So, I have mentioned in a few threads over the years that I used to paint quite a bit. But, most of what I had painted was off-topic for the HAMB. Now that we have a new area with no rules thus far, I can maybe post some of this stuff? My first car that was a father and son project...technically my dad painted this one, but I helped. I got this when I was 12 and hauled it home on a trailer and a couple truck loads in pieces. Second car and what became my high school hot rod. Bought this one when I was 14 and built without my dad's help including paint and body work, etc. Technically, he never even saw it with the tunnel ram sticking through the hood since he was working in Detroit when I built that motor... Truck I built my senior year in high school starting with a $200 pasture truck. After selling the 63 my senior year, I bought this 69 and lowered and painted it as well. Pretty sure I painted it in a weekend. Man, to have the sort of energy I had back then. Painted this pickup for my best friend when we were 14. First attempt at flames on my daily driver pickup. They sucked, but it was a start... Next flames on a 55 F100 that I traded a bug for. Decided to take a risk of either totally ruining the first pickup that I ever owed money on or making it cooler by lowering, painting and flaming this 91 Sport. A guy asked me about painting a Harley so I figured why not try. This was the first of what became many since I figured out those guys paid good... Couple more bikes I painted. Flamed a buddies 87 pickup. Built and painted this Camaro my first year of college for the same friend that I painted the 74 C10 for when I was 14. Kind of a cool two tone that I painted on this pickup. My brothers S10 that we painted a couple weeks before he moved to Michigan. Painted the TA that my mom bought new and that I bought from my folks while I was in college. Painted a buddies 55 that ultimately led to meeting my wife. Painted my shovel head and my brothers first car. Last full car I painted while in college. I may add more later, but these are a few that I had scanned a while back.
One thing I failed to do in the first post was give credit where credit was due. My dad taught me how to paint from a pretty young age. Looks like this pic was from one of the first times I had a paint gun in my hand painting a hot wheel. My dad was laid off from GM in the late 70's and started painting Corvette's to support the family. I was always interested so he taught me a lot. I am sure the paint in the gun was likely from something he was painting so he let me shoot some on my hot wheel that I sanded and masked. Several of my hot wheels were ruined in this manner...
A few more while I am thinking about it. Painted these two when I was 14. The guys that owned these helped me build my first hot rod motor. More bikes… High school art teachers car that I painted while in his class. I got an A… My first vette when I was 21…was selling a front bumper and ended up buying the car that a guy bought the bumper for. It needed a complete paint, motor, etc. My GTO I never finished. The whole wife and kids deal. A buddies bracket car I painted. Couple late model (new at the time) trucks I put stripes on. High school buddies pickup. Company truck for a paint store I worked at. Painted a few aerobatic planes including one of the BD5’s from the 70’s. The car that about made me quit painting. The owner was a jerk that was expecting perfection for nothing. He finally called and apologized after going to a car show after he found out his paint job was nicer than most… A local body mans truck that wasn’t a painter. Amazing gaps and lines on this one that I was only priveledged enough to make shiny. Sear’s repairman’s car that I painted after he saw me painting other stuff on a service call to my folks house while I was in high school. Sear’s repairman’s neighbors vehicles from that connection. Pedal Cars… Folks neighbors Mustangs. One of the reasons my first year of college didn’t go well between building a 427, painting, etc. this pickup, a few others and a full time job at a body shop at the time. My “adopted parents” car that owned the paint store I worked at delivering paint. And, one of my dad’s co-workers at GM. There were several others including boring stuff like fixing wrecks and lots more bikes, but these are some of the ones worth sharing.
Lol…not sure about that, but thanks. I think I just wasn’t afraid to try stuff and screwing up with paint wasn't as expensive as it is now. Jeff
Simply amazing at such a young age You’ll never loose that muscle memory would wager you could paint blind folded
Thanks guys. To be honest, it has been so long since I have painted much, I’m not near as confident as I once was. I have shot a few little things in the last few years like wheels, some Harley parts, and the hood on my son’s Edsel a couple years ago. The next complete I plan to do will be my 40 Merc coupe. I have always wanted to chop something and that Merc fits the bill.
