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Projects 30/31 Model A Roadster Pre-war Build

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by BrandonK, Jul 4, 2016.

  1. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    I have about 4 coats of lacquer paint on it. I'm going to spray another coat back n this panel and try to wet sand with an 800 grit.
     
  2. TERPU
    Joined: Jan 2, 2004
    Posts: 2,372

    TERPU
    Member

    Bitchin Car! On the paint if you are using lacquer you might try 400 right now with what you have there. Then spray four more coats on it to let it burn into the now smooth 400 grit base. Then get after it with 800 to smooth, then 1200, then 1500, then 2000, then finally 2500. all the while being very cautious to not burn through. Then buff it with a very fine polish and a foam pad. It'll shine like a mirror. Either way you're pretty far along and it's worth the extra month of work to have a really deep and shiny lacquer job.

    All the best,
    Tim

    PS- a single downdraft with a 94 jetted to 48 works great. Or 2 81's jetted to 42 on the Banger with 6:5:1 compression.
     
  3. jailhousebob
    Joined: Jun 18, 2009
    Posts: 887

    jailhousebob
    Member
    from Illinois

    Hey Brandon,great looking roadster.Lacquer is a very transparent paint.4 coats is not nearly enough.For every 4 coats you put on you will lose 2 from wet sanding.The stripes you are seeing are most likely from sanding the color thin enough where the base is visable through the thin color coat.It may also be from uneven pressure on the sand paper so make sure you always use a rubber block.Finish block sanding to get the surface as level as possible without going through the primer then blow more paint on ,not one but severel coats and block it again.Put a little dish detergent in the water as you sand,it helps float the paint particles off the surface and prevent scratches.when the color is uniform and you are happy,block it with something really fine like 1000 which should result in a flatness that appears like an old oxidized finish.You are using a fairly dark color over a light base so with lacquer it may take quite a few coats to get the color uniform.Just my 2 cents
     
  4. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Thanks so much, maybe Ill sand the whole thing down with the 400 and then spray a few more coats on it.
     
  5. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Thanks for that info! I really don't want a shiny paint job, but I am going to take your advice on sanding everything with the 400 and then giving it another 4 coats.

    as for the banger info... I am planning to run a downdraft with a 94 and a thomas head. I still need an intake. Any recommendations?
     
    Felipe Toltecatl likes this.
  6. TERPU
    Joined: Jan 2, 2004
    Posts: 2,372

    TERPU
    Member

    I like my Zephyr. But a Burns single is really hard to beat. Either way Bangers are great and there's lots of fun miles to be had in one.

    Keep us posted and keep having a great time.

    All the best,
    Tim
     
  7. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    I just got outbid on a Burns at the last second last week on ebay! Thanks for the input. Will definitely be keeping you all posted!
     
  8. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Hey guys! Thanks for all the info on the paint. I wet sanded what I had with 400 grit. I got a new spray gun and laid down another 5 coats. The paint is really uniform now and I'm getting really pumped on it! I'm going to let it cure for a bit and hit it with some 1000 grit and see how it looks. I really like how it looks now. I don't want the finished product to be any glossier and not much more matte than it is now. What do you guys recommend? Photo Oct 13, 12 51 14 PM.jpg
     
    Nailhead A-V8, phil, kiwijeff and 9 others like this.
  9. 1000 grit is cool. They sell up to 5000 grit in 3M Trizact. My OT Blazer original paint, I hit with 1200, then 2000, 3000, 4000, and finally 5000. Almost looks polished just stopping with paper ... and soapy water.

    Machine glaze, and followed up with several coats of hand glazing. Looks like glass, cost me some days of hours, and roughly a hundred bucks in paper. Do you want or need glass ? Probably not, but just sharing what I did. Transformed a 30 year old factory black and red insert paint job. I do it with every used vehicle I buy. You may get similar results with less work, just by claying the car. Similar process.

    Good luck, love your style.
     
  10. A Boner
    Joined: Dec 25, 2004
    Posts: 7,419

    A Boner
    Member

    Sounds like you should just leave the paint alone.....drive it and wash it, and if it starts to look too dull, wax it. It looks good, as is, to me too. Move on to the next thing on your build list.
     
  11. So what's wrong with shiny paint? That's how it would have been done back in the day. All this "patina" stuff is a modern fad. No one wanted a matte finish until recently. Some folks ran around in primer for a while back then, but it wasn't because they wanted that, they were just waiting until they could afford shiny paint.
     
    kidcampbell71 and Binger like this.
  12. harleyjohn45
    Joined: Aug 27, 2012
    Posts: 190

    harleyjohn45
    Member

    All my friends use flat black, when the have bad body work.
     
