1966 Mk1 cortina GT Exhaust collectors

Well done Jim for even attempting to paint it yourself. I wouldn't know where to start . A few runs that I'm sure you'll sort is nothing in the grand scheme of the job.

Jim - In the bigger picture its all a learning experience and it takes a lot of bottle to pick up a gun and apply paint to car (ask jonsey he runs scared from it) - its technically quite challenging and certainly not has easy has most people think - you can reduce the pressure to 20 - 25 psi max with a HVLP gravity feed gun and open the fan width up which would give you better results - but well done for having a go in the first place - leave your bodyshell for now gain some more experience with the painting of the single loose panels then you can go back to correcting any problem areas on the bodyshell - one point that I would make is to do this before fitting the car back up - has it will be a proper pain to start masking all the trim & fitted parts up once you have the car back together

If you don't have one, then google 'run razor' an invalueable tool for runs and not expensive.

For gutters there are a few tricks - mask up the roof around ther gutter and the front face of the gutter so you only have the inside back and bottom of the gutter showing - together with a little of the roof skin.

Then mix up a bit of paint in a pot and with a small brush (approx 10mm) you can brush paint the back of the gutter and the bottom with several layers of paint over a day or two. Let dry and unmask.
Lightly flat the roof skin to lose any 'edges' to the brushed paint. Then when it comes to spraying you can just concentrate on the roof & front face of gutter knowing that the rear & bottom already have plenty of paint.

A demonstration:

Good man for posting up the progress shots regardless of good or bad. Also for staying calm in the situation! Keep at it, I'm sure you will crack it.

Thank you! I'm figuring this out as I'm going plus if it helps someone avoid these mistakes then its worth cocking up

Ah, too much.

You can get disposable measuring cups to mix paint in.

www.ebay.co.uk/p/1500-X-StarChem-Paint-Mixing-Cups-600ml-Plastic-Graduated-With-Ratios-600cc/647642363?iid=183759043604

But TBH (Chris may disagree) you can use a straight sided glass jar, pour in paint, mark a line on jar, measure 1/3 higher, add hardener, then add approx 10% MAX thinners.

Some paints like thinners more than others, if you get runs then thin it less.

I'd try 5% thinners on a door or your next panel, see how you get on. If it's too thick it wont flow as well but it will still flat off & polish ok.

You don't have to follow the mixing advice rigidly. Don't be afraid to experiment - it's only paint!

Paint is pretty good for matching - but it is safer to buy the complete batch in one go for security.

My car is painted over several years from different batches of paint and from two different makes and all matches perfectly - but then it is straight black

Smaller tip gun is perfect for blowing in and touching up smaller areas, I have a 1mm tip gun that I often use for smaller panels or items as it has a much smaller pot on top. Yes it will be fine for tight areas, you may need to experiment with the fan & trigger stop though.

Always start with the stop wound in so it does not allow too much paint to come out, you can always wind it out a bit if paint comes out too dry and then just go over the part again. Start with it too heavy and it's instant runs, which you have found out.

My black paint requires virtually NO thinners or it will run very easily, I add only approx 2% most of the time.

For awkward access areas I usually start with it adjusted to no fan and keep the tip wound in so you can direct paint into corners without drenching everything else, you just need to spray a little longer to allow for the limited flow of paint.

Once you have got the corners done you can then open the fan up and wind the trigger out a bit to paint the bigger areas.

HTH.

I've had a few days off the car and on reflection I think it's better for me to level the body to 600 grit and throwing another 2 coats approx on top.

I'll start with the engine bay and part of the boot I messed up - I'll try to give a light dust to the areas I've gone to the primer to try and even the coat up.

I tried a run razor but the paint seemed soft and as soon as the blade touched the base of the run it dug in and pulled lumps up!



Tonight I had a play with the door skin and I've got it fitting a lot better, it just needs the clip holes making.