Guthriesmith, what an impressive body of work! Thanks for saving all of those photos and posting them up! My painting career was a bit earlier than yours judging by the paint jobs. Were you painting outdoors in the driveway or did you have a spray booth? Recently (the past five years) I have attempted to spray my hobby cars at home and have really been frustrated by the poor quality I have achieved. I have tried PPG paint, custom shop and most recently, Orion. My original paint career I used either DuPont or lacquer paint jobs. I think the difference is previously I was spraying single stage enamels and modern paint requires sealer, base coat and clear coat. I probably am making it harder by wanting to add pearl or candy coats to achieve the custom jobs you used to do. I also don’t have the stamina any more, but temperature swings, moisture in the airlines bugs and dirt have made this last one not a lot of fun. Anyway, nice to see your work!
I shot pretty much all of those in just an open shop. I also started with lacquer, then lacquer with urethane clear, then base/clear from Sikkens since that is what I sold at the paint store I worked at. Pretty much all the stuff with any kind of graphics was Sikkens other than some of the tinted primer jobs on my first flames. Anyway, I have most recently shot stuff outside on a calm day since I don’t want get overspray on everything in the shop. I really need a booth of some sort…
I have also struggled to figure out what paint to even use anymore. My local parts store carries Spies Hecker and Nason. I have shot most things recently with single stage Nason and it has at least laid out nice. I have no idea how long it will last though.
Simply awesome.. Back in the early days of my employment at my current workplace I painted dump trucks, street sweepers , tour busses etc. All in Delstar acrylic enamel. Hats off Jeff
Centari was my go to for decades. Then the chroma base and clears. Bad luck with HOK fading and changing colors. Now a days I’m lost on even what kind of primer and paint to use.
Looking back on all this sure has me wanting to get to work painting something. Maybe I can talk my son into us painting the hood and wiper grill on his little Sonoma this summer. We had to swap out those parts after he messed up the parts that were on it. I need some practice before I take on a big job. Materials are too expensive to mess up anymore.
I can vouch for nason. I've done several paint jobs plus a bunch of partial paints like a quarter on an 81 El Camino and a tailgate for an 04 ram. EL Camino I did a few years ago and still looks exactly like it did when I sprayed it. And I love how nason ful-thane acts like lacquer in the sense that it gets shinier and smoother as it dries and the fact the more coats the shinier it gets. I tend to almost double the recommended hardener though
One more pic with my hippy self standing in front of the 55 I painted for my buddy…because all painters needed long hair. This was actually the day I cut off all my long hair so I needed photo evidence of the old me since there was very little photo evidence of me up to that point…or since.
I work at a paint store and we sell BASF products and I love them BUT if your shooting single stage...the Nason Ful-thane is great stuff. It last as well,my Pops and I have painted several over the years with Nason and it has lasted for well over 20 years. He painted his 1st gen Cummins Dodge with Fulthane; it gets washed maybe once every few years and sits outside 80% of the time. Give it a good hand washing and it looks like new..other than some of the scratches and dents through the years haha
Hey Jalopy, is that Nason Ful-thane easy for a novice to spray (as in forgiving)? Haven't picked up a paint gun in a few years, and need to paint pedal car, thought I'd give it a try. Any info greatly appreciated....
Jeff........I've seen hundreds of your posts over the years, and I had ZERO clue. Another reason to enjoy this new OT board. I'm honestly not an easy man to impress, but you just did exactly that Jeff. Hope to see you again at the next 100 in September. Rich
I can maybe answer this at least from the novice perspective. It sprayed really nice when I sprayed a couple sets of wheels recently. This was Ful-thane and it laid out slick and sprayed easy for someone that hasn’t painted much in 30 years.
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