Painting a GT....

[Lou Van Anne]

I'm having my GT Hawk professionally repainted this month.....any "dos or don'ts" you might recommend?

[RadioRoy]

I like to strip the trim myself, rather than expecting the painter to do it. Don't let the painter just tape off the trim.

[swvalcon]

Depending what your expected end results are. I would recommend to strip it to bare metal and epoxy prime. If it only has one coat of paint you may get by with a sand and paint if the painter sands as much as possible but if it's already had one or two repaints you sure don't want to add another one to the mix. Will it cost more you bet but money well spent.

[Bish]

Have them use top quality paint, ie glasurit, ppg, dupont,etc., not the lower tier stuff they use for insurance / collision work. Especially the primers and clears if going base/ clear.

[56GH]

I have no vested interest in the product, but my 1956 Golden Hawk in Mocha and Doeskin was painted with Spies-Hecker paint and clear coat over epoxy primer 21+ years ago. It still looks like new.

[JoeHall]

In addition to the above, drop in on the paint shop once in awhile, to see how things are going. If they do not welcome you to look at their work, I'd consider that a red flag.

[jackb]

Unless the car has been stripped - painted since new, don't expect any guarantees. The factory left plenty of moisture under its paint. If you've got to question the shops ability, then I wouldn't expect much more than an Earl Sheib or other quickie paint job. Why pay more ? If you've got good recommendations from past customers.... believe me : that's what a good shop wants to hear, and unless dragging their feet (it happens frequently in general body shops), a friendly call followed by a quick visit usually helps things along. GL.

[T.J lavallee]

Ask to see the painters port folio before you decide. If he has one then he's proud of his work. References from previous customers are often included in the port folio. If not keep looking.

[Milaca]

Will the windshield and rear window be removed for the repaint? I would feel better about having fresh paint under the window gaskets to ensure that their isn't any surface rust lurking under there.

[lumpy]

Professionally repainted is a really large spectrum . I suppose you could call Maico professional ... In the end I suppose you get what you pay for. Just the paint materials for my wife's C10 came to over $3000. When we painted my 57 pu 10 yrs. ago the materials were $1200 . I still love my patina'd Lark and my patina'd 56 chevy daily driver The shop where I work on the weekends charges $95 an hour , and they strip to bare metal , with no sand blasting of large panels to avoid warpage. The average cost can be north of $20.000. But they stand behind their work.