Painting Our Project AMC Rambler - Show-Car Prep

6. After we had fixed our mistakes, we covered them with high-build primer, wet-sanded the repairs with 600-grit paper, then wet-sanded the entire car with 1,000 before we rolled it back into the paint booth for another two coats. After allowing 24 hours for the paint to cure, we were ready for the first coat of clear.

7. The DuPont ChromaClear is sold along with the color as a system. We could have opted for DuPont's cheaper Nason brand, but we've been told to spend the good money on the clearcoat. Ask for the data sheet when you buy the paint; it will give you a lot of little pointers about how to get the two to work together.

8. To shoot the clear, we switched the gun tip to a smaller 1.5 tip because the 1.8 that we used for the color would have caused runs. The basecoat didn't need to go on thick to get a smooth look, but the clearcoat did. Be careful; a clearcoat that is too thick means more work with a buffer and compound. You have to learn the balance between spraying too thin a clearcoat and too thick to avoid a bunch of runs.

9. After we shot two coats of clear, we let the paint dry for a couple of days before we went back to color-sand.

10. At first, we were kind of shy about hitting our gleaming topcoat with sandpaper, but it needed to be done. Light bouncing off the peaks and valleys in the clear cause the orange-peel look that we were trying to eliminate. The idea is to sand off enough paint with 1,000-grit to leave a smooth surface. The area that has been color-sanded should look totally deglossed.

11. It's hard to tell when the texture is completely removed from the paint unless the car is dry, so sand, dry, and check before moving to the next panel. Once the car is totally sanded to a dull finish, it's time to bring it back.