Re: Henry's 55 Constellation

Posted by Craig the Clipper Man On 2013/6/27 10:15:39

Hank:

Body work and car painting really is an art and takes a lot of time to perfect. Before he undertook doing the body work and painting on his 1969 Alfa Romeo Duetto, my brother practices for several weeks on a junked car fender. He'd rip a gash into the fender, then welded the seam and sanded it until it was smooth to the touch. Then he'd take a hammer a beat a big dent into the fender and learned how to pull it out, fill it, and sand it down. The real fun started when he tried his hand at painting. The same went with me, but I finally gave up. But not James ... he finally got it right and proceeded to spray several coats of Ferrari red lacquer on the Alfa, which looks simply incredible.

My point here is to try to do the best that you can, but realize that anyone who is any good at body work/painting has been doing these things for a long time. While if you take your time and follow the manuals you should be able to rebuild your engine or suspension, manuals are not going to help you one iota when it comes to painting.

While continually beating your head against a wall may eventually result in putting it through to the other side, it will be an extremely unpleasant undertaking. Sometimes you have to acknowledge that you need some help and in the case of body work and painting, you may need to call in the pros.