Concours Paint Work...

[Tabcon]

...Is it possible to do it yourself?

In my restoration of the restoration of my TR4, I intend on respraying the car in a different color. When I set out to buy a TR, the 2 colors I absolutely did not even want to consider were red and white. Not that they're bad colors, just that I've only ever owned red or white sports cars. Besides, the great lines on a TR4, especially the power hump on the hood go virtually unnoticed with a white paint job.

I want a mirror finish black car. Not one with thick looking paint like so many restorations have now, but one with curve hugging paint like the old hand rubbed lacquer paint jobs.

I gave up on finding the color car I wanted and opted instead for a clean original, or a nicely restored specimen. I found the latter.

I've been digging into the do it yourself paint job world and reading articles on homemade garage spray booths, and thinking about ordering some "How To" videos and books on the subject.

The problem is that I'm a detail oriented perfectionist, as many on this site appear to be also and trusting the work to a stranger just doesn't seem right. Sure I could plonk out 20K on a paint job and wait a year for it to be finished, but where's the fun in that? Also, if I do it myself, I may tend to be a little less fussy over the finished product than I would if I paid someone else a ton to do it. Yes, I'm a perfectionist...but I know my limits.

Have any of you ever attempted a first rate close to Pebble Beach concours paint job in your garage? Is this even possible for a mortal?

 

[TR6BILL]

Several of the British Motoring Club of New Orleans members have done their own cars at the auto shop at Delgado Community College in New Orleans. This was done under the tutelage of the guy there that teaches auto body work. The results were outstanding! Now, they had the use of professional equipment and a quality spray booth. And the hands-on advice of an expert. They were all amateurs and the results were as good a spray job as I have seen. It can be done, but you need the equipment, and guidance if you are a rookie.

 

[mallard]

Please let us know if find out how. I feel the same way and would love to paint my TR3 myself. You can rent a spray booth but when you are learing how it just seems like it will not work. If you get caught painting a car in your garage in AZ. forget about having any spending money for a long time. I'm sure I will have to pay someone to paint my car. What a pain in the ---. You can pay a ton and still not get the results you paid for. I think this is the biggest problem with my restorations. When you do find someone good that is fair they are soon gone.

 

[Tabcon]

The Delgado thing sounds intriguing. The only problem is that I live about 30 miles away and getting back and forth enough to work on it would be difficult.

There is a guy who does excellent paint work where I live, but he won't do "project" cars anymore, just production work at the dealership he works at.
It's a shame, because he really is very talented. I could probably convince him to do individual panels for me, I'm just worried that when I put it back together they won't match. Besides, I hate to piece meal things.

I'm not very good at waiting, so I'm going to give it a shot. What have I got to lose...except a couple of fenders...a bonnet, a trunk lid...

 

[KVH]

If I can figure how (again)I'll post some pics of my Black TR4A. I'd like to take credit but two owners back did it somewhere near Santa Barbara. I'm spoiled because it was one heck of a good job. I can't recall if it was hand rubbed. I would agree that black is a good choice for the reasons you stated. There have been some real beauties on ebay lately. I like green, red and white, as well. There's something about a nice white one.

If you do it, and if it were me, I'd definitely read up on all the methods, and I'd pull the engine and transmission, all door panels, and remove the hood/bonnet.

I'll let others say, but I wonder if the fenders need to be removed, windshield, too, or if taping off the stainless steel bead will work (for the fenders).

When I last removed my windshield I was impressed that when my car had been repainted they went all the way, even under the top padded dash. They left nothing "tell tale."

I'll see if I can post a few pics, and I'd like to learn what you're about to tackle. (what about body prep? glazing, small dents?)

Good luck

 

[GilsTR]

We did the restoration on my 1960 TR3A. It was my first attempt at any project this big. From this I learned...
The prep work on the body work so SO important. I spent
many hours and had what I thought was a body ready to be painted. In the end...I should have paid the bucks to have a pro take it from that point and really prep it.
In my opinion...the spray is something best left for a pro. Most first time jobs...look like first time jobs!
No one looking at your car will know if you did the wiring or not...but they will know if you do the paint! My best tip...spend the bucks to get a real pro to polish out the paint job. My guy spent 13 hours to polish out my car...and it made all the difference!
Good luck,
Gil. California

 

[KVH]

Let's see if this works for a Black TR

 

[DNK]

Black Car, Black Interior. ARIZONA
Yikes

 

[martx-5]

It's quite possible to do yourself. But, as mentioned above, preparation is the key. The panels must be as perfect as you can possibly make them. I was painting in black, so I knew that any imperfections in the body work would stick out like a sore thumb.

