Build Thread Want To Blow 5 Years And $50k On A Foxbody? Step By Step Instructions Inside!

[MikeUrban]

This thread is incredible, so much motivation to get my car together. And I can't wait to have a garage to work in, some day! And on the paint thing.. If you have the option go 2 stage, base and clear. It's not that it's shinier than single, but you get a depth of gloss that's so much deeper. And the UV protection is so much better. If you want you can have him lay down your base, wet sand, base again, clear, wet sand, clear. That way you get 4 layers of material and you can buff to your hearts desire if it does get scratched in the future. Single stage is usually only used in production shops to get things out the door fast.

 

[bird_dog0347]

Man I have painted a few motorcycles and have done BC/CC as well as SS. I can tell you without a doubt, the BC/CC came out eleventy billion times better even for me, I'm not a painter by trade... I'm a computer nerd but I took my time on both and prepped it right, but the BC/CC had such better shine to it every time and I don't think I'd ever do SS on a car that has been worked on as extensively as yours and with such great care.

Even if you use that shop, now is the time to get more opinions of more shops around before you just decide on them. There's nothing wrong with having more information before you make a decision, especially one as important as this and as expensive as this.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

My take on SS vs 2 stage.
SS is like the chubby chick in the bar that looks good through beer goggles or a good distance but once you sober up or get close enough you'd be able to tell that she's not so cute. I've gone to bed with a lot of 10's but keep waking up next to 3's.

SS is economical on the wallet and will come out looking good and last a while but once the paint starts to fade or blemish you have to repaint (you can't buff it out as well as 2 stage because the clear is in the paint instead of on top). 2 stage (base + clear) will be more brilliant from afar and up close but takes more time to get it right which is where the expense comes in because the clear (especially on red and black) is a magnifying glass on imperfections and must be done right. Doing it right isn't really as important in the application as it is in the prep and finish (cutting, buffing, polishing etc). After time if you get a scuff, some clear peeling off or cloudiness then all you have to do is buff/polish it out and it looks like new again (you will not get the same result with single stage).

My father was a hard hit body tech (bodyman) for over 35 years for Ford and we painted many vehicles at our home for side jobs. Not one of them SS.

So in short if you want to save a few bucks a get a decent paint job that will last several years go SS.
Spend a few bucks more on a quality 2 stage and get a 15-20 year paint job that will kick A$$.

 

[chgovfk]

After allllllll of the work you did - to go with a SS paint job...............

In March - I'm taking my wife's POS volvo w/83k on it to Macco for a blk SS paint job - the sun brunt out the original paint - maybe when it's done - we can meet up at a car show and ride this together ....

 

[MikeUrban]

Don't go cheap on paint, because they'll take shortcuts. I was taught in the paint shop that: Your clear can only be as good as your base, your base can only be as good as your prep work, your prep work can only be as good as your primer sanding, and your primer will not hide body work. In short there are a lot of places to mess up or take short cuts, so spend the money and have it done correctly.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Oh don't worry, there will be no corner cutting on the paint. I'm just exploring all my options. At a cost of $5-6k, I definitely will be making sure I am getting a product I am happy with and is up to my standards.

Lots of SS haters in here! I've done a lot of research online and it's seems to be either love it or hate it. I've only considered SS because I did my car with it years ago and it has held up and shined like a champ despite being very neglected. It has even won me a couple of car show trophies.

I stopped at two more paint shops today. One is a full blown restoration shop. Honestly, they didn't seem to want to be bothered with my petty latemodel Mustang. Their bread and butter is hot rods. . The other couldn't take the car for at least 2 months. They were nice, but didn't give me the warm fuzzies that I got from the father son duo from yesterday.

I'm gonna do a little more research and talk to the painter again about the finish. I'll make a decision, but I probably won't tell you guys what it is until you see the final product. Consider it a surprise.

 

[David Pepiton]

you could always have them paint a sample piece in both styles and see what you like.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

A painter/bodymans work ethic is what it is when it comes to working on any vehicle, they either have a good one or they don't. Whether shooting SS or 2 stage or working on a honda civic or a 67 GTO they should always strive for perfection and top quality.

 

[FoxMustangLvr]

RACE,

There really is nothing "wrong" with going single stage if that's what you want so long as it's an informed decision and you accept the difference.

Your car is still going to look good with SS. I'm not here (nor is anyone else) to spend your money for you. If SS makes you happy and you're on a budget (paint is f**king expensive) then you should go with that. Honestly nobody here on the internet is going to know the difference in pictures you post of the finished product between SS or 2 stage and most people wouldn't know it if looking at it in person unless they have a really good eye or is a body tech or painter themselves.

