You would be better off finding out what's under the primer now, before you spend the money for the paint. Nothing worse than having a nice paint job fall apart because of shotty bodywork or poor prep. But that's just my two cents.
To get back to metal or not
This is the question....I now own a multi-colored 72 should I take it down to bare metal or sand and paint....I am afraid to find what is under the primer. I would like to finish this car before my senior year starts. This is a Father and Son project. Dad is helping me but he wants me to research and lead. Thanks for your time in advance.
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It sound like you are a youngster in HS and this is a fun family project. If you want to drive the thing and the body seems decent you could just sand it and paint it then drive it. If after awhile the paint gives you problems you can decide what to do with it. If you strip it now it will probably turn into a hugh undertaking and could take awhile and alot of time and money to finish. Personally I'd paint it and enjoy the car while you're in HS. Plus if you bang it up, it's easier to fix
AGREED!! You do hear about guys taking their car down to metal. But most of those guys prolly have other cars to drive. Might have already done a car as a young man in HS and so they just want to spend the extra time they have now to do a car a different way.It sound like you are a youngster in HS and this is a fun family project. If you want to drive the thing and the body seems decent you could just sand it and paint it then drive it. If after awhile the paint gives you problems you can decide what to do with it. If you strip it now it will probably turn into a hugh undertaking and could take awhile and alot of time and money to finish. Personally I'd paint it and enjoy the car while you're in HS. Plus if you bang it up, it's easier to fix
Im NOT that old that I dont remember HS and working on cars. So I think back and to strip a car down to metal at that time in my life was NOT my original thought. My thought was to just get it looking good for the dates and friends.
For you to think about stripping it down to see what damage might be there shows me you are WAY ahead of your time. And I applaud that thinking you have. Good for you to want to dive into the depths of what is under the paint instead of going for some instant gratification with more paint. You have been watching and listening obviously.
But I think you can get a decent paint job without going all into the sub-layers of whats on the car. You sound inquisitive and thats GOOD. Every man wants to know whats under their old paint before they apply new paint.
But I know as a young man you are gonna want to enjoy the car and you SHOULD!! These are the best years of your early years. There will be plenty of time down the road to dig into the under belly of some old cars to find ALL the flaws.
Try not to look for the flaws at this point. Maybe focus on the good parts of the car and do a great sand prep and paint job.
I have to give some props to Pops!! Good for him to engage and work with you on your car. So many folks in your position dont have a great Dad to work with. JR
I agree with Real McCoy and JRouche. If you go down to bare metal, you will be in work for awhile. Sand it, paint it, and enjoy it. If you keep it longer, you will have time in the future to "do it better", but you can definitely get a decent paint job without going down to bare metal..
Mike
Mike
Thank You for your advice, we had found some things under the hood that took us away from paint and body work...Thank you for all your input.
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