Just Painted My 73 Fastback

Well, 15 months after buying it I finally painted my 73 Fastback last Friday. I am quite thrilled with how it turned out. I know there is still a bunch of work ahead of me, but this is a turning point in this project! I can't wait to get the hockey stick stripes and Magnum 500's on it!

I am glad I went with the hood blackout. I buried mine in the clear so it will be seamless once I polish it--I just like the look of shiny and smooth. I used this link: http://photos.mustangsbymike.com/Mach-1-Hood/Mustang_Group_004 as a reference for laying out the stripes--I set tape at the rear of the hood at 5 1/2", tape near the scoops at 6", the markers on the front at 3", then did the rest free hand. It isn't perfect, but I am happy with it.

The small stripe is there on both the hood and the lower body, you just can't see them because my pictures suck. I varied from the original design by using a 1/4" separator of red versus the 1/2" used originally. I have purchased adhesive hockey stripes for the sides, but want to polish the car first (I have a couple of runs in the clear...).

Platonic Solid said:

Questions:

Is that the original Ford "Bright Red" color?
Did you paint it assembled?
Did you use paper or plastic tape to mark off the hood stripes? and how did the edges come out?
Any fish-eye or orange peal?

...looks like I'll be doing it myself.

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Thanks for the kind words! To answer your questions I did not go with the original color because I felt it was too orange. I used a 2005 Mustang Red (Colorado Red) because I liked it better. I had the fenders, trunk lid, and all the small bits off for painting--the car was partially assembled in the picture as I was getting ready to drive it home. I used the blue vinyl tape intended for masking stripes (3M p/n 06405), the edges are good, but would have been better if I had not screwed up. I screwed up by baking the basecoat before peeling the stripe tape---oooops . They will polish out and look OK though as I put extra clear on the stripe lines for that purpose. There is no fisheye as I degreased thoroughly after sanding and just before painting using two types of degreasers (each has a specific purpose). The car was also washed thoroughly with soap and water using a grey scuff pad prior to masking. As for orange peel, the only place I have it is on the upper lip of the front valance because I painted it upside down and off the car--technically it isn't orange peel, it is poor coverage. I found out last night I have to "two-tone" the valance anyway to properly install the hockey stick stripes, so I am going to re-clear it when I do that. I will get some more pictures later this week as I am getting ready for a business trip (darn job cuts into my wrenching time!!!). As for painting it yourself--go for it --I did and am glad I did. I work for a paint company, but this is not what I do everyday (I am a marketing manager), so there are plenty of critics/experts ready to dump their opinion--but they have all spoken positively so far of my work.

krash kendall said:

Oh forget the Magnums, you have to keep those dog dishes and beauty rings on it! I love those!

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Too late, the new rims are already in the garage.... But they can be boxed and shipped your direction!!!

Platonic Solid said:

What kind of temp. is necessary for baking and how is the heat delivered?

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Depending on the product, many will air dry. Baking serves several purposes such as getting your paint tack free to minimize dirt and reducing the time needed before assembling the car/exposing to elements. However, some products require baking--one example my company has is a clearcoat that fully cures in 5 minutes at 140 degrees farenheit. If you don't bake that clearcoat, it would take pretty much forever to harden on a hot day.

When I sprayed my car I added hardener to my basecoat and baked it so that after doing one color, I could mask for the second color/stripes quicker without having tape tracking (leaving a mark). Generally the base does not need hardener and does not need baking. I have rarely if ever baked primer, mostly just clearcoats. This was my first go at baking base (and I screwed it up by not pulling the tape first ).

I have seen tons of shops with homemade booths or "spray rooms" and it can be done. While I have never seen one with heat, they can produce a clean paint job. As much of the cleanliness comes from good prep and good painter habits as it does from the environment. A true spraybooth has a spray mode (which can have temp control) as well as a baking mode. In the bake mode there is ducting that recirculates the booth air through burners to reach the high temps. I wouldn't try that at home though...

oboebrian said:

Nice job, once you're ready to do the hockey stripe (from Graphics Express are a great kit) check out my step by step instructions...

http://www.desertmustangs.com/1972coupe/SideStripes/SideStripes.htm

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Great how to series. I found a curious example of the hockey stripe on a very original appearing car, look at the front lower stripe and the front valence/fender on this car. The stripes I have do not go that far down on the valence--mine are the same as your how to shows.