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Hi gang,

I'm having real trouble getting used to the paint scheme on my 1951 200 Deluxe Touring Sedan. Fire Engine Red with a White top just doesn't get it for me. I'd much rather return it to the original single color Matador Maroon. Can anyone in the Portland area recommend a good paint shop? A complete down to bare metal $10,000 paint job is not in the budget. But somewhere around half that might be doable.

When the car was repainted, whoever did an excellent job and is good enough that I'd leave it alone were it not for the colors. Although I may have to learn to at least not mind it, I'd much rather go back to the maroon. Not because it was "original" but because I think that color would really look good on that body.

I'd be more than willing to do some of the work myself - such as removing the trim, grill, bumpers etc.

My thanks in advance -

If the existing paint and metal finishing is good and it only requires a 'color' change then there should be NO REASON WHATSOEVER to strip it to bare metal.

Just a repaint. If the shop gives u some song and dance about not able to spray laquer over enamel or visa versa or some other gimmick pitch for stripping then u probably need to find another shop that knows how to do it.

Shoiuld not be necessary to remove any trim.

If the EXISTING paint is checked or general poor quality or bad dents/rust etc then stripping could very well be needed.

A simple color change only requires lite sanding, tape it off and spray it. That's all. It's a ROUTINE process for DECADES!

Thank you PackardV8 for your input. Someone didn't stint when they had this car painted - it was an excellent job. were it not for the firewall and under package shelf in the trunk being maroon, and the fact Packard didn't offer these colors according to any paint chart I've seen, I'd a have thought it could be a very well cared for original. Like you, I think that the existing paint needs to be just "roughed up" enough for the new finish to stick. I thought at first maybe I could get used to it. I have photos scattered around the house. But I just think it would be so much more attractive in maroon.
Hearing your thoughts give me more ammo to take when I make the rounds with the car.

Jim,

Check with your local paint shops. With some of the newer paint systems there are indeed certain incompatibilities in regards to spraying one type of paint over another. The chemicals in a modern urethane can cause the old paint underneath to lift and wrinkle depending on what the old type is. I have seen this happen. Since your car was already repainted at one time, you need to have them check type of current paint it has on it. Better safe then sorry. Sometimes the correct primer can help to shield one type of paint from another.

The more prep-work you can do for the paint shop, the less labor it takes, and as such the cheaper the work is. The actual time and labor to spray the paint is the cheap part. The paint, materials, and prep labor are the expensive.

Also remove the trim, no sense in dropping a couple of grand on a paint job to take the "Earl Scheib" way out of not removing the trim. Nothing looks worse or more cheesy than having an old paint jobs visible about the edges.

Masking is more work that the actual spraying of the paint. So the more trim you remove, the less masking the shop has to do. So you are actually saving money, and will get a better looking paint job in the process.

Just my

Thank you, Big Kev. Your advice is certainly worth way more than "two cents"! My thinking about removing chrome is not only to have a better job, but to not have to worry about needing to replace things like the "bird on the hood" because someone got careless. My time is cheap!

I would recommend Womack. Ask for Jeff Womack. Tell him the red Tbirdman sent you. If you call and get an older lady, that's his mom.

My Tbird was painted by them and also this 46 in this website

Key is make sure you tell them what you want. But a decent paint job over the old paint with trim/mouldings removed and wet sanding/polishing should be within your budget. They are also not slow. They do mostly insurance work, but will do the old car. They are fairly speedy also. I sent my friend with the 46 Packard there and he was happy.

Tbirdman!
Thank you - not only for the suggestion of Womack, but the link to the '46 Packard Restoration story with all the Portland companies that made it possible. Some (like Portland Engine Rebuilders) I know of and have used in the past. But others are entirely new to me and the heads up is a Godsend.
Thank you again!

In a month I will be ready to take the Duchess (40 160 conv. sedan) to the new paint shop of Canyon Auto Repair and Collision on 99 in Tigard. They have a new $100,000 paint booth with all the latest technology. They've also mechanically repaired and painted my other Brand X cars and do excellent work. You might take it there for a price comparison, at least, but the cautions of new technology over old (if indeed your Packard is painted with something that would wrinkle and lift) are well worth heeding. The Duchess was stripped to metal and primed with the new urethane coatings. Lee is the owner there.

Excellent!
Thank you Joe for your info. I will definitely check them out. The thing about non-compatible paints that you and Big Kev refer to is news to me and I'm grateful. It might explain why the clear coat on the repaint on my '79 Lincoln turned to "milk" after a couple of years. It may also be that I was stupid enough to go to Maaco. Something that will NOT be happening this time. I got what I paid for.

That website like this one is just simply amazing. It a terrific find especially if you are just starting out. A did get an email about 9 months ago from a guy who was thinking about buying a 46 Packard and restoring it. Just pointed him to this website. Unfortunenately they were trying to buy the car, restore and flip it for a profit which is tough to do.

Anyone heading to Puyallap for the swap meet this weekend?

That's a good lead on Canyon as I live in Tigard close by. I had Tualitan Auto Body do a repair on the edge of my hood two years ago. They did a decent job,. However I had to hear this at every car show I went to...wasn't your car at Tualitan