[nitro]

Duplicolor system

Stacey David is the bomb! Any paint job result is going to be 75% (or more) based on the prep work. When I hear someone make a remark that they can't figure out how to make the effort to get those trim holes welded, instead of some form of bondo that will fail, I automatically think they don't have what it takes to do a half way descent paint job.
Now I know that makes me sound like a jerk, but search your heart; the el camino body is a difficult body to straighten out. They came from the factory with lots of panel warps and can suck up a great deal of time, build primer, long board sanders, and sealer.
The color you want to paint influences the color choice of the primer. So know everything you want to do beforehand. Then clean the entire vehicle to a sanitation level you would want your bathroom floor to be if you had to eat a meal off of; including the engine. You'll want to wipe down the vehicle over 2-3 times with new rags in wax & grease remover.

This is how some guys can color the interior of their hot-rods with spray cans of paint and it looks professional. And there's nothing like seeing it done, it's shiny, looks better than some of the body shops produce, and you did it with your own worn out bleeding fingers! But there's no short cuts to the prep.

Don't get roped into the cheap price that this system seems to offer. You've got a whole lot of surface to cover; it'll be most likely closer to $1500 with all the materials if you don't own any of the tools or materials. Good Luck!

 

[nitro]

Being hard on the poor guy/Duplicolor....

I have felt bad for the poor guy ever since I posted those thoughts yesterday. In person, you can rub their poor feet, buy 'em a box of squishy stuffed doughnuts custom finished by a one toothed Italian Woman to punch the hole in the center, buy them a $5 buck Late and make sad faces while wrinkling your brow deeply about how they've been wronged and end up taking each other's sisters out for breakfast after everyone's kissed and made-up.

But just over the internet, sometimes you've gotta slap leather and fire where you point that thing.

I'd only painted a few cars on my own in the garage or with a cheapo tent-fan set ep affore I tackled my first El Camino 1986 Conquesta. It's the one I'm usung in the AVATAR. It was a hopeless, worn out basket case, with that 3 tone paint of silver and gray, nothing lined up, the bed was beat and had layers of brick and tile glues and debri's all stuck on, then painted over, tailgate shot, must have had every type of rail system you could bolt to the top of the bed, inside or out. Someone had actually stuffed sawdust in the rear-end and in the transmission to quiet things down.

Then to make matters worse, I had a job with a juvinile delinquent who had been homeless all his life, was ssssssssooooooooo angry about the world, counselor, had the worst possible case of Diabetes that was eating his body in chunks. My local city hired me as a last chance attempt before turning him over to a locked physility for the rest of his life. So one day I took him out in the hills with me to go get some firewoed in my Elky. I drove us out into no-where, had him get out of the Elky, and then as I got out, I started carrying on about all these threats he'd been making to other staff, that each time he did that it costs us 1-3 hours extra of unpaid paperwork. I then mentioned to him that I thought he and I had been getting along just fine until earlier that week when I spent a number of extra hours documenting his bull****, and just what it cost me at home. Then I pulled out hunting rifle and asked him if he thought he could knock it off. Of course he said ''NO"", So I proceeded to blast the hell out of my side of the elky with 22mag ammo. For some reason that shut him up. He knew I loved that car. I was the only staff member that listened to his whinning ass, so he couldn't report it to anyone. He was the best kid after that!

JLCustoms pointed out the best of the top 5 things you'll need to do/know/apply and that''s using:
With solid colors, you can take a small break at the end of a panel to a compressor recover.If you want really straight bodywork , skimming the whole thing with quality filler like evercoat rage or the new Quantim product & blocksanding off what you don't need will make a big difference. Then use a good 2-k primer & block it.

That's an area that fails a lot of beginers on these cars, you'll need to really in the bondo to rid the pannel of those waves. That's where a power board works wonders. Better yet, find someone who runs an expert body shop. Make a deal that you will clean up his shop on a regular basis for just one hour of Inspection and direction for the next week. Then look up on the internet for the most often purchased body working/paint video's out there. DO NOT MIX INGREDIANTS FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS. DO NOT USE OLD CHEMICALS. Clean them all each day with Prepsol. That '86 El Camino I did turned out fantastic; the Blue was an early 80's Porche that would change color's, depending on the light; from Grey to Purple. The silver had an undercoat color that allowed it it also change color in the light: bright , heavy metallic silver, that would turn a grey silver to a pearl silver. Find a cheap gun and a couple panels from the wrecking yard to pracktice spraying your gun on. I paid someone cash to set my guns up on paint day, and to verify that my practice swings were straight. Shooting some thinner for 30 minutes at a time will help immensely. I just hope I helped more this time. When you're actually ready, get ahold of one of us. I'm sure we can set down the barbie's and hot-wheels for 1/2 an hour and help you out. Give us some feedback on what's made logic and what hassn't so we can grow up! Wish we could be there to supervise.:You_Rock::You_Rock::You_Rock:

 

[nitro]

paint...

Go Bobby! It always helps when a pro steps up!

And thanks for telling us what you are actually working with. The deep scratches can be a problem and I can understand why you''ve had conflicting helpful comments. The truth, as I know it, is that it will depend on how deep they are. If they hit metal, and I'll throw this in with the other rust you're going to deal with; There is a product labeled 'ONE-STEP' that comes in a spray can. It converts rust to a black looking primer sealer for areas that arn't logical for cutting out for replacing. As far as I know, other than POR products, there isn't much out there to trust.
So for know, you can detail clean your entire hot rod with a power washer/start removing anything that would hide crud/ bag it & tag it and maybe even take pics as you go so you'll remember what hardware goes where/PREP-SOL down the surface before you lay down sandpaper or you'll sand in old wax, armor all, grease, and other contaminants into the paint which will leave what's called 'fish-eyes' in your final paint.
If you don't have access to a cheap paint gun that you could experiment with on an old hood or a couple fenders, you could even watch a painting video that shows you proper gun techniques, and then use some old cans of spray paint to practice moving side to side without rotating your wrist, keeping the exact same distance away from the surface (tape a one foot ruler to the side of the can). It sounds corny, but an hour of prepractice before you shoot your first primer will allow your mind to concentrate on what you're seeing instead of what you're needing to do.
Are you going to color the door jams, fender edges, and such?
And as was pointed out, there's very little reason to ever go much heavier than 400 grit on a color recoat as you want to do. When you pick you're products you may find that the product dosn't even want you to step up to a final 600 grit.
for you small scratches, rust areas, welds, and such, they make professional level primers in spray cans that can be had at an automotive paint supply store: Don't use hardware store primers in a can. Those are for wheelbarrows.
The longboard sander is your friend. Watching a video on the proper way to use one is half the job. Don't. Don't. Don't. Do NOT D-A sand your El Camino. It will look like you painted a wheelbarrow. DA's are for body work and panel forming/shaping until you have a lot of experience with them under your beltline. They will ruin straight lines, pull out crispness, and leave little divots that don't show up till the clear is on.
Did I mention on my first post that this can be a whole lot of work??!!!! But they paint gun much easier than many vehicle surfaces- You'll do fine. Just watch a quality CD/Vid, do your prep correctly & cleanly, and if you know the right way to mask off with tape, you're ready to hit a home run.
Don't be put off when you get 2 or 3 suggestions on how to fix an area, or which grades of sandpaper to use when. It can be done a couple ways and different professionals have their own styles that work for them. It's like getting in a girls shirt. You do what works for the both of you and leaves you both happy afterwards.