VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 Which would you do?/paint question

$5000 for a paint job just isn't gonna happen.I can remove the four fenders and get them smoothed out and painted by a really great body shop for $650. They have small dents and dings and scrathes,no rust at all. The problem is the computer matched paint is so glossy it doesn't match the 1970 Emron enamel. Would I be better off to leave it alone or go ahead and get the fenders looking good? The rest of the car has good paint ,it's just not as shiney as the clearcoat type.

Comments?

No comments from Charlie about geting them chromed either...grin

Leave them alone. The paint on the fenders matches the rest of the car.

$650 is a good price for the fenders but the chance to get the right color is small.If the bodywork on the rest of the car is good why don't you ask them for an offer to respray the car with a color that you really like.( if they ask $650 for the fenders the complete car should be less as $2500 in comparison)

Jianis

The rest of the car involves taking everything off the firewall removing the running boards,and dealing with the inside part of the doors,etc. Much more work.

Steve what would it cost to chrome them? I just had to do that.
I agree with the others leave them be for now

But you I bet you can do that at home and save them the extra work I should have done anyway if I had the space for it

Jianis

Steve,
I wouldn't suggest that you have the fenders chromed. Too expensive. Sooo, let me see if I can help you out of your dilemma.

If it were me and the scratches were not heavy enough to show up in pictures, I wouldn't re-paint them. The few hillbillies who do see the car, as you cruise about on their routes for delivering non-tax-paid liquor, will appreciate the car and be more inclined to accept you as one of their own. They probably ain't that particular.

Anyhow, I couldn't think of any good advice so I did the honorable thing and took your question to the experts. I downloaded a copy of a picture of your Emron Green 38 Coupe and took it to the nearby elementary school.

School was just taking in when I got there and the moms and school buses were unloading the little bright-eyed student. I showed some students the picture and explained about the scratches and asked whether they would have the fenders re-painted or not, Here is how it went:

Suzy (age 6. She looked smart and had pig-tails), "That car is soo cute. Is it real? Can I ride in it?

She was like those kids in "Would you like a pony" commercials. I told her to stick to the question and to quit beating around the bush.

At that, she copped an attitude and ran off whimpering.

I decided to look for older students.

Steven (age 7. He didn't look all that bright. You know)

He said, "Wow, who in the world would paint a car that color? I told him a guy in Tennessee.

"Tennessee, where's that?"

"Where folk play banjos and like to hear little pink pigs squeal"

"Well, I like banjos and little pigs, too."

It figures.

"Well, Steven, what do you think about re-painting the fenders?"

"They should be painted. You wouldn't want Dorothy, Toto, and the others to ride in a scratched up car when they reach Emerald City, would you?"

I wonder about Steven. I moved on.

Ray (age 7, wore glasses and looked real studious),

"I would consider carefully the feasibility and prospect of a repaint of all four fenders and the top. I think a slight contrasting and deeper shade of green, in the top and fenders, and its attendant hues as they reflected sun and shadow would actually complement the style and base color enabling one one to realize a product with enhanced eye appeal and, accordingly, deliver a greater and more striking two-tone work of art. Also, I would load it up with accessories." Or words to that effect.

I think Ray may be the very best in coloring-inside-the-lines of all the students at the school.

Ed (age 7 and looks like he came off a farm. You know, healthy, freckles and straw colored hair, decked out in new overalls and brogans),

"I don't think I can see any scratches."

"Well, Ed, you can't from the pictures but just imagine that there are there and they are bugging the owner and he doesn't know what to do."

"Then I would tell him to paint the whole car John Deere green. I really like that color and it is pretty close already."

I let Ed go on to class. I sometimes wonder about all the Ed's out there.

Little Johnny (age 8 and still in first grade. He's had some disciplinary problems),

"Who in the world would paint a car that color? Did they lose a bet? Was the paint free? Is this for real? Are you putting me on?

Little Johnny can come up with a lot of questions.

"The car belongs to a gentleman in Tennessee. He didn't lose a bet. And, I don't think the paint was given to him. The car, believe it or not. is real. And, no, I'm not putting you on"

He used a few expletives to describe how he viewed the car. Sorry, not repeatable or printable here.

I reminded him that that there were other children within earshot and to watch his language. I repeated the question to Little Johnny and decided to get his attention.

"I would paint the top and the fenders a nice complementary color so as to bring out the nuances of the car and display it at its very best. (I think he may have overheard Ray)

I thanked him and let go of his ear. He ran away a-squalling and vigorously rubbing his red ear and mumbling something under his breath about him going to spread rumors about me and his teacher. Little Johnny is a card.

