Paint recommendations for 1970 GS Stage 1

I am repainting my 1970 GS Stage 1 Convertible. It is in the body shop now and they are stripping the old enamel paint off it and are going to do a panel by panel paint job. What paint do you recommend?

 

I am restoring my Stage 1 now and will go base coat clear coat color is silver fern
Alain
1971 Stage 1 silver fern

 

I think the factory paint was laquer and not enamel.

 

Mine was done in BC/CC PPG if that is what your asking

 

Have them paint it with base coat clear coat, way easier to buff and repair if needed in the future

 

Why are they going to paint the panels separate? That's asking for trouble 90% of the time, if it's to avoid tape lines they need to learn how to tape.

But for materials

Base / clear PERIOD!!

For brand PPG, Sikkens, GLASRUIT, BASF, etc are all excellent products, if used as a system and used correctly.

I like PPG myself as I'm just more familiar with the products since I've sprayed hundreds and hundreds of gallons of it

 

My car was painted with the fenders, hood, doors and trunk lid off but all at the same time..........this may be what he's referring to. No biggie as long it's all the same batch

 

If it's done during the same conditions, with the same mixed gallon by a painter that knows what he's doing yes , but if done on different days during diff conditions, it will be different.

Not something that should be tried with most colors

 

Agreed hugger, yes mine was ALL painted with same mix all in one shot

 

As long as everything is blocked-out while on the car. If you strip,prep,and pant each panel off the car,you won’t like it.

 

I've always worked my panels off the car, BUT I'll spend hours lining up the panels and tweaking to get level gaps and whatnot, even if I have to weld up some edges. The pitfall to blocking over your gaps is "most" guys will pull filler over the gaps cut the seam and block them level, yea it looks good from a distance, but what you end up with more often than not is thick edges, a good eye will spot it a mile away. I done a GN while back like this, body work was VERY level, but the poor car had 1/8+ of filler everywhere you looked, car was a mess but "looked" like a show winner, minus the rust bubbling thru the doors,(why it was brought to me).

I've always practiced minimal filler, I get so sick of seeing these big name guys, like Foose, Troy, Kindig etc pulling entire panels, it's not necessary and certainly not best

 

I plan to use base coat clear coat for sure. I am leaning toward using PPG. It will definitely all be painted at the same time with the same mix. I plan to pull the doors, fenders, hood and trunk deck. Good point to strip while on the car. Definitely block on the car. The original paint was lacquer. I hate enamel no depth to the finish and impossible to match panels(can’t blend) they must be painted separately. As previously stated not buffable. That is a big plus for base coat clear coat. I plan to drive the car so that is important because things happen. I agree with hugger minimal amounts of filler is key to a good looking long lasting paint job. Thanks for all of the input!

 

My silver car was definitely panel-painted,or Stevie Wonder did it,not sure. There are a few things that are just too obvious. I thought I could live with it,but I can’t have stuff like that. I will probably redo it while the car is still apart.

 

Brian,I feel your pain. I couldn’t live with the enamel paint on my car even though it didn’t look that bad. Right is right and close isn’t good enough.

 

Can someone please explain what ''base coat clear coat'' means, and why it is best? What are the inferior alternatives? I need schooling. Thank you!

 

Enamel is old school single stage paint, you can't cut and buff it, you can't make repairs to it easily, it's very tricky to spray, it's a durable finish just not user friendly.

Base/clear is exactly that the base is the color and then clear protects it. Light years easier to work with and apply especially if you have an issue during application

There's much more but that's the gist of it

 

Spraying solid colors on a car in pieces there is little chance for color mismatch . Doing it on a metallic color is risky , there is a much bigger chance for color issues . Even when being by an applied experienced professional . Metallic flop , coverage , air pressure , temperature, humidity spraygun, and gun technique are some of the things that can affect color match with the same gallon of paint .

 

Thanks Pat, I may have to reconsider painting in pieces. I will consult with the shop doing the work. I am going to go with PPG paint per board recommendations. I appreciate all of the input.