I am looking for direction on painting a 1928 Sedan. I want to do it properly and have painted cars but nothing this old and nothing that had wood in the body structure. I am inclined to believe that to paint the body right I need to disassemble the body as much as pissible or risk rust creeping ouf of thd seams down the road. Is there a good book or manual that will walk me through it? Looking at all the nails and the way everything gets fastened has me a little nervous.
Painting 28 Sedan Body?
- Thread starter louder50
- Start date
Tom Wesenberg
Well-known member
I would buy the latest "Paint and Finish Guide" and also attend at least one or two national meets to study the high point cars, as well as original survivor cars.
Mikeinnj
Well-known member
If you are painting the whole car, you will at least want to remove the fenders, grille, hood,running boards,splash shields. etc. You did not state what body style you have but some of the wood structured bodies can be quite a chore to disassemble and re-assemble.
It depends on the finished job you are after. If you want concourse show quality you may want to look into some of the more expensive paints on the market.
Ford originally used lacquer on the body and black enamel on all Model A fenders. Lacquer is still available from PPG and other manufacturers but has to be ordered.
Some areas of the country have regulations against using it. The advantages are that it is easy to spray, and forgiving with runs, bugs,dings etc. as you can just sand and re-spray the affected area. The disadvantages are that lacquer has to be wet sanded and polished to achieve the finished gloss and will oxidize over time in the sunlight.
Modern paints like base coat / clear coat are less work to maintain. Another consideration is your access to equipment. Modern urethane and epoxy paints require forced fresh air breathing equipment and skin protection which is necessary and a quality downdraft spray booth is really desirable.
Remember the key to any good paint job is the preparation ,sanding,filling dents, priming, sealing, and color application with an eye on humidity and temperature. Lastly, I have seen some decent paint jobs where people have done all their own prep work and then had Macco or similar shops apply the finish coats. The shops sometimes run "specials". It pays to pay them a few visits before committing to their work and ask a lot of questions. Good luck !
It depends on the finished job you are after. If you want concourse show quality you may want to look into some of the more expensive paints on the market.
Ford originally used lacquer on the body and black enamel on all Model A fenders. Lacquer is still available from PPG and other manufacturers but has to be ordered.
Some areas of the country have regulations against using it. The advantages are that it is easy to spray, and forgiving with runs, bugs,dings etc. as you can just sand and re-spray the affected area. The disadvantages are that lacquer has to be wet sanded and polished to achieve the finished gloss and will oxidize over time in the sunlight.
Modern paints like base coat / clear coat are less work to maintain. Another consideration is your access to equipment. Modern urethane and epoxy paints require forced fresh air breathing equipment and skin protection which is necessary and a quality downdraft spray booth is really desirable.
Remember the key to any good paint job is the preparation ,sanding,filling dents, priming, sealing, and color application with an eye on humidity and temperature. Lastly, I have seen some decent paint jobs where people have done all their own prep work and then had Macco or similar shops apply the finish coats. The shops sometimes run "specials". It pays to pay them a few visits before committing to their work and ask a lot of questions. Good luck !
Mike V. Florida
Well-known member
If it is that rusty that you are worried about rust showing then, yes you will need to remove the sheetmetal and the wood. If you are lucky and the wood is in good shape you will have to fill the nail holes when you go and re-nail it.
How bad is the body?
How bad is the body?
silversink
Senior Member
the best way I have found to fill all those little holes is a tube of wood glue and 2-3 boxes of the round toothpicks. dip the end and insert in the hole cut off flush and use the other end for the next hole.
Thanks the replys guys! The car is a 28Tudor Sedan. There is zero rust anywhere. The car has been in storage for around 30 years. Someone a long time ago thought abouf painting it and sprayed it with laquer based primer. I think I will break it all down and replace the wood too. I have only painted cars with bc/cc but I am leaning strongly towards a single stage urethane on this car. I dont feel bc/cc has the right appearance for this car.
Mike V. Florida
Well-known member
My thought as well!
scar
Member
I have painted a 28 and 29 Model A ford tudor. I too was worried that i would end up getting rust runs and rust through, so here's what I did. I removed the body from the frame. I removed all of the wood. I removed the panels that the quarter window regulators bolt to and removed all of the body bolts around the body line. (the 29's are spot welded and take a long time to separate.) I then took the body and had it chemically dipped. The guy at Chem-dip said that if I used PPG DP50 that the body would never rust again and it was so good that it doesn't come off the metal if it's redipped. Anyway, I used it and then before i started putting the body back together, I put seam sealer on before butting up any two pieces of metal (ie: the lower to upper body section, the rear panel to side body sections, and the vertical seam above the doors) Then, I reinstalled all of the wood. Those tiny nails are hard to drive in without missing one and scratching the paint, so I did it before painting. lol
Barry B./ Ma.
Well-known member
You wouldn't believe how rusty my 29 Special coupe (Avatar)was when I did it over in 1981. After welding in a few patch panels I sanded and acid etched with metal prep then used Rustoleum Rusty metal primer, after the primer was good and dry I coated it with sanding primer, spot filler, then acrylic enamel. That was 32 years ago and paint materials have changed since but it still looks good 12,000 miles later with no rust pits coming through.
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