Anyway, I had to cut the interviews short. A security officer was running at me and ordering me off the campus. He was a-chasing me whilst yelling that they had called the pol-ice. I jumped a nearby ditch, fell, and tore the knee out of my pants and got my brand new New Balance sneakers all wet and muddy. I took a shortcut and hobbled home. I am now hiding out as I write this report. I expect a knock on the door at any time. My knee hurts. See how much trouble I go to for you guys here on Chatter?

Well, Steve, I think the consensus is that you should get a good darker green and paint the top and fenders to arrive at a neat two-tone job.

As always, I'm glad to help out no matter the trouble and danger involved.

You're welcome,
Charlie

BTW: I still haven't figured out how Little Johnny knew about me and his teacher.

Thanks Charlie.

Steve If I were you I would be careful who you are associated with...Any one who hangs out in school yards and goes out of his way to ask small children weird questions and has to beat a hasty retreat when he sees a security guard coming is not the kind of person you want to be seen with....I just wonder if when he was fleeing from that guard, if he was emptying his pockets, on the run, and ditching all the candy he was carrying for bait????? ....ED

No comment....hehehe

Steve, Since you're into perfection and show quality, as you have indicated with all of your cosmetic and mechanical updating, I would paint the whole car. You may not be able to exactly replicate the color, but you should be able to get it close enough to not have to repaint the firewall (I would repaint the door/trunk jams). I don't see you being satisfied until you have done all you can do to make it a real eye catcher. Nothing is more disappointing than to see a cool car from 20' and then get closer and see all its blemishes. From the pictures of your house, garage, and other cars, I can see you like things a certain way. Go for it, and think of all the fun you can have getting the car prepped? Good luck, Mike

Charlie,Little johnny has something going with the little 8 year old girl that does all the papers grading for your "friend", his teacher, he has vowed to get out of the 1st grade once and for all this spring.
His parole officer is one of my oldest son's stealth email pin-pals. Boy Howdy! Charlie, you should see some of his arty nudie photos! My son met the parole officer in drug rehab, over in Ky.
OH! I almost forgot, Whats-his-name should strip his ugly metallic green paint off and paint the whole car Chartruse, Chartruse will set all that chrome of without being too brash.

Great idea..all I need is a extra $5000.00 and I'm set.

If I could get my car painted for $5,000 I would get it done.

$5000 will get you a really nice basecoat/clearcoat paint job here in Tennessee assuming there is is no rust or damage to the metal. When I went to the NSRA meet in Louisville this year, I talked to guys who had $60,000.00 in the paint job!!!

It's sorta like wine,guns,art,funiture,or anything else ,you get what you pay for. As far as cars go..the skys the limit. Last week the oldest car in the world sold for something like $4.6 million. A Bugatti is $2.3 million.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/10/worlds-oldest-car-price-auction_n_1004021.html

As difficult as it is to match the colors exactly, you'd probably be best off doing the fenders in a darker, contrasting color.

All paint shops prefer and push the two stage paints, basecoat/clearcoat, because it's easier, faster, and results in the "deep" high gloss finish many people want.

You can't mix it on a car with some single stage finish, like Imron, without having it look "two-tone".

When I bought my paint, I had to almost "fight" the paint supplier who insisted that I should go with a two-stage product rather than the single stage enamel with a hardener I wanted.

When it was completed, I took it to the supplier and had him see the difference; he agreed that it looked correct on the car, much more original, and produced a more than acceptable finish.

Granted, it's more labor intensive than two-stage, but since I was doing it myself, the labor was fairly cheap. A pro shop can take your fender, assuming no body work, sand it, shoot it, buff it out, and return it to you the same day. No wonder they love it. Plus, you get the "deep" look.

It could take me a week to do that same fender, including three days of curing, block sanding with 1000, 1500, then 2000 grit paper, buffing with at least two grades of compound, and finish waxing. Of course, at my age I don't move that fast and take lots of breaks.

It just depends on what you want. When I park my car next to one with the high dollar, two-stage, two inch deep finish, I'm not embarrassed and it's amazing how many comments I get about which looks original.

You're right,they all want to do it in a basecoat/clearcoat type paint. They say the enamel will chip and flake.

I think all said above is true. The base coat clear coat is a superior system but doesn't look authentic on vintage cars. The single stage will chip and occasionly flake, especially if the pre paint preperation is not done well. That being said, my 2 cars with 1980 acrilic enamel paint jobs have some rock chips and a couple of flaked off spots but they still look pretty good after 30 years of driving a lot of gravel roads. Just keep them clean, waxed, and protected when stored and it holds up pretty good!