1966 Triumph Spitfire

[cmfisher4]

Looking for opinions here: I have 13" steel wheels for this car that I'd like to paint white (that's stock). Getting them powder coated is an option, but will likely run me $125 per wheel, at least. Besides, I've done everything else myself, so why source out the wheels?

I'd rather not do rattle can, so here's my idea:
Sand blast them to bare metal, fix any major nicks, and clean them up (dawn and W&G).
Hit them with two coats of white epoxy (unreduced).
Within the 7-day window (probably about 48hrs), hit them with 2-3 coats of white base, then 3-4 coats of universal clear.
I'd do single stage, but I don't want to buy a gallon (the wheels are really small, as you can imagine for a Triumph, and I'd be wasting a lot of paint).

Curious if you guys think this would hold up? The have hubcaps so there would be some rubbing as they come on/off (not often).

Thanks,
Chris

 

[texasking]

I think your plan is solid. The epoxy will stay there even if the hubcaps scratch the paint. You won't find a paint that holds up any better. The only suggestion I would make would be to give the wheels as much time in the sun as possible before putting on the hub caps.

 

[Slofut]

Please dont rattle can them, that wouldn't be worth the effort it takes to prep them. But epoxy and white polyurethane will be great.

 

[cmfisher4]

Okay. Thanks, guys. Sounds like a plan!

 

[cmfisher4]

I haven't cut and buff or anything yet, so I'm not trying to show off, but I just love how that old-school lettering and badge look!

 

[JimKueneman]

The shape of things to come!

 

[Slofut]

I'm with you Chris, old school and very cool! It's looking great.

 

[cmfisher4]

I started the cut and buff process Sunday. Nice and slow and only on the driver's side wing (or that portion of the bonnet). I was able to get all of the trash and orange peel out of it. I did burn through in two small spots, unfortunately, but I intend to just spot them as they are very near the headlight rim (and may even be covered by it).
I'm happy with the results so far, but do have a quick question: I assume as your grit gets higher, you can spend more time in a particular spot and when you get to buffing, you can spend even more time. However, is this the way I should approach it? In other words, should it take just as long with 1500 grit to get the 1200 grit scratches out as it does with 2000 grit to get the 1500 scratches out and so on? I feel like I should be spending more time with my buffing, but I'm a bit gun shy. The reflection is definitely not as "tight" as I would like it, but I think I'm pretty close, especially for a rookie.
By the way, I'm doing 1000 by hand, then 1200 by hand / orbital, then 1500, then 2000, then 3000, then yellow with 32 CG, orange with 36. That's where I've stopped for now, but will eventually do white with 38.

Thanks,
Chris

Post-1000 grit.

Post 3000 grit

Post yellow pad with CG's 32

Just a pic with my little Spitfire trying to look mean!

 

[texasking]

Looking at your post 3000 picture it looks like there are a lot of straightline scratches remaining. Every grit change should completely remove the previous grit scratches. 1000 scratches are not easy to remove, and cause lots of problems if not completely gone. Sanding a little less with 1000 and really working the 1200 works better for me. Keeping the coarser grits (1000 and 1200) away from any edges will help you keep from burning them. Use tape on the edges if needed. If all the coarser grit scratches are completely removed, the yellow pad with 32 will remove 3000 scratches quickly. Just did a black Dodge 3500 and finished with 8000 after 3000 and buffed with orange pad and 32. As soon as the pad touched an area, it was done. Compounded 3-5 minutes per panel. Used 36 with orange pad after the 32, then finished with black pad and 38.

 

[sprint_9]

If everything looks pretty good before you sand and your main goal is just to sand off the orange peel and trash then it might be worth considering skipping the 1000 all together, or using it to just break the skin. Ive been pretty happy with my results either way really, but if you can afford it taking a little longer to get the panel smoothed out with a finer grit you might leave a little more clear on the panel which is always a good thing.

Maybe try breaking the skin with 1200 and then work 1500 to finish off the orange peel.

As far as lengths of time to stay with each grit I can offer no insight as I have a hard time with it as well.

Like Texas said tape is your friend, use it while sanding and while buffing to keep you off of any dangerous areas. If you get in a bad spot and need to buff by an edge only buff so the pad spins off the panel, never let it grab as it spins onto a panel. If your in a tight spot and cant get the pad to spin the right way use tape so it grabs the tape and not the edge of the panel.

 

[cmfisher4]

Thanks, guys. I'll lay off the 1000, if use it at all. I definitely try to get a uniform 1000 scratch everywhere and am trying to get all of my orange peel and trash off with that. I'll go back and work it with more 1200 and work that up and see how it goes.

After the 3000, should it look more like my pic "Post yellow pad" than the white-ish it is now?

Thanks,
Chris

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

A lot depends on the amount of clear you have on there. I use a 1.4 tip and lay on at least three wet coats to start. Of course gun settings and application technique come into play here and only experience will bring you to the place where it looks great right out of the gun. Then 1500 is fine for the initial sanding.

When things don't go well or you want that mirror type finish:
I use 1000 on a hard block to get things orange peel free and flat. If you think about it, you are only lowering the high spots to the level of clear in the low spots when removing orange peel.
Edges and body lines will have less clear build so you want to avoid them with the 1000 grit.

