Prepping For A Show Quality Finish - How The Pros Do It

Ahhh, the satisfaction of the "do-it-yourself" project.  It's a great feeling to finish a big project and see the return on your "sweat equity" investment!  Working on a classic or custom vehicle project that you've done yourself certainly ranks high on the list of "do-it-yourself" accomplishments.  While going thru my list of blogs that I follow, I came across a great article for the "do-it-yourself" car enthusiast that was really well done.  It's definitely an 8 or better on the rating scale for covering some great information and so I'd like to share it with you here.  It's a great place to start for anyone wanting to take on the job of putting an excellent paint job on your custom or classic project.

1970 Convertible GTO from blog post at AutoMedia.com

The folks at Automedia.com have put together and article entitled "Paint Secrets" that is one of the best I've seen in awhile.  It is in-depth enough to get you headed in the right direction when getting ready to do a quality paint job.  The article is written by Jim McGowan of Automedia.com and he has done a superb job in our opinion.  Jim's advice here is excellent and following the instruction he has put together will definitely head you in the right direction for a beautiful finished product and as you can see from the final picture, this GTO looks great.


Jim touched base on a very important point when he said to check with your shop to find out what type or brand of paint system they are planning to use when spraying the final finish.  We can't stress this enough.  Paint systems are all different and they don't mix well!  Always stay with the same manufacturer throughout the project AND if you have any questions regarding which products to use durring the prep work, ask those questions before you start.  There is no shame in not understanding what products to use. There is a seemingly endless list of products available for different uses and even products by the same manufacturer can cause problems depending on what system you are using.  It's always better to clarify those questions prior to using any product in the paint prepping stages as an error here will not only require extra work, but, can be extremely costly depending on what needs to be done to correct the error.  Ask first and be happy later!

If you are going to be spraying the primer yourself, there are a few suggestions I might add to make the difference between a good and a great paint job.  If the vehicle has had a significant amount of body work done, using a high build primer will give you the advantage of making sure those little spots don't blemish the final finish.  High build primers are thicker and will help first timers get a little better coverage on hard to see and feel low spots.  It's a little harder to sand, but, also more forgiving to the amateur when sanding and blocking the primer.  The primer is final finish before the color and how you prep that will determine what your final finish is going to look like.  The better the primer finish, the better the paint job. 

Scan down the sides of the vehicle.
Look for any highs or lows.

Looking down the sides of the vehicle is key at this point.  Use different lighting to ensure that there are no ripples, high spots or low spots.  Check the body lines for any indentations that occurred during sanding.  Feel the finish using the "flat" of your fingers and palm of your hand.  Close your eyes and follow the finish with your hand.  If you can "feel" it, you'll definitely be able to "see" it and now is the time to "fix" it!

When it's time to apply the color, the first thing to do is to "wash" the finish with a high quality wax and grease remover.  Don't skimp on quality here.  We recommend Prep Solvent-70 by 3M, but, any good prep solvent will work.  Use two rags when performing this process.  Wet the first rag with the solvent and wipe it onto the surface and then immediately use the second, dry rag, to wipe it off.  Do NOT allow the solvent to air dry on the surface.  This defeats the purpose and allows the grease and grime to stay where it was.  This process is key to a good final finish in that it removes any substances that might cause blemishes or "fish-eye" in the final product.  Do this process in small areas and ensure that you don't miss any areas.  Don't forget to get into the small groves and areas that aren't as easy to get at as those areas are the very ones that will allow moisture and corrosion later on and give those things a starting place.  Use this process to inspect the entire car for any items that need to be fixed, like edges where the primer might have been broken through.  This is the perfect time to do your final inspection as you do have to go over the entire vehicle.  Also, do this step right before you are ready to apply the paint.  Don't wait for a long period after as airborne chemicals will have time to settle on the finish if you don't do it right away.

When you are satisfied that you're ready to go ahead with the color, follow the instructions exactly as the manufacturer recommends.  Measure twice, mix once is the attitude to have here! 

