdercoat did not come apart or wrinkle until the metal did. It was cheaper than professionally painted. More pricey than home paint but no smell, mess, no fumes. And it looks awesome. Even the hardcore resto guys that have seen it have to admit its pretty darn close to original.little too much gloss...it is thicker than regular paint so might hide some small details but I can still plainly see the p/n and build date of my frame as well as when it was just sitting there before any work. I have pictures on my website, and many more if you need details. Sample attached. later Tim
Tim; Thanks for the info. There is a guy locally that will blast and powder coat for $ 200.00 (I even heard $ 150.00 at the Turner Buick Bash), I will get in touch with them next week. There is not much rust on the frame, except at the two rear brace points, I have to do a little bit of welding to put the new bushing on. I'll make a decision one way or the other soon. Thanks. Len PS, keep those pictures coming.
