Jump to content

Restoring factory paint questions


Recommended Posts

Good morning all!

 

So I'm nearing the end of my resto on my '75 280z, and all I've got left is paint. A close friend of my family is a bodyman, and has repaired all of the surface rust and dents on the car, and primed those areas as necessary. The rest of the car has the stock factory silver paint, and I'm curious if I can sand the entire car and respray over the factory paint and primer with the same stock color and have it look decent. I was leaning towards Plasti Dip's DYC kit, but I figured that since I'd have to prep the car anyways to get the dip to look good, I may as well just do a respray if it wouldn't be much more hassle. I've got a well-ventilated garage, large compressor and can get my hands on a good HVLP sprayer and the necessary moisture removing filters and correct size spray nozzles. Has anyone here sprayed over factory paint before, and if so, could you post photos of the results? Anyone experienced in Plasti Dip that has advice would also be appreciated. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can offer!

 

 

Also, paint/clearcoat type and brand recommendations are appreciated as well.

Link to comment
  • Replies 2
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Top Posters In This Topic

It'll be less hassle to respray and less expensive. Go down to MAACO and check out the results.

 

Use a quality brand Acrylic Enamel (e.g. DuPont), the same type of paint that Datsun used. It comes out shiny (needs no buffing), and dries hard and durable. This type paint will look like a showroom new 280Z.

 

A lot of guys nowadays use modern 2-pack paint which is more expensive but doesn't noticeably look better. I hate clearcoat cause it invariably chips. Whereas acrylic enamel can be spot touched-up if necessary.

Link to comment

Best way to paint over existing paint is with epoxy thinned so it sprays like a sealer. However, I have found it usually does not lay flat and requires sanding afterwards (not fun with epoxy). RTS (ready to spray) sealer will probably work best, but being a lacquer product, make sure to let it flash before topcoating. Axalta (DuPont) Centari is an excellent single stage paint. I painted my 1200 with it almost 20 years ago and it still looks decent on an ungaraged car. I have also used PPG (very good), Nason (decent) and Omni (did not hold up well) brands of paint, both single and 2 stage. 2 stage is a little more forgiving for us home painters as you can fix runs and such on the base application before the clear goes on and it's easier to fix defects in the clear vs. single stage. If you get a run on a single stage, you will never fully get it right as it seems the color in the run is inevitably slightly darker than the rest of the paint for whatever reason, and forget it if there is metallic in it. 2 stage is double the material cost and double the work. You can also clearcoat over single stage, but it is more for additional protection, not added gloss like for a BC/CC system.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.