Spitfire Spitfire Hardtop Questions - Colors & Suppliers

[dklawson]

I purchased a hardtop for our project '72 Spitfire. It is currently in the back yard getting a coat of epoxy primer. After the high-build primer and some minor filling I'll have a plain grey piece of sheet metal.

I've seen these hardtops painted body color, black, and white. Since this will likely be an object of neglect used during winter months I'm leaning towards black. I've always seen gloss black tops. However, black shows every dent and mistake. Has anyone ever seen these painted satin black instead?

Most of the painting I've done recently has used PPG paint from their DCC series. Prices have gone WAY up on PPG products. I'm tempted to take one of two directions. 1) Maaco, or 2) Buy paints from a less expensive source. I've seen on some message boards that the mail order paints from TCP Global (tcpglobal.com) are quite good. Compared to PPG their prices are quite good.

Have any of you used Maaco to paint just a panel or hard top? I know they aren't the best but were the results decent and if so, how long did they remain decent. If any of you have used paints from TCP Global I'd appreciate your feedback on them as well. Thanks for the suggestions and input.

 

[71MKIV]

Never used Maaco, but I have used TCP.

Good stuff.

I'm using Damson, which is expensive no matter who you buy the stuff from

 

[Dale]

OK, here's my tuppence and that's all it's worth. I think you should do a vinyl top that would replicate the drop head. There, I said it, and I'm glad. Good Luck at any rate.

 

[spit71]

Back in the early '80s, I painted the factory hardtop for my '74 Mallard blue (or is it mallard green?) spitfire flat black. It looked fine, sort of like the soft-top. Since I was broke and in high school at the time, I used what paint was in the garage. Plain old spray paint, probably Rustoleum. The finish lasted as long as the car did, maybe five winters. I agree with you that glossy black would probably look better, but as you know, it will show every imperfection. I sure wish I still had that hardtop, they seem hard to find now.

 

[spit71]

Dale, if you mean glue vinyl to the hard top, like '70s american cars, then I was thinking the same thing but was afraid to say it. I am still a little ashamed.

 

[Dale]

That's what I had in mind allright, but there may be some kind of spray on stuff that would do the same thing. Actually not that far afield as there were dealer add on tops for the TR7 coupe that were spray on, with a seams molded in.

 

[dklawson]

Vinyl. Thanks for the suggestion but....

Steve, normally I'd agree about Maaco but a guy up the street has used Maaco to paint both his father's car and his own work van. I was impressed at what they did for the money. I see this project car getting a Maaco paint job in the near future anyway. This will be a driver for my older son who is getting his license this summer. I anticipate body damage. I don't want to put $2500+ (and my labor) into the Spit's paint like I did the Mini. However, I have this mental thing about even suggesting using Maaco. I grew up looking at nasty paint jobs from Earl Schieb. My intention with a future Maaco spray for the tub is to do all the body work myself and to spray the inside of the trunk, door jambs, underneath side of the bonnet and firewall/bulkhead. This should leave them the "easy" task of painting just the exterior. I'd also like to plan on taking all the trim out of (and off of) the car before letting them touch it to minimize their masking.

It sounds like you do like the paints from TCP. They certainly are priced better than my local PPG supplier. What paint system of theirs did you use and do you have any caveats to share?

 

[dklawson]

OOPS ! Sorry Steve. I misread your post. I thought you said "Never Use Maaco" as in... "that would be a mistake". That's very different from what you actually typed "Never used Maaco". Again, sorry for misunderstanding.

Please disregard most of my post above but do let me know more about your experience with TCP.