1978 Grand Marquis

[87gtVIC]

Let it dry a couple of weeks first before you do anything. Touch up paint will look like touch up paint and stick out the same BUT be the correct color.

[DerekTheGreat]

Those bubbles are actually fish eyes. Some silicone or grease must have fallen on the surface before you began spraying. Those are a painter's worse nightmare. Anything can cause them, from tire shine to hair spray, whatever has silicone on it. So if your neighbor Jimbo is going nuts next door while you're painting, all it takes is you being downwind... Those things are nasty because as you see, they repel the paint, so you can actually see down to primer in those spots. I would sand & feather them out & shoot the area again. Seal the area off as best as possible, use clean rags every time and naptha or IPA. If you can pick some tack rags to run over the surface (lightly, you do not want to deposit the adhesive on your surface) to pick up any fibers left by the cleaner rags.

[Grand1]

Thanks Derek.
I will definitely take that into account. The paint difference is noticeable from fresh from old(of course) . Makes me wonder why I didn't paint the whole thing, but given that this was my first body work/paint job it probably was better that I didn't. I was amazed at the prep time involved with stripping, priming, and sanding. Thinking about a stall.

http://mymechanicsplace.com/tool-rental/

[Grand1]

Try to keep things OE, but missing one hubcap(some are selling for $150?better be NOS). Nothing special...flat black, lugnuts, bleach white.

[Tiggie]

I dig the black wheel look. Might add some pinstripes. It’s pretty easy with a wheel. Just get a brush and hold steady as the wheel turns (after jacking up).

As far as painting goes, the prep does suck but pays off in the end. I did my 88 without a garage. Totally not recommended but sometimes you have no choice. I fixed each rust/dent area one at a time and sprayed with regular spray can primer, yes the cheap stuff lol. Again... really not recommended but I was in college and was basically broke! I forget what the can said, but it did provide protection from rust for a few days. The rest of the car was scuffed then primed with cheap but got it from a paint store lacquer primer. Blocked it out and sprayed a 2k urethane topcoat on it. In a driveway... no garage or paint booth. Took a week or so to get it ready then two 12 hour days before the morning of topcoat painting. It’s still on the car ten years later and looks pretty good. You can do it without a garage. It won’t be perfect but it should be uniform color and shiny.

Your job looks fine for spray bomb. As far as the fish eyes, you can touch them up as mentioned above, with a small brush. Thin your paint a bit and do several thin coats.

I have been using Southern Polyurethanes products on my 68 and have been very pleased. They ship for free. They don’t really do basecoat colors unless you want a very basic color. But all primers and clears are top notch and budget friendly from my experience. Their waterborne wax and grease remover is just what you need to clean before painting next time. But as Derek warned, nothing will kill the silicone. Even most deoderants have it, so watch your arm pits and don’t use old t-shirts for paint prep.

[Tiggie]

Oh yes - if you use anything 2k (with a separate hardener), be sure to wear a respirator. Full face is good if you can swing it. And a tyvek suit. Google isocyanates.

Link to Southern Polyurethanes: https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com

[DerekTheGreat]

I dig the black wheel look too, especially since your car is dark blue. Yeah wear a respirator. I never could get comfy with full face masks but like the half mask 3M makes, the one that's blue. More comfy for extended wear time. Oh yeah, there is a ton of time in prep work. Fun is the event of painting which goes by so fast. Then there's more work to getting that to look right.

And yeah, lotion & deodorant are nasty. I use Right Guard and haven't had a problem, their white solid stuff. Before that, I used something else, forget what it was and I just got a job as a powder/liquid paint applicator and I'll never forget the nightmare I had with craters & fisheyes. Long story short was the spray booth was sucking deodorant crusticles from my arm pits and depositing them on the panels... It wasn't every panel though, so eventually I found the problem & ziptied my sleeves to my arms Which leads me to say paint isn't smart. That is to say should you ever see fish eyes or craters everywhere, the paint is most likely contaminated or your air supply is. If it's only here and there, either the substrate is contaminated or your cleaning rags were or something of that nature.

[Grand1]

Thanks for that link Tiggy, the prices are great. More good info about the small stuff and how it can change ur paint. Body/ painting work is definitely a subset of skills I lack, but is less intimidating then before. Gonna try and wax the shit out of my old paint and see if that will transition the color better.

[87gtVIC]

I would clay everything first then use a mildly aggressive compound on your old paint, polish, then give it a coat of wax. The clay will remove impurities STUCK to the paint. Impurities in the paint cause the light to not reflect properly. The less impurities in the paint the better light can reflect off of it and shine better. Also removing surface contaminants before compounding helps prevent trash from being swirled around under your buffing pad. Finish up with a nice polish and a wax and the paint will be in tip top shape and may match your new paint better.

[Grand1]

After a basic wash, claying. Definitely picking stuff up.

[DerekTheGreat]

Single stage paint right thar. She's original.

[87gtVIC]

After a basic wash, claying. Definitely picking stuff up.
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You feel the difference in smoothness before and after no?

[Grand1]

The vast majority of my car, yes. Took me long enough! There is a little roughness from new to old paint still, but most of the over spray is gone. Hit it with some rubbing compound (again these barges take forever!). Thinking the Polish and wax will make it less noticeable.
First pics are before clay and compound, last is current state.

[87gtVIC]

God bless you if you are doing any compounding by hand on these large panels. I have rotary and dual orbit polishers and still dislike doing it. lol

[DerekTheGreat]

I did my Townie by hand last year. Sucked. Sucked. Sucked. Wonder why I haven't done it this year yet...