Touch up for bare metal?

[paulSC]

I have a little spot of bare metal that needs to be touched up. Hopefully it will look fine when this is said and done. I was wondering if anyone knew of a reputable place that I can get small containers of auto primer and clear coat. Didn't know if it really mattered where I got it from. I already have the matching touch up paint and the area is very small it's about a half inch long and the width is about the same as the thickness of a penny. Thanks for any info, especially info on getting it to blend in with the paint.

paul

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Paul,

To find primer and paint for your car, you need to locate a PBE store, in your home town. I wrote a little article to help people understand what a PBE store is compared to a Hard Parts store. The third method is fool-proof.

How to locate a PBE store in your hometown

They should be able to hook you up and help you to understand how to use and apply what they sell you.

As far as applying and blending touch-up paint to match factory paint you're talking about an art form, one that I have performed only once or twice in my life and it was very tedious and time consuming. One of the cars I did the touch-up, blending, sanding and buffing on was a 1960 Austin Healey 3000 raced in the 1960 Sebring. I prepped if for Christies Auction where I was told it sold for a quarter million dollars. This was in 1993 or 1994.

I spend three days on the finish, the first day was sanding and filling in the rock chips, scratches and scrapes. It was three colors, British Racing Green, White around where the number was on the doors and hood, and the number itself was black, so I had to do three colors of touch-up paint.

Then I let it set till the next weekend, then I sanded some area and re-applied more paint then let it set till the next weekend, then I finished sanding the touch up areas and then buffed out the entire car.

I have some pictures of the end results and the process but they're all 35mm and I'll need to scan them. I did a quick google search using the name of the car and the last name of the owner I worked for and found this,

1960 3000 MK. I Owners

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bill Bolton, Eugene, Oregon, USA: 1960 British Racing Green 3000, # UJB 141

It is the sole survivor of the 12-hour Sebring Race on March 26, 1960 of the three cars entered by the factory and raced. Those three were UJB141, UJB142 and UJB143. UJB 140 was there but was the so-called Practice car. It was really the spare car to fill in if one of the others failed completely. Of those four cars, Bob Duel owns UJB140 in upstate New York. It was converted to a V8 engine but I understand that Bob is putting it back to the original configuration.

UJB142 has been raced to oblivion and is not amongst us. UJB143 is now being raced (as DD300) by John Chatham. If you want the details email me at: tricarb@aol.com

UJB141 will in all probability be entered in the Brooks auction at Quail Lodge, Carmel, CA in August, 1999. It being the only car left that actually raced at Sebring is a bit of history never to be repeated.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Point being, doing this kind of work requires a steady hand, patience and perseverance.

Best of luck to you...

Mike