colostang

I am preparing my 65' Fastback for a fresh coat of paint and hoped to get a few hints on how to clean the area under the louvers in the cowl. I know the cowl doesn't leak and if the rest of the car is any indication there is probably little/no rust. The problem is that when the car was last painted 23 years ago quite alot of paint was sprayed into the cowl and now it is cracking and flaking. When I stick a skinny scredriver in I can dislodge the big loose pieces but because the paint is so thick it leaves a fairly significant "crater". Is the a method to cleaning this area without hacking and welding? Can I spray some stripper in there the flush until clean? Are there any creative scraping sanding methods? My skinny screwdriver method isn't gonna cut it.

rmodel65

clean as much out as u can maybe go to a car wash and spray the high pressure water down in there to dislodge the stuff thats loose


are u doing a base clear? if so after u put a complete coat of base on, wet sand the base with soem 1000 grit paper to know out any dirt nibs since they will now be trapped in the base, dry with a lint free towel and tack the car throughly(dont wax and grease it again just dry and tack) then rebase for a clean uniform color and coverage then clear for a nicer paint job

colostang

Thanks for reply Rmodel. I am not painting the car myself, a friend of mine is doing the body work and then he will paint it in a booth we are renting. He will have access to a good gun and a baker, but he isn't sure what type of system to use. We painted the underside of the trunk last night with a singlestage paint so I could confirm the color. He says we can paint whatever system I want....but as with most things AUTO... I am an ignorant fool.
I have sprayed thousands of gallons of house paint with my job, but when it comes to getting a coat on a car I am at a loss on what works best. What I do know from my experience is that prep is 90% of the job and I am confident in his abilities to get the car ready. Are there any advantages to the base coat/clear system as opposed to a singlestage setup?

rmodel65

go base clear well worth the extra 100-200 bucks i like where did u get the single stage from?

colostang

He bought the paint at a local NAPA. Apparently the saleman is trying hard to break into the paint market here and has offered the paint for my car at a good price. I was told that the paint is made by PPG. I think he got a single stage sample so I could see it with a sheen. The first sample he painted for me was Screaming Yellow from the late model Mustangs he just bought the base. This time was Phonecian Yellow from 64.5/65 and he wanted it to appear like it will on the car with a sheen.

Thordog61

Funny, I just did this this past weekend.

I rigged a fairlyeasy way to clean it.
I used an wide chisel,and stuck it between the vents and scraped as much ofthe flaking paint loose as possible.
Rather than attempting to flush the paint out,Itook my 12 gallon Wet/Dry vac and a cardboard tube from a roll of paper towels and I taped it to the end of the hose.
I then flattened out the tube and slid it intothe cowland sucked upthe flakes. There is not a lot of space and it clogged a few times but it ultimately worked well.
I had to break up some pieces with the chisel to get them out.

I then sprayed some soapy water in the vents and then sprayed it out with water,blew it out with the Wet Vac and put a fan on it to dry it.
This weekend I will spray it with someflat black to cover any bare metalfrom the scraping.

Best I could do without opening up the cowl.

Hope this helps!

colostang

Ahh paper towel tube!!! I will try that. I was thinking about fashioning a sucker out of roofing tin but your idea is much better. How do you plan on getting flat black in the without getting overspray on the topside? I know you have a plan

rmodel65

i doubt the napa paint is ppg its probably martin senour(sherwin williams) the ppg omni is a grat buy for the money the base lays out nice and flat omni has twoexprensive one is a better buy it lays out alot flatter and is pretty user friendly what kind of spay gun is he using? for clear and single stage a maxium of 1.3 is recommended to proper bust upthe paint material

colostang

As far as the gun goes, I couldn't tell you. I have no idea what a maximum of 1.3 is referring to. I am in the realm of trusting the "expert" and what I have been told is that the booth he is renting is outfitted with a good gun. The booth is in a professional autobody shop so I can only assume everything is cool. Is a singlestage paint job just that? I would assume you prime,sand, paint, sand, paint, polish, done. And with a base- clear I would assume you prime, sand, base, sand, base, sand, clear, sand, clear, polish, done. Is there different clear coats that you spray at different stages? I know in spraying varnishes and lacquers in home building the are differences in the sand sealers and topcoats. Also are there different sheens in the clears? I now I could find this info out from my painter but having a little knowledge before hand never hurts.

Thanks for the replies, I am learning alot and enjoy this forum.

rmodel65

a metallic single stage doesnt take to sanding and buffing as well as a base clear that a major down fall but if u stick with a single stage make sure its a urethane type its more durable

basic the jist of single stage is the cshiny and color are all in one!

the clear is shiny/ the base is dull it makes for easier touch up if needed minor fender benders etc. or problems during paint


you got the paint procededures down fore the paint pretty much but the single stage once u paint it u dont sand and repaint

and the base clear u can sand inbetween the clear coats to flaten it out and knock trash out but its not really nessary if u put on a goog three coats of claer(maxium normally recommended) then you will have enough to wet sand and buff on


the tip size referrs to the size of the opening of the paint gun where the needle sits a primer gun is normally around a 1.7-2.0 tip a base gun is normally a 1.4 and clears and single stages are 1.2-1.3