Thrasher Camaro, Part V - 1969 Chevy Camaro Paint & Body

Straight out of the paint...        read full caption Straight out of the paint shop, the Thrasher is now horsepower red. Learn how a customer can get a kick-butt paint job without robbing banks to do it.

The paint crew at Danny’s...        read full caption The paint crew at Danny’s Paint Shop in Ontario, California, were on the program from the beginning. I dropped off the Camaro in bare metal and by the time I returned later that week they had done a bunch of the metalwork and put the first coat of primer down! While doing heavy rust replacement with the car in bare metal is common, it is widely held that applying primer right away and then bodyworking over it provides the best adhesion of the paint and body filler. Here, Robert begins the long, arduous task of sanding the Thrasher’s sheetmetal to a mirror-smooth finish.

PPG is the paint of choice...        read full caption PPG is the paint of choice for me. Almost every painter is familiar with PPG’s self-etching primer and primer/sealer system that maximizes adhesion and minimizes bleed-through once the paint is applied. With all the upheaval in new paint technology, the more you can rely on proven systems to prevent lifting, orange peel, or fisheyes the better. If you want to know heartache, watch someone drop to his knees upon viewing his car covered in lifting paint. It’s bad.

Anytime you can lose weight...        read full caption Anytime you can lose weight on a car it’s a gift. Because of that, I choose a Harwood fiberglass cowl hood that accepts stock hinges. It looks factory, is easy to do bodywork on, and saves pounds.

The rear tail panel was rusty,...        read full caption The rear tail panel was rusty, so it was replaced with a repop unit from D&R Classic Automotive, in Warrenville, Illinois. Robert and Cain at Danny’s expertly drilled out the spot welds on the factory piece and welded in the DTR tail panel. They immediately etched the metal to prevent rust from forming, sprayed primer, and bodyworked the area. This is important to avoid rust bubbling through the paint later on.

Little things like globbed...        read full caption Little things like globbed factory sealer look bad, so this firewell seam sealer was scraped off and applied in a more “show worthy” fashion. It is these little details that separate just a “paint job” from having your car expertly prepared and painted.

A common point of rust on...        read full caption A common point of rust on any early Camaro is on the front fenders at the lower mount behind the wheel opening because leaves, dirt, and moisture gather there. A new mount was fabricated and welded in once the old piece was cut out with a grinder.

As the bodywork continued,...        read full caption As the bodywork continued, components were removed to fix any rust or dents and then reinstalled to check fitment.

Each panel is set on its own...        read full caption Each panel is set on its own horse in a well-lit, clean area. This is the kind of paint shop you want to work with on your car. It might look like there’s a lot of body filler on those pieces, but most of it was sanded off. Remember, factory assembly technique in the 1960s was a little haphazard, and combined with the ravages of 30 years, any car is going to require bodywork to produce an excellent finish.

Once all the panels were bodyworked...        read full caption Once all the panels were bodyworked and the rusty components replaced, the car was methodically pieced back together. Getting the gaps equal, like this one between the driver’s door and the front left fender, can be difficult. Danny’s actually welded metal on the fender to close the gap in some areas and create a perfect seam.

The Camaro is completely assembled...        read full caption The Camaro is completely assembled and the panels given one last check to make sure everything is smooth and there are no pinholes, which are filled with putty (the little splotches you see all over the car). The body is then disassembled, all the shims organized and set aside, and the body panels all painted off the main shell of the car. The interior and engine bay were painted gloss black while the trunk was spatter-painted.

After the bodywork was done,...        read full caption After the bodywork was done, Robert began mixing the “retina-melting” red paint. Killer paint jobs result from a solid starting point, great preparation, and meticulous attention to detail. You need to find a painter that can do the last two—you can handle the first one.

Editor's Note: This is the fifth installment in CHP from Mark Stielow, builder of many Pro Touring-type '67-'69 Camaros. He's building this '69 Camaro, the Thrasher to illustrate what it takes to create a show-stopping, super-performing ponycar. This month's story details body prep and paint, what materials he uses, and how he goes about getting the job done in a timely fashion--if you've ever had your car painted, you know it can be tough to get your car back in the same season it went into the paint shop!