I concur with the writer that the initial color coat should be kept just slightly lighter.  This coat should be used to find any problems that are going to arise.  Look for any anomalies in the finish.  Sanding this coat with 1500 will assure good adhesion of the following coat and give you the ability to look for any problems while you're sanding.  Make sure to go over the entire vehice with a "tac rag" to remove any traces of dust or debris from the sanding. Once the finish has been sanded, you're ready to lay the final coats of your color.

Jim's description of the spraying motion is very important here.  Lay the paint evenly using your wrist with a snapping motion to avoid "lingering" in any spots.  Slow and steady wins the race here.  Start from the center of the hood, deck lid, and roof panels and work toward the edges. Watch the paint as it hits the surface and ensure that it is wet, but, not heavy enough to run.  This is an art that you will perfect as you go and looking at the surface as you paint is the best indicator.  Gravity fed guns do not require a lot of pressure, but, you must atomize the paint to ensure good adhesion and keep the solids, like metal flake or pearl from concentrating in one spot.  Check for even color in between coats.  Mentally make a note of anything you need to give attention to on the next coat. 

When spraying base coat / clear coat systems, remember that the clear is going to protect the finish for a long time.  This is not the place to save money.  The clear is going to be the layer that is brought to a mirror-like gloss in the final process of your finish, but, some of it is going to be removed in that process!  On "high-end" show cars, I have sprayed as many as 5 to 6 coats of clear, or more, and sanded them in-between.  Depending on what you want the finished product to look like, I recommend at least 3-4 coats of clear on any show quality finish.

Lastly, I also concur with Jim McGowan on his last statement that "rubbing out" or buffing of the completed finish is best left to the pros until you have gained a good confidence in your abilities.  On show paint, I wet-sand the entire vehilce "by hand" allowing me to see any imperfections that need attention.  Tiny bugs, dust, or any other anomalies should be wet-sanded out.  After wet-sanding the entire car, start the buffing process using a high quality machine buffing compound.  Buffing compound is extremely abrasive.  Be careful even when wiping the excess off with a rag as the compound will leave scratches where you wipe it!  Keeping the buffing bonnet perfectly flat on the surface is the key here.  Keep the bonnet clean!  Remove any excess compound by running a screw driver or other sharp object against the bonnet as it spins.  Watch for "caking" of the compound on the bonnet.  I prefer a "foam" bonnet over the "wool".  Wool was fine in the old days when foam wasn't available, however, it's much harder to burn the finish with foam than with wool, so it's a good idea to use foam, especially if you're just learning.  I also prefer foam because it is a lot more flexible and offers better action on edges and "hard to get to" places. 




 After buffing the entire vehicle, the next step is to apply machine glaze.  Machine glazing removes any swirls from the compound and brings out the "mirror-ike" finish in the clear.  Once again, glaze is also an abrasive, so be careful when removing any glaze after you're done as it will scratch the beautiful finish you've worked so hard to achieve. 

Take care in choosing the proper products to perform the final steps in buffing and protecting your finish.  Meguir's is a leader in automotive finish care products and their products are formulated to give you the very best in finish care.  You can find all the products you need at our "Onine Finish Care Store".  The products listed here are the ones we recommend and the links here will get you the best prices as they are direct from Meguir's! 

When the finish is complete, I like to give it a machine wax followed by hand rubbed wax for the final finish.  Hand rubbing the final wax coat gives you a good basis for getting all the residual compounds out of the small crevises and corners and leaves a thicker coat of wax to protect that finish. 

1970 Cutlass 442 Convertible painted by Larry Blackman
Notice the mirror like finish down the sides of a completely straight quarter.
Viewing the vehicle from this angle shows all imperfections.
See more paint work by Larry at www.ldjautobody.com

OK, now, stand back and observe the beautiful, new finish on your vehicle! 

Happy Motoring!

Larry and Dee