Pin Stripe and Clear Coating of Vehicle for Finished Look

Alright everyone we are down to the final stages of paint for your car.  These last stages are the best because this is when you actually see your car coming together as far as appearance.  Just for a recap:  we have stripped the original paint off the car, next we prepped the car with primer and bondo to get out all the dents and dings, wet sanded it after the primer dried, then we sprayed the car with the base coat paint and allowed it to dry in a room free of dust and other particles that can land on the dry paint.


Stage 7:  Now that we have allowed the car to dry is when we use a pin stripe to separate the colors.  The pin stripe is just a color that goes from one end of the car to the other end to separate the paint and give the car a distinct look.  Some car companies use a vinyl strip of color that is added on as the final stage of the paint job.  The only problem with that is that the strip can be removed from the car easily cause that strip is actually glued to the outside of the paint and can be peeled off or over time of washing the car can fade away.  So The best way to do is how we are doing it now, which is paint the strip by hand.  This step is a very difficult one in that the person painting it needs a very steady hand to keep the line as straight as possible to give a great finished look.  Once the Pin Stripe is painted on the car it needs to dry for at least a day.

Stage 8: Now that we have the base paints on the car and the Pin Stripe dry, we then go to the clear coating of the car. This Stage brings out all the color that has originally been painted on the car. As you can see in the previous stages were the base paint was painted on, its looks really dull and dry that's only because it is the base paint. The car is placed back into the booth and is sprayed with a clear coat of paint. A clear coat paint is a coat of paint that has no pigment giving it the ability to be seen through. There are also additives in the paint that bring out the colors that are beneath it (the base paints) and also provides protection from the UV rays that can dull the paint.  This process is also a long one because in order to give your car the shine you want you need to paint multiple clear coats on the car.  In this case the car was shot 3 times with 2 gallons of clear paint.  After each coat that is shot on the car you must allow the paint to dry before the next coat is shot on the car.  This process can take up to 3 to 4 weeks depending on how many coats of paint are shot on the car.


Stage 9:  For the finish we have all been waiting for we are at the final stage which is water sand and put the car back together to give your car appearance one to be seen.  Once the car the last coat of clear is shot on the car and is dried in most cases the car has an egg shell look that occurs after the final clear coat.  The look that is looked for is glass look when you look into the car, so to remove the egg shell look you must water sand the car.  Water sanding is the same as in stage 4, you will sand the car with a mixture of a fine peace of sand paper and water in one area of the car at a time.  Once the full car is water sanded down the egg shell look should be completely gone is when you give the car a good waxing on the car.  The waxing on the car is just a basic wax that you put on the car to give your car a good smooth and clean feel just like when waxing any car.  To finish up all the pieced that were removed from the car is put back on the car.  In the case of this 1979 Cadillac Coupe De ville all the chrome pieces and moldings including the bumper where re-dipped in chrome to take it back like it was new, and to spice it up a little bit threw on some 22" chrome and black wheels on the car and a new vinyl top.

 

There are many online sources to figure different things that can be done to your car from the engine, exterior, interior, performance, etc.  The website that i recommend is www.cardomain.com where there are hundreds of different makes and models where people fix up there rides so many different ways.  Then people from all over look at your profile and rate your car out of the cars in your category, and my car ranked in the top 5 in Cadillac Coupe De Villes on this site.  You can check out it out at http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3380956/1979-cadillac-deville.

Spraying The Base Coat Colors

Ok car fanatics we are back to the fun stages of actually seeing your car transform right in front of your face.  The next couple of stages i would say are the best stages because you will be able to see the full potential of what your ride is capable of looking like.

Stage 5:  Once your car is dry and all dents are knocked out is when you start taping the car off for the first shot of paint.  When shooting a two toned car you need to tape of the car in areas to separate the paints that are gonna be shot on the car. Also when taping off the car you want to identify the angles of the actual body of the car that way when it is 

painted the curves and shape of the car will stand out.

For this particular vehicle the silver is shot first and as you can see it is taped showing the major curves in the car to give a distinguished look.  Once the first coat of silver is painted it must set and dry in room where there are no particles that will land on the car  giving it any flaws in the paint while it drys. 

Stage 6:  This is repeat of stage 5 just in reverse, where the top half of the car is completely covered taped off to shoot the black coat on the car.  After this step you can see the car start to transform to what you expect.  Stage 5 and 6 are both just the base coat on the car so the colors are gonna look really dull but that's just because it is not finished completely yet.  After these two stages are complete you want to allow the car to dry completely before you go to the next stage.

Preperation For a Great Paint Job

For all you car fanatics out there, this is a step that is a must in making your car look its very best.  The topic for this blog today is the paint job.  This step is usually done last because when you have a fresh paint job you don't want it to be around anything that can damage it.  After the paint job the car should be ready to hit the open road to show the world.

So lets hop right in, there are many steps that need to be done in order to insure a great paint job.  The first tip and a really important one is not to rush the paint job.  It is a long process but after they are all followed you will be satisfied with your paint job.

Now to get started here are all the steps to have an excellent paint job:

Step 1:  Find the car that you want to restore, and if possible when picking the car try and get the car with the least damage.  That way when you are fixing the car you will have less to repair when painting the car.  The things to look for are dents, rust, and frame damage.  All of these can be fixed but the less repairs needed the less you will need to spend.

Step 2:  The car must be sanded down completely removing all the paint from the car.  Once it is sanded down you will see all the dents that need to be removed from the car. 

Step 3:  For this step you will need to add bondo which is an adhesive that will act as a filler for any cracks or areas where there might have been rust at.  When all areas are filled is when you will then apply primer to the car which helps the paint stick to the car.  This is the step that will need time to allow the bondo and primer to dry on the car.  A good week will ensure the bondo and primer to dry completely. 

Step 4:  Once the car is completely dry you will then water sand the car to smooth out all the rough edges to give it a smooth finish.  During this process you will need a fine peace of sand paper and water, during this process you will be able to see any dents and dings in the car that need to be removed.  This process is also a long one and to ensure the smoothest finish it should be done in sections that way no area is missed.