Painted my hood today

[Jerry Forrester]

Painted the hood and cowl today. Didn't do any body work. Didn't fill any rust holes. Didn't use any primer. Just sanded it down with 180 grit paper on the DA and squirted on the gloss black Rust-Oleum turbo spray paint. Three light coats with a 15 minute wait time between each coat. Took two cans. Look at the leading edge of the hood. That's where the masking paper got blown up by the wind after the last coat and I was inside the shop relaxing and trying to recuperate from all that hard work. 1.5 hours of sanding. 2 hour lunch break. 10 minutes blowing off the hood. 15 minutes taping and papering. 20 seconds of squirting. 15 minutes of rest. 20 seconds of squirting. 15 minutes of rest. 20 seconds of squirting. 15 minutes of rest. 5 minutes of depapering and detaping. I am wore out.
Maybe one day next week I'll do the right front fender. Believe me, that hood looks a whole lot better in the picture than it does in real life. The car is not being restored. It is going on display in my outdoor Studebaker museum. Free admittance for the world to see. Or at least anyone driving down Maroney Mill Rd.

[Jeffry Cassel]

180 is way too coarse! Rustoleum is nice paint but today it is shiny but next year it will be matte. Back in the 20's the 3 'P's" would paint and sand for up to 20 coats of enamel. A nice job takes lots and lots of time and elbow grease. 99% prep an 1% painting. I will sand for half an hour and walk away. Come back later or the next day and do a little more. This keeps me from rushing it and I get a whole lot better result. And, yes, automotive paint is horribly expensive. I still like single stage enamel. I really hate 'clear coats' Really. They all peel in time. Last spring got tired of looking at the peeling hood of my Jeep Cherokee and started to sand it off. I sanded and sanded trying to get the clear coat off. Paint remover wouldn't phase it!. Enamel can be easily recoated and buffed out just like a 28 Pierce-Arrow. (although I'm never going to give a project 20 coats!!) 3 will usually do it