So I have a few questions... I'm restoring a 914-6 and want to cross all the "t's" and dot all the "i's". The body is stripped down to bear metal and bodywork is all straight. I want to do the spray job myself- and I'm totally confident in being able to do a good single coat job. But the original factory color on this 6 was a metalic color. Now I doubt that the exact paint type is still available (this was in the early days of metalic paint schemes) but I'm sure there's a modern three coat metalic color that's as close as it's ever going to be. So here are my questions:

1. Just how much more difficult is it to do a three coat metalic paint job compared to a normal paint job?

2. Is it possible for an skilled ametuer with a bit of practice (say on lots of large scrap sheet metal) to build enough proficiency for the project? If that ametuer can already do a good normal paint job...

3. The body will be painted inside and out... trunks, door jams, under bumpers, everywhere. Like I said ther car is pure bare metal currently. My concern is some of the smaller tighter radius concave and convex areas. How difficult is it to sufficiently paint these smaller radius areas like they did at the factory without drips and overspray?

4. How much is obsessive wet-sanding a determining factor in the final result of metalic jobs? I'm great at wet sanding- just concerned that professionally it's not part of the final process for metalic, or is it? Currently I understand that the skill with which the final clear coat is applied is the determining, and final quality of 'shine' factor.

5. How is the second coat (the metalic flake coat) applied evenly? Does it require special spray guns?

6. I'm going to build my own spray booth... do I need to consider special ventilation to prevent dried over spray from re-settling on the applied coat- creating roughness? Or can the booth be sealed and overspray in the air not be a concern to the car. (Me, the spray gun operator plans on wearing a full suit with compressed air pumped in to create a 'positive pressure' suit for respratory safety). Also- the booth will have to be electrical spark free (no light switches, cell phones, ect.) because I understand they can become explosive- filled with paint fumes. Is that scary fact alone a need for industrial type ventilation? Is it legal? Is static electricity a danger and how is it handled? I could imagine a synthetic paint suit making some static... hmmm.

7. Where can I find detailed information/DVD courses on do it yourself 3 coat metalic painting?

8. Are all three coats done in immediate succession, while paint is tacky or wet, or does the time frame not matter?

9. Am I insane for even considering doing this metalic 3 coat myself? I just can't afford a $5000 paint job... and I do trust myself to do a great non-metalic job... but I want to keep this car 100% original right down to the paint code number. I figure practice, and go for it! Talk me out of it, or forever hold your peace.

10. Considering that the car is completely bare metal- I'm curious about the possibility of doing exstensive POR-15(?) rust prevention painting pre everything else. Maybe even so far as essentially making the entire primer coat a POR-15 coat (914-6 timecapsule for the next 100 years!). Is this insane? A good or bad idea? I don't have experience using POR...

11. Any other advice, criticisms or dire warnings? Thanks in advance!

Metallics aren't what I'd call a level one paint job. Base clear isn't what I'd call a level one paint job.

From gun, to gun, everytime you mix, you have to get it perfect, or the flake looks uneven, and the color changes.

The spray angle is also important,. If you vary too much, odd looking, uneven.


M

Is it a real 914-6? If so, I would consider having it done by a pro. There are many pitfalls on the way to a decent paint job. I have done it myself and I will again. But if I had a real 6, I would take it to someone that knows what they are doing.

I have never shot flake, but I know it is a little tricky to do. You can only wetsand a flake job if you clearcoat it. If you wanted to do a single-stage solid color on a racecar, I would say go for it. But a flake on a real 6, I would be apprehensive. Consider the long term value of your investment. Down the road, should you want to sell that car it will be worth at least $5k less because you painted it yourself. Maybe more if you screwed up the prep and/or paint and the long term paint issues are appearing like rust bubbles or shrinking bondo.

One more thing...
check out this site. There is a good forum and a great knowledge base that will answer alot of your questions.

http://www.hotrodders.com/

Based on the questions you asked and the way you seen to think metallic finish is applied, I would reccomend you leave the color coat to an expert. Paint is very expensive these days. After you practice on every piece of scrape metal from here to Mexico and spray out about a 55 gallon drum of single stage metallic paint, and if you have the hand/eye coordination required to become proficient. Then you may be qualified to apply the color on your 6er.