 

[Noobz347]

What I know about paint could fill one of those little salt packets you get from a fast-food joint (well... almost) so press on with your bad self and lemme know how it turns out.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Your input is always appreciated Noobz, no matter how useless it may be.

 

[MikeH686]

Dammit scott your catching up to me lol

 

[stangboy]

Well if you go SS I can't wait to see it because I've been playing with the idea of getting my car painted SS urethane. I don't know much about body work and paint. I just know its expensive...which means my car won't be getting any of it for a while.

 

[stprorolla49]

Another vote for BC/CC here, Scott. I build/paint prototype models for a living and although I haven't sprayed something as large as a car before, I have used both SS and BC/CC hundreds of times, and I always reach for the BC/CC. We even went so far as to rent a whole mixing station from Dupont to make all our own colors, just like a body shop. The depth of gloss and sheen with BC/CC is so much nicer than a SS job. The SS might be a tad bit more durable but not by much. Also, with a BC/CC paint job you can wetsand and buff the clear when you are finished, whereas with SS you can't (but you knew that already). I've seen your car before and while it was very nice, especially for a driveway job, a really nice black BC/CC paint job is SO INCREDIBLE! For whatever reason if you get a small scratch or something on the car, you can always buff it out as well.

Good luck with your decision man, let me know what you decide! I really wished I lived closer, I'd be coming by all the time to check this project out and lend a hand. Everything looks AMAZING thus far!

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Good info there Mike. Although you can definitely wetsand and buff SS paint (just not metallic), I do know where you are coming from with the shine of a bb/cc car. I buffed the hell out of my previous paint job and got it to look pretty good.

I talked to the painter again today to talk about some things including what I want to spray this thing with. His take on the SS vs. bb/cc was that he has the tools, materials, and skills to make the car look great either way. It's a personal preference as far as he is concerned. Most of the SS cars he does are older cars because the SS urethane emulates the look of the older laquer jobs that were originally on the cars. SS is also less costly to apply, so the lower budget cars typically get shot with that. As you guys can probably already tell, this is not a low budget build, so i'm not looking to save $500 in paint costs. In the end, I will probably actually wind up going bc/cc. Seems like that's what all the cool kids are doing these days. The painter said he typically uses a high solids clear and he would apply 3 coats , which will leave plenty of meat for cutting and buffing.

Next week will be tough for me to be available for him to get the car, so hopefully the week after my schedule and the weather will cooperate. We'll see...

 

[boiler up]

i just read this entire thread, front to back. thanks and i look forward to the progress. i just moved into a place with a shop and was going to get my project car to running state, but i may be motivated to do a tear down like you have.

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Welcome to the forums. Hopefully you made it through the whole thread without nodding off. Hah! Good luck with your project. Just make sure you are prepared for a long road ahead if you tear the entire car down. I honestly didn't fully realize how much of a task this project would be until I had the entire car apart and a basement/storage garage full of Mustang parts. I looked at the bare shell and said to myself 'Damn, I still need to put this whole friggen car back together.' It's a whole lot of fun though...that's for sure.

 

[boiler up]

Welcome to the forums. Hopefully you made it through the whole thread without nodding off. Hah! Good luck with your project. Just make sure you are prepared for a long road ahead if you tear the entire car down. I honestly didn't fully realize how much of a task this project would be until I had the entire car apart and a basement/storage garage full of Mustang parts. I looked at the bare shell and said to myself 'Damn, I still need to put this whole friggen car back together.' It's a whole lot of fun though...that's for sure.

Thanks. I'm also an engineer (mechanical though) and somewhat tedious/OCD as you are. I have the space with the shop and all, but we don't have basements here in Texas. I used to live in Pocono Lake, PA, so I'm very familiar with your area. I move around alot for work.

 

[MikeH686]

Not only is it alot of fun but also alot of headache with the part of putting it back together i labeled as much as i could but one or two pieces always come up as where the fack did this thing go? Or in my case i cant seem to find the rear seat upper folding hinge part haha i think it grew legs and walked off

 

[RacEoHolic330]

Thanks. I'm also an engineer (mechanical though) and somewhat tedious/OCD as you are. I have the space with the shop and all, but we don't have basements here in Texas. I used to live in Pocono Lake, PA, so I'm very familiar with your area. I move around alot for work.

I'd give up my basement to have weather like you do down there!

Not only is it alot of fun but also alot of headache with the part of putting it back together i labeled as much as i could but one or two pieces always come up as where the fack did this thing go? Or in my case i cant seem to find the rear seat upper folding hinge part haha i think it grew legs and walked off

That's the truth. You can bet I'll be posting pictures of random nuts and bolts that are having a hard time finding their way back home on the car. The biggest nut/bolt challenge will be the interior. I purchased all new interior screws in nifty labeled packs, but it's still going to be a real b*tch to put that dash back together.