Skip to main content
Topic: 84 TBird - Exterior Painting - Recommended Products? (Read 3143 times) previous topic - next topic

84 TBird - Exterior Painting - Recommended Products?

I have an 84 Tbird that I'm going to repaint...  The roof, hood and trunk need help, because the clear coat has worn off and it has damaged the base coat.  But, the clearcoat  and basecoat on the sides of the car are still in very good shape.  I'm thinking of trying to just paint the roof, hood and trunk, and then try to do some clearcoat blending...  I'll be using the same color as the original paint that's on the car now...

I'm assuming that I can sand off the remaining clearcoat on the roof, hood and trunk; prep the old base coat; respray new base coat over the old base coat; and then spray the clearcoat.  For a partial paint job like this, would I want an enamel paint or urethane paint?  What products would be best for repainting a mid-80s Ford so it would look somewhat original?  Mid-80's Fords had a clearcoat that wasn't as "glossy" compared to newer cars.  Is there a clearcoat/basecoat system that anyone could recommend?  Thanks!

84 TBird - Exterior Painting - Recommended Products?

Reply #1
If you sand the clear off with 320-400 grit paper I would use a primer/sealer before applying the basecoat. The primer/sealer can be painted to directly without sanding. If you sand the clear off with a coarser paper,  say 180 grit, you will want to put etch primer on any bare metal and then follow with a primer surfacer. Primer surfacer needs to be sanded before applying top coats. Depending on your methods of sanding the grits may vary, 400 grit on a DA with an interface pad is more like 600 grit wet sanding by hand.

What color is your car? What do you have in mind for clear coat blending?

I use Axalta (formerly DuPont) at my shop but there are many good paint systems to choose from. My best advice is to find a supplier that knows about the products they sell and can give you some guidance.

84 TBird - Exterior Painting - Recommended Products?

Reply #2
Thanks!...  I'll be painting the car its original dark blue.  I was thinking I could paint directly over the old basecoat since I would be using the same color, but it looks like I'll need to use a primer/sealer first.  For clearcoat blending, there are some parts of the trunk area, which are actually parts on the quarter panel, where the clearcoat is wearing and is getting "cloudy."  Would this be the same process?  Sand off the bad clearcoat, apply a primer/sealer, spray a new basecoat and then spray a new clearcoat.  I guess this is where it would get tricky trying to blend the new clearcoat with the rest of the quarter panel.  Should I use wet/dry 2000 grit sandpaper when trying to blend the the new and old clearcoats?

84 TBird - Exterior Painting - Recommended Products?

Reply #3
Dark blue is good, I have found that dark colors generally match better than the lighter colors. I think you will find it difficult to sand the clear off with out going thru the old base coat in many places. It may be best to sand the old clear and base off and try not to cut thru the factory sealer.  Sealer will give the new base coat a uniform color to hide and better adhesion. 

While it is possible to blend clear coat for spot repairs it is not recommended. What happens is the blended area will eventually fail because there is not enough film thickness at the blended edge for proper UV protection. The recommended way to repair it is to sand the area that needs repaired  (feather edge it) and use a primer surfacer to build it back up to the surrounding surfaces. The repaired area can be sanded with 400-600 grit and then prep the rest of the panel with 1000 grit, spot the sealer and base coat in and clear coat the entire panel. Basically blend the color and clear the full panel.