My dad has been wanting me to paint his 81' VW pickup
for what seems like forever. A former owner painted it with basecoat
and never clearcoated it so it was more than a little dull and drab. We
agreed it would be just a quick "tape and paint". Well we put way more
into it than we agreed initially but it turned out well. Most if not
all the trim was removed which is contrary to a "tape and paint" but to
me it's the only way to do it. We also removed the front windshield to
weld up some rust holes in the corners and allow the paint film to
continue up to the window pinch weld seam for better durability
(Rabbits are notorious for leaking here). DETAILS: The paint system was
BASF: RM Diamont basecoat in VW Diamond Silver Metallic (the original
color) with DC92 low VOC urethane clear. In trying to concentrate on
all the little details of getting the thing actually painted I messed
up on the 1st coat of clear due to an incorrect mixing ratio which
caused excessive orange peel on the 1st coats but after a day of
colorsanding everything smooth it looks fantastic. Hope you enjoy the
pics.
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| Here is the "before" shot. I worked off and on about 3 months until Dad wanted it back ;-) | Here the car was being cleaned up for being put in the booth | Here it is in the booth. |
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| Here I am shooting basecoat. | Here I am shooting clearcoat. | Here is a shot after shooting the 1st coat of clear. |
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| Here is a shot after shooting the 2nd coat of clear. | Here is the finished product | Here is another shot of the finished product. |
DISCLAIMER: I try not to over dramatize things, BUT, please make note of the safety gear that was used while painting. This paint system consists of a polyester based basecoat (the color) that can be sprayed with a standard 3M activated carbon filter mask, but the urethane clear is mixed with a hardner containing Isocyanates. Urethane paints dry partly by evaporation of the reducers but mostly by chemical reaction or "crosslinking" with an Isocyanate based hardner. Isocyanates react with an alchohol to form urethane chains which produce the wonderfully clear and slick finishes we all know and love. It is this "reactive" property that makes urethanes so dangerous to use. Vapor in low concentrations makes the eyes burn. Inhaling too much vapor can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Exposure day after day can gradually reduce your lung capacity or ability to breath. A positive pressure hood system with a remote air pump is the only way to spray this stuff. This stuff can make you VERY sick and in some cases even KILL you! If you are considering using urethane to paint your car please do the necessary research into the safety gear before spraying and learn to read your MSDS!
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