What kind of painting process did the factory use?

[bull]

What kind of prep work, paint and finish did Chrysler use back in say, '68? How different is it today? How does the cut and buff process make the paint look different than the stock paint jobs? Would eliminating the cut and buff process make the paint look more stock?

[71charger_fan]

Based on the quality of most factory paint jobs of that era I always assumed the process involved chimps with rollers.

[hemihead]

Virtually no prep work was done.It was, I believe, acrylic enamel paint.The quality was the worst.Overspray,orange peel,dirt,runs,hair, you name it.The High Impact colors seemed the worst of the worst.I remember Plum Crazy cars paint lifting off cars in sheets.

[ck1]

Virtually no prep work was done.It was, I believe, acrylic enamel paint.The quality was the worst.Overspray,orange peel,dirt,runs,hair, you name it.The High Impact colors seemed the worst of the worst.I remember Plum Crazy cars paint lifting off cars in sheets.

LOL makes me feel good that my car will proably look like it came off the factory line in 68 when I get done with it, just hope the paint don't come off in sheets

[hotrod98]

You can literally buy lawn furniture today that has a better paint job. It is very difficult to reproduce that type of finish, especially the metallic versions. That's the reason that our shop will not do true restorations. Too much of a headache. We leave that for the true experts. There's a reaon that they get 15k and up just for the paint work. We just finished a 67 GTX hemi 4-speed matching numbers. The only reason we accepted it was because the owner wanted base/clear. He doesn't plan to ever sell it and he wanted it to look better than new.

[hemihead]

Actually cars are over - restored today.If you saw a true factory original they would laugh at it at all the shows.

[bull]

So I guess I'll be adding paint to my list of "better than new" improvements to the car along with brakes, ignition, wiring, fuel system, lighting, tires, suspension, cooling, steering, exhaust, etc., etc.

[JimsSE]

Factory paint process?  Check out his run!

Jim

[hemihead]

That is why nobody liked Mopar and they almost went out of business.

[JimShine]

My '69 Charger had a bad run (about 4 inches long) on the passenger side fender from the factory. My late grandfather owned a Chryseler dealership through the 60's and 70's and he often commented at car shows the 'restored' cars were better than anything that came off the car carriers from the factory. Often a car would need some tweaking before being put out on the lot.Even then the paint was nothing like the restorations out there today.

[resq302]

i remember seeing a photo someplace where the assembly line had a paint booth that had two or 4 people painting a car with different hoses that contained whichever color paint was available for that year.  If the car was supposed to be R4 bright red, they simply disconnected one hose, connected another, and then gave a quick spray of the gun to clean out any old color.  Most of the times, in order to prevent wasting of the paint, they painted the door jambs and other areas to clean out the gun and get the correct color going through.  Again, dont forget that these cars were painted by PEOPLE whose only job was to get paint on it and get it out the door.  These cars were never intended to be kept years down the road.

[red72chrgr]

From the way everyone is talking about factory paint jobs, I might just do mine myself.

[jaak]

Bull,
Although I haven't tried it, I read an article by Roger Gibson, one time and he said the type of acrylic enamel they used then was a different formula than today, he stated in his article he gets factory type results using single stage urethane, thinned more than required (he did not list his mixing procedure) and applied several thin coats, producing the same orange peel like the cars had new. He also said alot of guys got pissed because they would bring him a car and wanted an all original concours restoration, then when they pic up the car they was all upset the paint looked like shit. He said he now explains the difference between a "original" paint job and a "show" paint job. I really am not into the all orginal thing, but I think its cool and give props to these guys that have done all the research and share their tips and tricks on doing stuff.

Take it easy,
Jason

[71charger_fan]

I'd be pretty upset to pay thousands of dollars for a repaint and wind up with a "factory correct" appearance. I want the best finish possible. Personally, I don't understand why you would put a crappy repaint on something just because the factory did it that way. They were infamous for leaving stuff loose too, do any of the restorers pick fasteners at random and not tighten them? I doubt it.

[blackcrowe]

 they just shot the primer ..then top coat.. well i guess they did, cant see em wet sandin cars heheh if ya try that yourself the top coat just looks like glossy primer

[BigBlockSam]

i've painted two cars in my yard with a home made spraybooth out of wood and plastic drop cloths. they come out good. i put alot of paint on so i could cut it good a month later. i made sure that it was not a windy day and i wet the area under the car. factory correct .

[jaak]

i've painted two cars in my yard with a home made spraybooth out of wood and plastic drop cloths. they come out good. i put alot of paint on so i could cut it good a month later. i made sure that it was not a windy day and i wet the area under the car. factory correct .

I've known of others to do the same thing, and yes that is a better than factory job.

Jason

[HeavyFuel]

I'd be pretty upset to pay thousands of dollars for a repaint and wind up with a "factory correct" appearance. I want the best finish possible. Personally, I don't understand why you would put a crappy repaint on something just because the factory did it that way. They were infamous for leaving stuff loose too, do any of the restorers pick fasteners at random and not tighten them? I doubt it.

[hemihead]

That all depends on what you are looking for.A Concourse Correct restoration is not a pretty ,shiney paint job.Technically, almost all cars are or restored and modified.Putting that aluminium intake and 4 bbl. Holley on and then calling it "Restored" isn't correct either.Let's face it,not many people out there even liked Mopars until they became the "In" thing to collect.Now everyone wants perfect paint but that wasn't the way they were made.