My advise, hire out the finish. You'll be money ahead. Some things are better left to the pro's Like the body and paint on a valuable 6.

BTW: take the number off the metal door jamb tab to your local paint supplier and they should be able to mix your color. If they can't find another store. 6's are worth a bunch these days. Do it right or your waisting your time.

highways - here are my comments. I've done numerous paint jobs, including several metallics.

1. I think all you need is a metallic base coat followed by clear coat to duplicate the original appearance. With the car's paint code you can get an auto paint store to mix a metallic to the original color, or very close to it. I doubt if you want some kind of special metallic flake, pearl, or other custom-looking finish if you want the original look.
2. If you've painted cars before then you can master a metallic. If you haven't painted a car before, then practicing on some scrap metal will probably not be enough experience to do a high-quality job you'd expect for your car - even with a non-metallic. Metallics require painting all the panels at the same time, if possible, and in their normal orientation. It's not a good idea to paint metallics piece-by-piece because of shading variations. Also, I normally 'dust' or lightly dry spray after the last coat to let the metallic particles 'stand up' and even out the overall appearance.
3. This is where experience handling the gun comes in. In door jambs and tight areas you often change the gun's spray pattern (direction and fan-out) and even reduce the pressure to reduce blow-back. These are things you learn to do better after painting a few cars.
4. Sanding of the primer-surfacer is very important for the final finish. It's not just wet sanding, but the proper way to block sand or stick sand to level the finish. This is a very time consuming process to get the degree of perfection you want. The amount of work also greatly depends on the amount of body work, filler, etc. that must be tweaked to get the surface level. You can have a kick-ass paint job, but if there are waves and imperfections in the panels they will all show up.
5. I mentioned this above. I use my normal HVLP guns with a smaller tip used for other top coats.
6. It's good to have an area where you can control the ventilation/lighting and minimize dust, bugs, etc. Fresh filtered air should be brought in from above or one end, and the air exhausted out the other end or from below. You really want just enough ventilation to keep overspray from getting too high. You need to be able to see what you're painting. Clearcoats are worst because the clear stays in the air longer and can make it hard to see. For a home paint booth, too much ventilation can be bad because it can increase chance of dust or dirt being brought in. A breathing system with outside air is good, and almost mandatory for urethanes with isocyanates. Urethane 2-part paints are not too much of a danger for explosion. You would have to have the concentration extremely high (like no ventilation and can't see across the room) before it would likely be dangerous. That's because these urethanes are not so heavily solvent-based as the old lacquers and enamels. However they will build up on light fixtures and fan motors, and eventually could be a fire hazard. You want to protect anything electrical in the paint booth to reduce fire danger, and not keep cleaning rags and solvents laying around.
7. Autobodystore.com and Eastwood could be sources of information on special metallic paints.
8. Base coats are given enough time between coats to flash and have dull finish. You don't want metallics to be put on too heavy or quickly otherwise the metal particles will not orient properly. at least 30 -45 min time before applying clearcoat. Successive coats of clear also need enough time to set, so it's just sticky. Not enough time increases chances of runs and sags, expecially in overlap areas. A run or sag can mess up the metallic and be visible even if the run is taken out by sanding/buffing.
9. You're not insane, but you are just like I was about three years ago and want to know how to do it yourself. It's possible, but a lot of work. You probably won't get anywhere near perfection your first time. There are too many things to learn and those things you improve on the next time, including the paint booth, equipment, etc. If this is a real special car then you might consider painting an old daily-driver or beater first (or have a pro shop paint your 914).
10. Most restorers use epoxy or similar primer on bare metal panels, after properly sanding and degreasing. Keep the POR14 on chassis or other parts, not body panels.
11. Best of luck! Do a lot of reading. Hang out on Len's Autobodystore.com forum to learn more. He has some videos for sale. The hotrodders site mentioned earlier is also very good place to go.