I personally find that a twisted wool pad on a rotary buffer works the best. I have tried many different compounds but lately find Meguiar's M-100 hard to beat.
This panel was wet sanded to 2000 and gone over with the wool pad and M100. No polishing or further buffing was done at this point.

I follow this with Chemical Guys and a white foam pad, then Menzerna Final Finish on a black foam pad.

 

[cmfisher4]

Wow, yeah, that looks nice. Thanks, '68. I did 4 coats with a 1.3 tip (with Barry's blessing for my particular gun) and have nearly zero experience with being able to get it to lay down nicely, so that's why I'm starting with 1000-grit. I have been using a flexible block, however.
Looking at your picture with stopping at 2000 tells me that I'm not spending enough time with a particular grit to get the previous grits scratches fully out. I understand it takes practice.

Just so nervous about cutting through - I don't have any more paint or at least not enough for a panel re-spray. I'm trying to be realistic, too, and accept far from perfect because 4 years ago, when I started this project, if you had told me that I would have the paint job that I have right now, I would have told you you're crazy. Maybe some humble pride there

Thanks!

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Trust me, I understand completely as I sanded through in a few places on my signature car.
That's where I learned by force how to "blend paint." LOL

Then there were a few runs in my clear coat to deal with:

Believe it or not I was able to sand these out:

I am very thankful for websites like this where you can learn from pros how to fix problems.
So hang in there, you will be painting another project before you know it.

 

[sprint_9]

After the 3000, should it look more like my pic "Post yellow pad" than the white-ish it is now?

I'll do my best to explain, anyone feel free to correct if wrong as I have a lot to learn as well. After 3000 the overall panel will have kind of a hazy or flat look to it when viewed directly on, on a sharp angle it will look like its almost been buffed already. If you take a light or get the reflection just right and you can see straight line or heavy scratches you left something at one of the steps.

This picture kind of shows how its hazy but then as you go towards the back of the box and the angle increases it almost looks buffed. As far as I know this is how things should start looking after 3000. I still had a few missed scratches in this I had to deal with, so not a perfect example. Its kind of a tough deal in my opinion to get them all uniformly out, its another one of those things that takes a lot of experience and practice to get right.


Where you will have issues buffing is in the black box I put in the picture. You can still see deeper scratches in the reflection from the flash. Especially when you look down by the fender lip. At some point deeper scratches were left with one grit, and the next grit was too fine or not enough passes to remove them and they just kind of stay at that point.

 

[cmfisher4]

Thanks, guys. That's a pretty good run there, '68. I guess I should consider myself lucky because I didn't get anything near that. As a matter of fact, and don't take this the wrong way, looking at your pictures gives me confidence that I can get a really nice paint job out of this after all!!

Sprint, thanks for that pic of your bed and the explanation. That helps. I'm going to go back at it tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

 

[RosharonRooster]

Thanks, guys. That's a pretty good run there, '68. I guess I should consider myself lucky because I didn't get anything near that. As a matter of fact, and don't take this the wrong way, looking at your pictures gives me confidence that I can get a really nice paint job out of this after all!!

Sprint, thanks for that pic of your bed and the explanation. That helps. I'm going to go back at it tomorrow so we'll see how it goes.

I responded to your channel on youtube. Wet sanding and buffing a car is a whole art on its own. Body work. Spray and buff. 3 steps that not alot of guys can do from start to finish. I wish i could see what my first paint job looks like today. I had runs burn thru and swirls. It was a black car. Ive learned alot since then and it has all been trial and error. U get better at spreading filler. Once u have to sand it...u get better at spraying clear once u have to wet sand it...and you get better at washing the car after u leanred to buff it. 25 yrs ago i used to use an old sock and whatever they sold at auto zone to "polish" a car. Live and learn. Dont beat yourself up.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

I posted the pictures because all of us "learn at home on your first project" guys go through a learning curve so don't get discouraged or demand too much of yourself on the first or second paint job.

Everyone has a method and materials they like to use and they are not all the same. Different strokes for different folks.
My cut and buff method for a show car shine is 1000, 1500, 2000 and buff.
That changes only when I do a driver quality job and I get the clear to lay down very nice and can start with 1500. On those jobs I will dry sand with the DA .

The difference is sometimes hard to see except on close inspection.
'68 R/T Quarter Panel

'62 Chevy tailgate

'55 Chevy Tailgate

'55 Chevy hood

 

[EddieF]

this is why i put all the coats possible that day it's finally getting cleared. wetsand all day long if needed with thick clear

 

[cmfisher4]

Well, it's not quite as pretty as'68's work, but I'm happy. I switched over to the boot lid to give me an easier surface to work with. Trick was just to man up and spend more time with each grit. I tried to do it all by hand but couldn't get there, so I used the orbital for the 2000 and 3000. What I found was that when the 3000 looked hazy, but without discernible scratches, it was ready for buffing, much like Sprint's picture of the bed shows.

Still some scratches in there, but I'll take it. There are areas where there are none, so I know I can do it.
Of course, now I see all that spots where I didn't get the boot lid flat, but that's fine, too!
Very excited...thanks everyone!

The 3000-grit "haze".

Following the CG yellow pad with V32.

Following CG white pad with V36 (with orange and V34 in between). Just had to put the letters on there.

Different angle.