Self Painted 66 Dodge Coronet

[TopDown]

Hi guys,
This is my 1966 Dodge Coronet Convertible 500. Within the past 2 days, I have embarked on my first paint job on my car. I chose to use Duplicolor primer and paint (sold locally in Pepboys) for my automotive paint. Since it was my first time, I went cheap :/

I have put 3 coats of Performance Red paint on the Coronet. I wet sanded after the first coat, but I have not yet wet sanded the last 2.

The instructions on the Duplicolor can advises me to put the clear on directly to the paint without wet sanding it. Once the clear is on....then I wet sand with 1500.

The paint is still rough though, so I think I should wet sand with 1000, or 1500 and then clear, but the can suggests differently, what should I do?

 

[69 Runner]

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding the clear won't properly adhere unless the base is still tacky, or it's been sanded and wiped down with thinner etc

 

[Donny]

Wow, painting the car in your yard, what'd the neighbors have to say? I've seen Clear applied when the paint was tacky, and also seen it when the paint was dry, and wet sanded.

 

[5.7 hemi]

I have tried the same paint system (Duplicolor) on a few items that could easily be redone, so with that said, here is what I learned. Do not use thinner to wipe the car down after your first coat, thinner will take it right off (lacquer), use a wax/degreaser of the mild kind. Wet sanding is the way to go before you clear it. use lots of clear cause you will wet sand and polish a majority of it off. I was gonna go the route your taking, but since I dont want to do it again in a few years, I gonna go with the " higher end paint ". I will admit, what I have done looked really good, but the long term quality is just not there, and I dont wanna do this twice. Your car is looking great, keep it up.

 

[TopDown]

I have tried the same paint system (Duplicolor) on a few items that could easily be redone, so with that said, here is what I learned. Do not use thinner to wipe the car down after your first coat, thinner will take it right off (lacquer), use a wax/degreaser of the mild kind. Wet sanding is the way to go before you clear it. use lots of clear cause you will wet sand and polish a majority of it off. I was gonna go the route your taking, but since I dont want to do it again in a few years, I gonna go with the " higher end paint ". I will admit, what I have done looked really good, but the long term quality is just not there, and I dont wanna do this twice. Your car is looking great, keep it up.

I really appreciate and its nice knowing someone has already experienced what I'm about to. Currently after wet sanding, I will use a tack cloth, which works well, but if the wax/degreaser works better, I will surely use that instead. My plan is to wet sand with 1500 the red paint, and then use 2000 on the clear coat.

I have 3 quarts of clear, will that be enough or will I need more? How heavily should I apply the coats, and should I wet sand between every clear coat? How long should I wait to wet sand between the clear coats?

I'm sorry to ask some many questions, but I just want to do this right

 

[5.7 hemi]

I'm just a novice at best. I use the wax/degreaser cause I think it works better and you wont have to worry about taking paint off with the thinner. I wet sanded the base color with 1500 and the cleaned it off, the shot about 9 coats of clear, then wet sand with 2000 then polish, looked great. Hell the clear is cheap, so if 3 quarts dont do it, get another one. I did a light coat for the first 2 and then got heavier as I went till I ran out. Just keep in mind, I'm a novice at best and I did 1 panel that I could blast back down to metal if it turned out crappy, so with that said, go for it.

 

[Shorty Thompson]

Don't forget the after pics

 

[Joe Mopar]

Nothing like good advertisement. You may get a few more cars to paint out of all that. :grin:

 

[satellite66]

Looks great so far! I'll be interested to see the finished pics. I'll be self painting a car myself in the near future (not a mopar, an Edsel of all things!).

 

[TopDown]

while wet sanding with 1500, I found out I was a little thin in particular areas of paint and the primer was shown through. Today I will be putting on two more coats of red, and try color sanding again tomorrow, and possibly use 2000 instead of 1500, but as of now...I have not decided.

I will be posting pictures as soon as I get the clear on.

 

[godfatherofchry]

I know with DuPont you use to have a 24hr.window,but that was in the late 80s.lol

 

[TopDown]

2 additional coats have been sprayed on the car. I hope to begin to color sand tomorrow afternoon.

Is there a specific sanding motion you should use? Circular or Straight? And what is the best tool to use. My largest block is about 10 in. I've thought about wrapping the 1500 around a fine grit sponge. The Coronet has lots of curves, so I was wondering what is the best approach.

Any Suggestions?

 

[satellite66]

I was just wondering, what compressor did you use and what paint gun etc.?

 

[74sundance]

Thought this might help you out...

http://duplicolortv.com/?p=136

http://duplicolortv.com/?p=134

 

[Shorty Thompson]

Awesome ! Thanks

 

[74sundance]

No problem, let us know how it turns out!...With pic's ;)

 

[TopDown]

Due to wind, I am only able to paint parts of the side so I sprayed the left side of the car with clear. I have probably put on 5 coats of clear = 2 quarts on that side.

I was wondering if anyone knows how much clear is enough? When I put my hand about half a foot away from the car, I can see a blurry reflection. I'm just curious about how much to put on so when I wet sand with 2000, it will still have a semi-glassy look?

Again, due to wind picking up lately and school/work hours, it has been hard to find times to paint, but I will have more pics of the finished product asap.

Thanks for all the support

 

[TopDown]

I was just wondering, what compressor did you use and what paint gun etc.?

I am borrowing the compressor from a friend, but its a vertical craftsman.
150 PSI Max
2HP
26 Gal

And the gun is from harbor freight.

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/paint/professional-automotive-hvlp-spray-gun-kit-94572.html

 

[CtownChris]

How did the Harbor Freight spray guns work for you?
Starting to plan my cars paint job.

 

[74sundance]

I normaly only put down 3 coats of high quality clear but if it's a really nice car I hit it with 5 or more when I wet sand.