Benny's EK wagon

[Smooth customs]

Paul, I love the way you have the natural blend lines going with the overspray from the first application of Cameo under the Snowcrest which is just how they were painted originally.
Back to the pourous aspect of acrylic, I have always been taught that acrylic is porous until it is buffed and sealed with polish - but interested in your views on types of polish - although its a nightmare if you applied it the week before you want to paint, I have always used polishes with silicone in them over some of the others, even the old repo liquid polishes seem to sustain a good sealant in my opinion.
Tim

Tim, acrylics are a thermo plastic based paint, and are waterproof in nature once applied. When an acrylic job is cut and buffed the paint reflows, as the heat from the buff and cutting compound makes the paint soften and smooths out giving the shine.
Modern paints are totally different, as you treat them in the same manner as a stone mason cuts and polishes any hard stone by reducing the grade of abrasive till the surface is almost scratch free and them polishing and polishing to further smooth and fill any tiny abrasive marks.
When I was an apprentice, after the first coats of paint gave coverage and some thickness we reduced the amount of paint and increased the thinners to help flow out the surface applications. On more expensive or restorations the paint surface was bloced back after a few days or weeks of allowing the solvents to evaporate and flow coated again. It was allowed to dry out for what ever time was decided before being rubbed down again and machine buffed, all door jams and inner surfaces were hand compounded.
if the car was a resto or a more expensive paint job several extra steps were added to the process
The car would then be washed and inspected, before being buffed with Braso. Washed again and then dry buffed with corn flour. Washed again and then the polishing process began. A paste wax in a large tin, similar to old floor wax was applied. Starting with the roof, and doing one panel at at time. Allowing the wax to breath for about half an hour before removing the excess and using several clean rags to hand finish the surface to a high shine. Door jams and inner panels were treated the same way. Once the first complete coat had been polished out the car was allowed to sit and breath for at least a day before the complete process was reapeated again for a further two or three times. On a smash repair paintjob Repo liquid polish was used to quicken the process.
No silicone polish was ever used, as I suffered a painfull lesson at the hands of thepainter tradesman when i bought in a bottle of this "New" fast and long lasting silicone polish. After I got up off the ground I had to prepsol all the cars in the paint shop several times on my time and expence before they could be painted.
The trade was very different back then.

[Smooth customs]

Once the shell was painted in and out, all the floors were cleaned and primed in an acrylic primer before a semi gloss black was applied.
All the loose panels now took their turn in the booth to go through the process of Primer application. The doors and some other panels were painted in two stages, with all the internal surfaces being coloured first.
After the paint had cured they were turned over and rubbed down, the inner areas then being masked off to stop any overspray on the already painted sections
A lot of paint jobs only have paint where it will be seen!
But when doing any job it only takes a little more time and effort to go that little bit more, even if you or the person doing the job know.
I always believe that somewhere down the track, someone else may have to do some sort of work on a car you have repaired and painted and when being dismantled the finish on the unseen areas show the care that was originally put into the job

[parisian62]

Love looking at pics like this and reading explanations of the process.

Benny must be happy!

[Cal]

No silicone polish was ever used, as I suffered a painfull lesson at the hands of thepainter tradesman when i bought in a bottle of this "New" fast and long lasting silicone polish. After I got up off the ground I had to prepsol all the cars in the paint shop several times on my time and expence before they could be painted.
The trade was very different back then.

I copped the same thing from my dad (ex painter) when he sprung me polishing the family car with a silicone based polish

He only let us use cutting compounds on the cars. Even non silicon based polished and waxes were banned

[Smooth customs]

No silicone polish was ever used, as I suffered a painfull lesson at the hands of thepainter tradesman when i bought in a bottle of this "New" fast and long lasting silicone polish. After I got up off the ground I had to prepsol all the cars in the paint shop several times on my time and expence before they could be painted.
The trade was very different back then.

I copped the same thing from my dad (ex painter) when he sprung me polishing the family car with a silicone based polish

He only let us use cutting compounds on the cars. Even non silicon based polished and waxes were banned

I still have a tin of T Cut and fill&glaze from the 70's
Along with some 70's acrylic
A paint rep wanted to borrow then to, so he could show his boss that in some shops these materials still exist and the owner remembers how to use them

[Smooth customs]

