What to do with old paint job that is cracking

[bighealeysource]

Hey all,
Any suggestions on best way to handle the restoration
of my 47 TC where the current paint job - 20+ years old-
is cracking and lifting on parts of the fenders ? There
was a lot of work done on these fenders at one time and
now the paint has simply cracked and will pop right off
leaving the bondo exposed. Will I have to redo the entire
fender or do you think I can just do the areas where
it has cracked ? Trying to avoid redoing 3 of 4 fenders !
Thanks,
Mike

 

[JPSmit]

might be a place to consider outsourcing. we have a number of places in the area that are designed to repair minor damage to cars - scraped bumpers etc. they might be able to blow in one fender more easily

 

[tony barnhill]

Strip all that paint off....& check to see if the bondo work was done properly (probably not)....on a TC, I'd find somebody with an English Wheel to work that fender out without needing bondo.

 

[DrEntropy]

Iron out th' mis-shapen bits and refinish it. Anything else is a "Band-Aid" solution to th' problem.

And remember: T-series body bits are gonna be harder and harder to locate as time goes on.

...cruel, but fair.

 

[tony barnhill]

And even more important is type paint...20 years ago, they probably used lacquer which you can't get today....since there's gonna be a paint type difference with anythingh you do, I'd strip the entire panel, redo everything, prime & paint with modern paints.

 

[zblu]

sometimes people finish things off with a finisher putty, which applied too thick will shrink and cause cracking over time as the locked in aromatics dissipate causing hairline crazing in the paint overcoat

 

[Britishautobody]

Hi Mike,
20 years ago when you had a dent the would drill a hole and use a dent puller and bondo over the hole. Bad idea since bondo is pourous and will wick moisture /rust the metal and crack the filler. Thais may not be what your problem is but this was the "right way to repair back then and is a big NO .NO now. Also Laquer was used and when a certain mill thickness was exceeded the material couldn't flex due to the way metal moves when hot or cold so it would crack.Certain materials when too think become rigid and cannot flex also and will crack. I always find if this is one Bad repair there are probably more in other areas on that problem panel. I would strip it back to zero and blend paint the finish into your other panels for a match . If you don't do it right now it may end up costing you 2x the amount to fix it right the second time.

Hope this helps!

Vern