The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Paint

Hi all, I am a new stovebolter. I am in the process of restoring a 1946 chev. fire truck pumper. The body was in perfect condition with only the blistering of a second coat of "barn paint" that someone in the past thought was a sweet way to go.
I dissambled and stripped the entire truck down to bare metal and primed the metal with a hi-bred/high build primer. I have done some minor spot and fill and have sanded to entire truck at least twice. Once before and once after the first prrimer coat. I am planning to give the truck another coat of hight build primer and then after a finish sanding will be ready for paint. My question is what kind of paint would work for me. I am thinking of useing arcilic enamel with the wet coat hardner look. I do plan on painting the truck in stages such as doors,hood, cab, & body and such. I am concerned about being able to rub the finish out and wonder if the arcrilic paint will support rubbing and polishing. I want somthing which will be easy to use. cost is not the only concern. I am this far and just want to get it done right. Thanks.

you will need to paint everything at once or it will all be defferent shades you can have the body parts off but paint at the same time sounds like you should go with two stage so you can rub the clear out and repair any color areas before clearing good luck

I have been doing restoration paint jobs for years and have painted in pieces (at different times) for most of that time without having a problem with different shades. As long as you buy enough paint for the entire job in the beginning, there should be no problem with the color matching (especially on a solid color like red).

The last Corvette I painted was a light metallic blue and I painted it piece by piece at different times then assembled it. Everything matched perfectly. On a metallic job (which shouldn't affect you any), it is important to at least have the panel sitting in the position it would on the vehicle (don't lay a door flat, but have it stand up like it would sit on the car). Metallic stands up differently on panels laying flat compared to panels standing up and severely affects color.

Anyway, I would use a good single stage urethane (no clear coat) for a solid color red paint job. It will cost more than the acrylic enamel, but is much more forgiving and will ultimately give a much better finish and will be easier to color sand and rub if needed. It sounds like you are going to have a very nice fire truck when you get finished. Good luck!