Topic: 1966 Shelby GT-350 underside of Hood paint

[dan green]

I am getting ready to start the paint work on 6S455.  The car has the original hood with steel support frame and fiberglass skin. 
I believe the underside was semi gloss black with body color (white) over spray.
Is this correct?

[Bob Gaines]

I am getting ready to start the paint work on 6S455.  The car has the original hood with steel support frame and fiberglass skin. 
I believe the underside was semi gloss black with body color (white) over spray.
Is this correct?

That would be a typical finish although there are examples of body color undersides also. Bob

[J_Speegle]

I am getting ready to start the paint work on 6S455.  The car has the original hood with steel support frame and fiberglass skin. 
I believe the underside was semi gloss black with body color (white) over spray.
Is this correct?

+1  and not allot of overspray - just remember not to mask off the edges or underside. Paint the hood and edges and you will be fine


An original example

[evantugby]

Gents,
How would the paint job have been on a 1966 Shelby GT-350 in sapphire blue on the carbon fiber hoods?  Would it have been just as nice and shiny as the top side?  If not, can you describe this process to replicate the concours-correct way please? And would it have had clear coat on the bottom side? 

Thank you. 

[Bob Gaines]

Gents,
How would the paint job have been on a 1966 Shelby GT-350 in sapphire blue on the carbon fiber hoods?  Would it have been just as nice and shiny as the top side?  If not, can you describe this process to replicate the concours-correct way please? And would it have had clear coat on the bottom side? 

Thank you.

No carbon fiber hoods on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory. IF painted body color under the hood it most likely would not be as nice because the same time and effort would not have been given. No clear coat used over paint on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory.

[evantugby]

No carbon fiber hoods on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory. IF painted body color under the hood it most likely would not be as nice because the same time and effort would not have been given. No clear coat used over paint on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory.

Bob,
No clear coat over the paint?  How did they protect the paint?  So when people are doing a concours restoration paint job, they are not shooting it with clear? 

[J_Speegle]

Bob,
No clear coat over the paint?  How did they protect the paint?

Paint at that time had allot of stuff/chemicals in it that allowed it to last decades not like the 80s-today with the peeling clear coats and such. The paint was allot tougher than the base products today. Allot of areas are limited to water base color layer

For the original paints waxes were added to improve and add a layer of protection

So when people are doing a concours restoration paint job, they are not shooting it with clear?

Many use single stage (paint only over the prep/foundation layers of primers and or sealers)  just like originally done to reproduce the look and surface finish. Many of the cars you have surely seen at shows have been sanded and buffed to a mirror finish that some would consider "over restored"

Bottom side of the hood originally on a car like yours (and from the same production period)  would have been a semi-gloss (on the lower gloss side) black with body color overspray  along the edges and hood scoop opening as shown in a number of the unrestored threads here on the site

[evantugby]

Paint at that time had allot of stuff/chemicals in it that allowed it to last decades not like the 80s-today with the peeling clear coats and such. The paint was allot tougher than the base products today. Allot of areas are limited to water base color layer

For the original paints waxes were added to improve and add a layer of protection



Many use single stage (paint only over the prep/foundation layers of primers and or sealers)  just like originally done to reproduce the look and surface finish. Many of the cars you have surely seen at shows have been sanded and buffed to a mirror finish that some would consider "over restored"

Well my hood is over restored then.  I don't know if I like that.  darn!

[evantugby]

Well my hood is over restored then.  I don't know if I like that.  darn!

Jeff,
Check this picture out.  These pieces haven't been cleared yet.  Should I leave it as is to give it more of that dull appearance? 

[evantugby]

No carbon fiber hoods on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory. IF painted body color under the hood it most likely would not be as nice because the same time and effort would not have been given. No clear coat used over paint on any 65-70 Shelby from the factory.

I meant to say Fiberglass hood. Good catch!   

[Bob Gaines]

Leaving the clear coat off will not help. The dull finish without the clear doesn't look like the factory paint ether. If you used a base coat clear system on your car then you are locked in .
if you don't clear some of the parts then they will look dramatically different then the parts that were clear coated (rest of chassis and hood?)