Tonights additions
Most of you will think this excessive once you see what I have done.
And there will be no comments from you Scotty!
I will be showing what was done to the bonnet and tailgate, two panels that are sort of overlooked by some people during a repaint.
Bonnet undersides suffer bady because of the heat and oil from the motor, and rust.
The bonnet on this wagon was no different, the front frame that the bonnet catch is bolted to was encrusted with oil and grease mixed in with dirt and grime that was either sticky or rock hard,
the inner skins paint had flaked and cracked and rust had started to take hold.
People forget that when you open a cars bonnet the inner part of it is staring straight at you and all faults scream out.
I drilled out the front inner frame of the bonnet, so all the crud could be removed before paint stripping and blasting. All repairs were preformed and the process of paint prep and the application of the colour was done to a level above what is seen in usually covered areas. With the inner and outer painted it was time to reassemble the inner frame. New sponge insulation was fitted to the front frames edges where they touched the inner skin and the cross brace was bolted and clamped back in place to position before welding the panel and return rigitaty to the bonnet.
Once welded in place the welds were ground down and prepped for paint. Once finished no one would know, but several people have asked how I got the new insulation between the skin and the brace.
Little things like this are only seen by a very few, but its gives this area that "NEW" look

[Smooth customs]

Now the tailgate

[Smooth customs]

Tim
You have a couple there I had forgotten about.

[Smooth customs]

In the Black and Gold labled tins

Here is something to try with the old nitro, if it is not totally stuffed and dried out.
Get an old BIG cooking pot and put boiling water in it. then put the opened tin of NC in the water and see if it softenes. Add some thinner and stur up. then strain into another tin. Has worked for me
I love acrylics, even though I got to use the first 2 pac paints made available here in the early 70's and have used more of it than I could remember.
in the late 70's I wotrked for a shop thatbought up all the deleted Duco stock around Sydney for bugger all. We are taling hundreds of tins, and when other dealers found out they just sent their stock over because it was cheaper and easier than dumping it. The guy I worked for had the bright idea of doing cheap resprays and yardy jobs in it!
I let all the early Holden guys I knew about it and mixed up so many colours from FX to FB. And the boss made good money out of that.
I ended up with a full set of colour and formula books that the dealers just through in to get rid of.
Unfortunatly all these and many more were lost after my big shop closed in 84, my ex partner either burnt or through away all these priceless books as he saw no use in them!!!!

[Sputzwagon]

Tonights additions
Most of you will think this excessive once you see what I have done.
And there will be no comments from you Scotty!

What..did I say anything??? NOT ME!

Scotty.

[Cal]

Tim
You have a couple there I had forgotten about.

Paul, I don't want to sidetrack this post too much, but you'd love some of the paint tins I have in the shed - From memory they are Duco (pre Dulux?) and Taubmans I think 1 pint tins dated 1961 to 1963 Snowcrest White, Cameo Beige, Wedgewood Blue, Tuscany Yellow and Opal Green and Nitro Sandstone Beige. I got them from Holden Dealers in Bollon and Morven in the late 90's and they all stir up well with the exception of the nitro. I used the Opal green a couple of years ago and it went on fantastically and was a perfect match. Brings a whole new meaning to quotes of 'orignal factory duco'
They have been invaluable for matching colours, as it is sometimes good to see a 'wet' colour when trying to get the right shade.

I'm sure many of you would know this, but there are a few places that do still make Nitro paint. They don't speak very highly of it though.

[Smooth customs]

It is an absolutly beautiful material to apply. And will buff up to a great shine
But if not cared for and polished regulally certain colours will break down and oxidise

All the period restorations we did in Black were done in NC up untill the late 80's
but paint material is the preference of the painter and owner

[Smooth customs]

With the body shell painted in and out, and the unbolted panels well underway.
The interiour trim had to be addressed.
Both seats and door trims were reusable, after a real good clean. Because trying to match the same trim patterns is almost impossible, and in keeping them keeps the trim costs down.
The hood lining was brittle and maked in several areas.
over the years the cargo area had suffered along with the inner wheel wells
Matching the colour of the trim and hoodlining was done by eye matching a special paint material designed for this special purpose.
The trimmer cut sections based on the originals and then i sprayed the pieces before they were stiched together
Unfortunatly we are not able to do the heat formed stiched cargo area material, so they were made and machine stiched
New underfelt was cut and fitted to the floors at this time
Once back in the shop the wagon was put back up on the big stands.

[Smooth customs]

Now the fun begins, NOT!
Assembly can be the most painfull or enjoyable part of the job.
All the original pieces that were removed earlier on in the job, can now be unpacked and refitted! I dont think so.
Once you put that original piece in place it most times looks seriously second hand. So you have two options, just put it back or treat it like everything else you have on the job
Some parts are extremly hard to find good reusable examples, and reproductions are not available yet. So you must clean polish replate or paint each piece.
Here is another selection of photos showing what was done

[Smooth customs]