How to Paint an Old Car

Painting an old car is a matter of restoration and rust ratification and prevention. Rust or oxidation under the old paint will cause the new paint to bubble in short order as rust attempts to surface once again. There are different rust inhibitors, although Ospho is the most effective. The paint should be stripped to the metal. Severely rusted panels should be replaced, and those with surface-only rust should get a treatment of Ospho to stop the rust.

Things You'll Need

• 1 gallon of Ospho
• 1 gallon of sealer
• 2 gallons of spot filler primer
• Pack of wet and dry sandpaper in combinations ranging from 220 grit to 500 grit
• Urethane paint in the color desired
• Urethane clear top coat
• Urethane wet look paint activator
• Urethane top coat clear activator
• Fish eye eliminator
• One gallon of Urethane medium reducer
• Several paint strainers
• Paint mask
• Masking tape
• Air compressor
• Paint gun
• Water filter
• Paint brush
• Cardboard panel painted yellow with ½-inch black squares
• Black spray paint
• Block sander
• Prepsall

Instructions

1. Replace all the severely rusted panels and sand down the ones with surface rust. Remember that through this whole process, the smallest dent or scratch will be magnified by the paint. Do not scratch the bare metal, if possible. Remove all imperfections.

2. Smooth all repaired areas by lightly spraying them with black paint. Use the yellow checkered cardboard to see the imperfections, if any, by placing the yellow board in front of the repair and close to the body. Look down the body repair, and the yellow checkered pattern will reflect any high or low spots by very uneven reflections on the black paint. Sand and re-spray with black paint until an even pattern of squares is visible.

3. Apply Ospho over all previously rusted areas and over all the rockers and quarter panels. Cover all sharp edges or angles. Allow the Ospho to dry for four to five hours. Wash the body and dry with an air gun. Wipe the surface off with a clean cloth.

4. Spray the body with sealer to fill the small scratches and fill the porous sections of the metal. This also prepares the metal for the primer. Let it dry for an hour.

5. Blow all the dust off the vehicle. Hold the air gun behind your hand as you wipe the body of the vehicle. Your hand will loosen the dust and the air gun will rid the car of dust momentarily, long enough to primer the vehicle. Tape the vehicle parts not to be painted.

6. Spray the primer with the air paint gun. Use two coats to fill completely all scratches. Allow four hours minimum to dry.

7. Wet sand the primer with fine sandpaper, keeping it wet so the primer does not heat up and soften. This would also give the best finish. When this is done, remember that the paint is going to reflect the appearance of the body with primer on it. Now is the last chance for perfection. Eyeball it good for any imperfections. Fix any imperfections by repeating the above steps, if needed.

8. Rub the vehicle down with Prepsall, making sure to get into every spot. This removes all grease, oil and fingerprints, and anything that could cause poor adhesion of the paint. Remove all dust from the car in preparation for the paint.

9. Mix the base coat paint. Mix the paint with 60 percent paint to 40 percent reducer. Make sure to pour the paint through the filter, followed by the reducer. Mix well for 30 seconds and add the correct amount of activator. The amounts can differ, depending on the type of paint, so read the mixing instructions on the can. Put four drops of fish eye eliminator, so that the paint does not get holes in it at any spot missed with the Prepsall.

10. Drain the air tank of all water, and make sure the water filter dryer is in line between the gun and tank. Adjust the air pressure of the gun to 55 pounds of air pressure.

11. Put the paint mask on. Start at the roof and move to the hood and then the trunk. Always do the flat areas first, because they draw the dust the easiest. Hold the air gun straight and 10 inches from the body. Make the first sweep with air only to blow off any dust and then make continuous sweeps, keeping the gun perpendicular all the way through the stroke. Do not wave the gun or lean it, as this will make a wet and dry pattern. Always overlap the paint 50 percent on each pass.