  13. Hey Brandon,
    Your car is looking great!
    I don't know a whole lot about anything but,
    At the beginning of this thread you mentioned
    that this would be a pre-war build. Think about this:
    Your car is a '31 so by 1940 it was only 9 years old.
    If you want to live the life, there wer'ent any spray bombs
    or even many spray painters before WWII. The first thing
    you would do was try to make what was there already shine.
    A a teenager would have only bought
    a rubbing compound like Dupont # 7. The instructions
    on the can said something like "With a soft lint free rag,
    rub only in short straight strokes
    until the desired shine is reached. Then polish"
    This was because older paint got chalky and oxodized.
    The rubbing compound had sand particles
    equivalent to 800-1000 grit sand paper. It was like wet sanding.
    The thing we now try to replicate, the rubbung through
    the paint happened all the time, simply because you rubbed
    through the paint down to primer trying too hard to get shine!
    It typically happened on horizontal surfaces, where the sun
    cooked the paint most, and the rain/snow hit hardest.
    I know because in the '60s, we still had cars
    from the '30s and '40s that looked like that.
    It's unfortunate that there aren't a lot of color pictures pre WWII
    to back up what I'm telling you. I would rub that paint a little,
    wax it and go on with your build. If you had your car in 1940,
    and you were 16-19 years old, you would be Damn proud of
    what it looks like right now!
    Next, get going on the Banger! Make it run!!
     
    Kenny P, Spooky, Jeff34 and 1 other person like this.
  14. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Thanks Tony! I'm not doing much more to the paint. I kinda like how it looks currently. The banger is my over the winter project! Still collecting some parts, but I can work on that next to a heater in my garage while the roadster is under a cover.
     
    Jeff34 likes this.
  15. ROCKER77
    Joined: Jun 30, 2008
    Posts: 515

    ROCKER77
    Member

    any updates???
     
  16. I really like what ya got going on with this roadster......Still looking for a body like you found....
     
  17. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Not much going as of late. It's cold and snowy here in NY. Getting started on sorting out the banger motor in my friend's shop in the next couple weeks. I'll be sure to post updates!


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
    ROCKER77 likes this.
  18. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    I actually didn't realize how long it's been since I last posted. I did make a little more progress. I put some numbers on it and mounted a windshield. I also collected some speed parts for the banger. Here is how she is currently looking.

    [​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  19. ROCKER77
    Joined: Jun 30, 2008
    Posts: 515

    ROCKER77
    Member

    Looking pretty good
     
  20. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    It's been awhile since I've posted here. I've been working on getting this banger going. Resprayed the block, new valvetrain, regrind touring cam. Just finished up adjusting the valves. Here are a bunch of photos:


    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]


    Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
     
  21. Way to go Brandon!
     
    BrandonK likes this.
  22. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

  23. Neat little roadster I can't wait to get working on my 31 once my 27T coupe is finished this year, my 2cents on the paint, I used to work in a hotrod custom and resto shop we did all our own quite high end paint work, polishing every thing, like most of the guys already advised was work up through the grits we usually started around 600 or 800 and worked up towards 3000 or 4000 or 5000 then started machine polishing with a foam pad also moving up coursenesses too and we would use alight mist of soapy water over the panel we were machine polishing ,

    but when wet sanding we used soap in the water too as suggested but we used to put it in a spray bottle and we would spray constantly as we sanded to really help avoid clogging up the paper also keep a real good eye out for any build up small lumps of accumulated particle of paint as that will really start marking what your sanding and you'll then have to sand it out to get rid of it again with a fresh pad,
    but like you said your thinking of not touching it and enjoying it which is also a good plan, but figured I'd offer some advice in case you changed your mind
    Anyways keep up the awesome work I'm following this one
    Charlie
     
    Last edited: Apr 1, 2017
  24. BrandonK
    Joined: Nov 24, 2015
    Posts: 48

    BrandonK
    Member

    Hey all! Life gets busy and I haven't posted on here in over a year! here are some updates on my roadster. I got it all done with the help of my buddy TJ and was able to race this year at TROG. I ended up running a repro Winfield head and an Ansen intake. Used a stock seat pan for the base of the seat and bolted a couple 3" hinges to it with a sheet of plywood for the backrest. Covered both with high density foam and a maroon vinyl. Stock cowl tank was rusty beyond what I wanted to mess with, so I ran an aluminum tank in the trunk. Here are some photos. Enjoy!




    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]


    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2018
    kram, Kenny P, Nailhead A-V8 and 10 others like this.
  25. Great job Brandon!
    Congratulations!
     
  26. Never2low
    Joined: Jan 14, 2008
    Posts: 1,160

    Never2low
    Member

    New pic #3 is my new fav pic.
    #4 is a close second.
    I like the white firewall, but I prefer it with the hood/sides on.
    Just perfection!
     

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