I agree with 914GT 100 percent. I'm in the middle of doing my '66 912 after a YEAR of stripping down to metal, fixing rust, straightening panels. I've been practicing on small, easy-to-redo parts like the rear license plate panel and old pieces I have around the garage. It's my first experience with metallic base/clear too.

Metallic base is not something to be scared of, it's not like the old days. A good HVLP gun makes a lot of difference, and the paints are formulated so the metallic particles stand up a lot more uniformly than they did in the old days. You do need practice to get the density of the color uniform, the stuff is quite transparent. That's my biggest worry right now, and I am seriously considering paying a local pro to actually do the shoot for me. Other than that and keeping the frickin BUGS from landing in the fresh clearcoat (it does stay sticky for an hour at least) I'm happy so far.

Oh, and when you get ready to pull the trigger, go down and spend a few sessions at the paint shop. Pick their brains and get data sheets on the materials so you can go home and read the details and recommended techniques before you start. Buy a pint of base and a quart of clear and practice.

Have fun!

Adam912 Out
'66 912, 475K miles, 2.2L T4. Woo Hoo!

QUOTE (jasons @ Feb 2 2006, 06:06 AM)

Is it a real 914-6? If so, I would consider having it done by a pro. There are many pitfalls on the way to a decent paint job. But if I had a real 6, I would take it to someone that knows what they are doing.

I'm currently doing a single stage job. Using DuPont ChromaOne. I've painted a car and other stuff in the past.

Current paints seem a bit harder to work with than in the past. Harder to get the balance between it "flowing" and running. Seems like a fine line. Didn't have that problem in the past.

One thing to consider is trying to make friends with a good body shop. Most of the labor in a job is prep work. If you do ALL the prep work and deliver the car to them "ready to spray" you might be surprised at how little it can cost.

I know someone who has a high end paint shop - I wouldn't call him a close friend by any stretch, but he has done work for me in the past and I've referred biz to him. To give an idea on costs, I sent a friend with an '80's 535 to him for a complete repaint. My friend was going to disassemble most of the trim, but not do any paint prep. work. The cost would have been $8,000.

I am undecided as to whether I am going to do the paint work on my 914 myself. I asked him how much for labor if I deliver the car "ready to spray," and he said $400 to $500. At that cost, it may not make sense for me to undergo the significant hassle and mess of a DIY garage job. Spraying primer is one thing, spraying the final color coat is something else.

The thing about paint is that anyone with enough patience, the right environment, and enough time and money can learn it, and can get a great job. The worse thing that can happen is that you go wrong at a stage and redo it. The biggest problem for a DIY, IMO, is having the right facility. It's tough doing it in your garage, the amount of overspray, fumes, and the "toxic cloud" from modern paints is surprisingly high. A DIY job in a garage will always require a significant colorsand and polish (not a big deal). Modern paints generally seem to be a lot slower drying than what I've used in the past. ChromaOne, for example, takes 2 hours before it is "dust free." That's a long time to be sitting around wet in a less than perfectly clean environment.

Here's how I conclude: If you want to do it as a learning experience and are going to enjoy the process, go for it. If you are only doing it to save money, seriously consider doing all the prep work and finding someone to do the final spray at a reasonable cost.

Metallics are a 2 stage paiont. 3 stage is a pearl. That said, besat way to judge your gun setup is to hold your thumb and pinky as far apart as you can and set you fan pattern to be close to that width at a distance of 4-6 inches. HVLP gun should have about 35 psi going into the gun, overlap EXACTLY 50% on each pass or you will get striping. 1.3 or 1.4 tip in the gun is fine, those are also good for your clear. If you use the same gun for the base and clear CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN before you clear. Don't skimp on the gun or the materials. Cheap paints require more coats and are harder to fix problems if they occur, and cheap guns aren't as accurate, and are made of inferior quality parts. Sounds like with the quality job you want you would be better off with a pro. Gun = $400, Paint = 1500, other materials (masking paper,tape,degreaser,facility)=$200-????? Prep werk is the most important part, if the car isn't CLEAN your paint can turn out horrible, dust, sanding scratches, any kind of chemical or water left on the car will ruin an otherwise nice job.