As far as concours goes, remember that these cars never had "clear" on them. So, if you brought it to Pebble Beach with clear on it, you would most likely get points deducted. Besides, I feel clear is out of place on these cars.

I painted the TR in the garage and am quite happy with the results. Perfect?? NO...does it look good?? YES.

BTW, I'm still installing the tonneau cover, so yes, there are missing snaps.

 

[Tinkerman]

Hi Tab, do you have the TRA judging manual? I know that it is geared to the TR 3 but the painting judging information is, I feel, fairly universal. I would also talk to the local hot rod folks about who did their paint jobs. I understand about production shops. They just don't want to do custom work. Had the same problem up here in smal town Tennessee. Problem with DIY painting is that todays paint is very toxic and you need special filtration to stay alive in the paint booth. Still, it is doable.
Fellow that did my paint job is a real magic man with paint and metal. PM me for name and phone number, give him a call. or Email me, its in the profile. I feel certain that he would be more than happy to give you any guidance and he may even know someone in your area.

Cheers, Tinkerman

 

[Tabcon]

I'm going to try and post some photos of the restoration of the restoration, or "Restoration Squared" as the project will now be named. I like to name my projects...lol. The photo's will speak for themselves so I don't have to bore everyone with the details.

As those that live in the New Orleans area like I do can tell you, after hurricane Katrina, we lost a bunch of specialty type shops. Machine shops, paint shops, supply shops that have all been around for years all of a sudden disappeared over night. We used to have a decent selection of British sportscar type operations, now there is basically...zip. The reason I'm having to do everything myself is not because I particulary want to, but more out of necessity, hence all my never ending questions posted here.

I really do enjoy doing some of the work, not all but some. My poor hands look like minced meat after this weekend. When I was removing the the starter, it suddenly fell from it's lofty perch catching the tip of my right thumb between the concrete garage floor and the sharp edge of the starter housing. Not too pretty, and let me tell you, working without a right thumb is not easy. The next day I accidently bead blasted my left index finger. It looks great though, nice and shiny. My wife latched on to my hand last night as I wimpered to myself in pain, not wanting her to actually know the damage I'm inflicting on myself. No sir, she will not spoil all my fun.

 

[Silverghost]

I have to agree, nothing else has the look of an immaculate black paint job. I have known many people with many black cars, myself included, and the consensus is pretty unanimous - black is the WORST color when it comes to maintenance. You will see EVERY swirl mark, dust speck, etc. And be sure the foundation is PERFECT. Any flaw, bump, dent, mark or otherwise will show. Black is very demanding, unforgiving and labor intensive. Know this and be prepared to accomodate these demands and you will love it. Otherwise you may end up with a car you hate. Just my 2 cents....

 

[Safari]

Your web page is very nice, great work. I have a black MGA which was painted by

Combel’s Customs
4512 4th St (504) 361-1856
Marrero, LA 70072-2004

it is black amd was painted almost 20 years ago and still looks good but dose need to be redone. Combel plays with a lot of custom cars and dose good work.

If you are not a memember already you should join the BMCNO.

BMCNO

I really like the TR4 and I am kind of hoping one falls in my lap or better yet im my wifes lap so I have a excuse to pick it up.

Jim

 

[DrEntropy]

Did this a number of years back... Black. The "grid" is the reflection of the office ceiling. The resolution ain't great but it was a TON of work to make the car "right".

 

[Geo Hahn]

I'm going to try and post some photos of the restoration of the restoration, or "Restoration Squared" as the project will now be named...

If those photos are of the car you plan on restoring... yikes! You obviously have a very high standard in mind or else there are things I cannot see in the photos (or both).

I nosed around and found a shop that specialized in fixing rental cars -- all day long they would shuttle cars to & from the airport to bolt on a new fender etc. The owner was doing well but missed getting his hands on real body work.

He agreed to do my TR3A on a fixed price basis (with, amazingly, no money due until the work was done to my satisfaction). He was slow and much more particular than I would have been but after 16 months the car looked fantastic. I doubt he made minimum wage on the job but he enjoyed it and now I do to.

https://www.geocities.com/tucson_british_car_register/tr-restoration.html

Just mention this to note that there are some non-traditional approaches out there if you can find them.

 

[danstr6]

Try taking an Adult Ed. class in body work and car painting at your local community college. I did and learned a tremendous amount about the basics. You can also rent videos online at "smartflix.com." They have a tremendous library to pick from. All in all, doing the body and paint work is relatively simple. It's just a matter of having the right tools, location and knowledge. It also helps to have an expert in the field you can call on when you have a question. Feel free to PM me if you would like more information.