Let's start this off by saying I don't do bodywork and paint. I pay people to do the job. When I was younger I tried my hand at it, decided it wasn't for me, and have refined the art of having my cars painted by someone else ever since. This might sound a little over the top, unless you've been down this road. From my experiences (which have ranged from euphoria to terror), I have learned how to make the job as simple and straightforward as possible. In general, I have found that automotive painters are not the most time-conscious business people in the world, but if you make the job easy and are willing to pay them promptly, they will get it done when you need it. This story is about how to select the painter, product, procedure, and color so that when your car is finished you'll be happy with the job.

BEHIND THE GUN

Finding a painter that will do a great job, not charge you a king's ransom, and do it in a reasonable amount of time is what every car owner wants. From my experiences, actually finding that painter is harder than most might think.

When I am looking for a painter, I usually eliminate as many variables as I can. For example, I have the car media blasted to remove all the paint. This allows the painter see how good or bad the body really is. This process requires that the car be completely disassembled, which is the only way to do a paint job correctly. In the grand scheme of things, blasting is inexpensive. For example, the Thrasher was plastic media blasted locally for $450. For that price, the car comes back spotless and the surface of the body has a slightly rough finish that allows the primer to really bond solidly.

When I meet with any craftsman, especially a painter, I look very closely at the cleanliness and organization of their shop. Body and paint work is very messy, so if a shop is dusty and has overspray on it, that's OK, but if there are cars and junk piled all over the shop that's been there for three years, don't be surprised if your car sits there for three years too. It's a generalization, but my experiences, and the experiences of others I know, has shown this to be a good indicator of how timely a painter is going to be with your car.

When searching for a painter, I make an appointment with them and rent or borrow a trailer to tow the car (after it has been blasted clean) to their shop so they can see it, decide if they are willing to do the job, and write up a quote on the job. The way the painter acts throughout all of this is important to whether I choose to spend the thousands of dollars required to get a good paint job. If the painter makes me wait when I get there because he's thrashing together a car for a customer or he's not even there when I show up, you can pretty much bet he's not going to get my business. If he refuses to give me even the most basic quote, instead telling me it will cost whatever it costs and I best be ready to pay, I'm getting in my truck and driving away. As far as I'm concerned, these are the guys that are definitely not going to make you happy.

If you think these situations are too far fetched, believe 'em, because they all happened to me. Sometimes I trusted my instincts and drove off, other times I left my car there--but each time it's become more clear how important the process of choosing the painter is to the quality of the final job, when it'll be done, and how much it's going to cost you.

For the Thrasher, I went to three paint shops, selected one that I thought would work out, then watched my car gather dust for four weeks. My gut told me to move on, so I pulled my car out of there and found the paint shop that is doing the work you see here. I don't fault any paint shop, but have learned that when things don't feel right, they probably aren't. That's when I move on.

To give you an idea how much a good paint job costs, the body and paint work done at Danny's Paint Shop, in Ontario, California, cost about $5,000, and the materials from PPG were another $1,500. I would consider this to be an upper-midlevel job. You can definitely get cheaper paint jobs, but my feeling is that if you're building an entire car, why cheap out on the most visual part of it? I'm not wealthy, but the body and paint is too important an aspect to try to save money on.

PRE-PREP

Here's my theory on paint: If you are going to paint the car, paint all of it. That's why I have everything plastic media blasted. It removes all the goo, paint, and tar that would take hours to remove otherwise. To prep for the blaster, I power wash the car thoroughly and remove all the components that I don't want stripped, like chrome trim, interior components, and drivetrain components. As a note, on one of my previous cars, I had the felt insulation blasted off the inside of the roof. Big mistake. When it rained, it sounded like I was sitting in a drum!

It is critical to catalog all the components that come off the car, make notes on how to install them, and note what new parts need to be ordered for the car to be completed.

Some examples of components that I replace are the windshield, all the rubber in the doors and windows, the carpet, most of the interior, and any sheetmetal components that are rusted. I plan to wait until just before I reassemble the car to purchase the rubber parts.

If you live in any rust-belt state, you know all too well about rusty sheetmetal. This car is a California ride, but it still suffered from rust. The blasting process clearly reveals where and how bad the rust is, which is good and bad. You can buy patch panels for just about anywhere on first-generation Camaros, but getting them installed properly and prepped for paint is not cheap. The short story is: Buy as straight a starting point as you can; it'll make it that much easier to end up with a spectacular-looking car.

PAINT PROCEDURE

Like I said, painting isn’t my thing, but it’s important for the customer to understand what the next step in the process is going to be before you get there. I sat down with the crew at Danny’s beforehand and we created this outline before the paint work started.