Original Paint

[yellow70gt]

I own a 1970 GT that I want to repaint. I believe the paint is the original acrylic enamel. My question is what paint will go on over the original paint or am I looking at stripping the car to metal and beginning again with a modern primer/clearcoat type product? I would appreciate any information and pardon my ignorance. Thank you.

BG
Poteau, Oklahoma

[69whitegt]

I would strip the car if you want to do it right. It will last longer plus if the car has any dents in it you take some filler while it is striped and smooth them out. Just my 2 cents.

[timemachine]

If you've got the original laquer or a car that was painted well before spraying that stuff became illegal, nothing looks quite as good. If it's just nicks and such, I have seen good blend jobs. I'd consider polishing and keeping the original if possible, or at least check out the potential of the existing paint very carefully with some fine polishing compound and wax. The cloudiness will come out.

Jim

[spamseptictank]

I've been told (by a couple of good body guys that I trust) that if there is no rust, dents, or major paint problems, you've got a really good sealed primer on the car already. A good sanding and/or self-etching primer and your color is all you need. I'm partial to the single step process myself, but that's only because I've had/seen bad base/clear jobs in the past where the clear has flaked off and you can't wash the car becaust the color runs when you rinse it.
Just my thoughts (ow, that hurt!)
Grace and Peace,
Dave

[baz]

shoot a coat of isolator over it first to stop any reaction between old paint and new , then prime and paint with anything you want

[GTJIM]

New paint over old is always a 'crap shoot' - that is why super paint jobs always involve a complete strip back to bare metal.

I have seen huge 'bubbles' form under modern two-pack "reaction" laquer that has been sprayed over older enamel or single-mix laquer - may be that is what they actually mean by reaction.

The big problem is knowing what sort of paint has been used .... and how many layers (sometimes of several different types of paint!) have been sprayed on before.

While my GT was at the Bodyshop - and I was visiting 2 or 3 times a week - I saw MANY true horror stories with incompatible paints. And those guys were experienced touch up artists.