[evantugby]

I wouldn't keep some parts clear and others bare.  I would have just sanded the clear off and resprayed the hood with paint. 

I guess what I'm trying to determine is the best way to continue forward with this kar's paint job. 

[Bob Gaines]

I wouldn't keep some parts clear and others bare.  I would have just sanded the clear off and resprayed the hood with paint. 

I guess what I'm trying to determine is the best way to continue forward with this kar's paint job.

I suppose if you are wanting advice you need to describe how the car and parts have been painted or are some painted like in the pictures and others not. With out input we are left to speculation that the rest of the car is painted and it is just the small parts that are left to do. Without a clear understanding of where you are in the process it is hard to make recommendations. With all of your previous nuance detailed questions on other parts of the car I for one am a little surprised that this question on a major part of the car has not come up before now. 

[evantugby]

I suppose if you are wanting advice you need to describe how the car and parts have been painted or are some painted like in the pictures and others not. With out input we are left to speculation that the rest of the car is painted and it is just the small parts that are left to do. Without a clear understanding of where you are in the process it is hard to make recommendations. With all of your previous nuance detailed questions on other parts of the car I for one am a little surprised that this question on a major part of the car has not come up before now.

Don't let anything surprise you Bob.  The sharing of ideas can lead others down a different path.  Surprises are what you get in the restoration world and with newbies like myself who are still doing research too.  I've had lots of surprises but I just keep working through them to get it right. 

Back to the paint question:  The paint guide in the library doesn't mention under hood paint.  I also know that Carroll Shelby replaced factory Ford metal hoods with fiberglass hoods so I wanted to know how the underside of the hood would have been painted.  With Jeff's comment about "over restoring" that led me on another path to get the paint correct and not appear over-restored.  Therefore I am asking what would the experts do to get this paint right?   

Exterior is being prepped with light gray primer.  My painter would paint the sapphire blue with a base coat / clear coat application.  He sprayed about 4 applications of base coat to get full coverage.  He would wet sand when needed.     

 

[Bob Gaines]

Don't let anything surprise you Bob.  The sharing of ideas can lead others down a different path.  Surprises are what you get in the restoration world and with newbies like myself who are still doing research too.  I've had lots of surprises but I just keep working through them to get it right. 

Back to the paint question:  The paint guide in the library doesn't mention under hood paint.  I also know that Carroll Shelby replaced factory Ford metal hoods with fiberglass hoods so I wanted to know how the underside of the hood would have been painted.  With Jeff's comment about "over restoring" that led me on another path to get the paint correct and not appear over-restored.  Therefore I am asking what would the experts do to get this paint right?   

Exterior is being prepped with light gray primer.  My painter would paint the sapphire blue with a base coat / clear coat application.  He sprayed about 4 applications of base coat to get full coverage.  He would wet sand when needed.     

 

The all metal 66 Shelby hoods typically had body color underneath. The fiberglass hoods with steel inner structure were typically painted semigloss black underneath probably from the supplier. The top side was painted and what body color overspray would extend underneath when the edges were painted. First off I don't know the ability level of your painter. With that said single stage is what concours restorers use to replicate the factory paint job. Unfortunately you are painting a metallic color which is very tricky to paint under normal conditions so it doesn't look splotchy. With single stage that issue is multiplied. If your painter doesn't paint single stage typically expect problems if you shoot the metallic paint.  The orange peel is what the concours crowd is looking for. Some painters have been able to manipulate the base coat clear coat systems to also get convincing factory type orange peel that is consistent over the entire paint job. I would suggest sticking with the base coat clear given the color . Regardless of if you are going for orange peel or a slick paint job given the color the base coat clear coat will give the least amount of headaches IMO. Keep in mind that if you went with the single stage most painters would want to strip all of the base coat off for a reliable finish and also to maintain a product warranty from most paint system companies. The labor to do that would be substantial at this point . Just my opinion others my think differently.