Painting my Lincoln

Paint, sheet metal, hood ornaments, trim, vinyl tops, emblems, seats, carpet, dashboards, etc. Paint cleaning and detailing messages should be posted in the Cleaning and Detailing sub-forum.

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tomo
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by tomo »

I don't know id Maaco has improved their paint, but in 1980, my daughter had a very nice Cutlass that needed the rear fender painted. She took it to Maaco and they told her that it would be best to paint the complete car due to color matching. She agreed and they painted the complete car. It looked great when finished, but in about 12 months, you could not get the paint to shine. My next vacation was spent painting her car.
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by papawayne »

No real clue about MAACO. I suspect that any paint job that is only 1,200 bucks comes with lots of masking tape, something that resembles newspaper, and a 30 day warranty. The car is there, but he hasn't got it back yet.
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by papawayne »

Brother Bob's 95 came back from the MAACO people yesterday. It still looks black, but it is shinier. He will have to do some surgery on the windshield squirters, though. It seems that they have painted them shut. Wayne
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by Buckeye Steve »

LithiumCobolt,

The place I was talking about is called Auto Depot, 2028 St. Rte 125, Amelia, Oh 45102. Jim Richardson is the guy and he's at 513-797-5900. His cel is 5130444-8416. He also does excellent body restoration work. Auto Depot is part of MK Coach Company which make Lincoln and Caddy Hearses.
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by mge825y »

Just wanted to provide an update on the paint project for my 1963 Lincoln Continental convertible. The finish line is within sight!
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Trunk and Hood.JPEG
Trunk.JPEG
Drivers Side doors.JPEG
Passenger Side Doors.JPEG
Body 1.JPG
Body 2.JPG
Mark in Charlotte
1963 Lincoln Continental convertible
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by Lincolnlovers »

Looks nice. Is that black? It looks dark blue in a few pics (looking on my phone). Is the paint urethane or water base? Looks like you're in the home stretch; cut, polish, and reassembly, left to go! Did you get your chrome redone and stainless polished, also?
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by mge825y »

Thanks! The color is the factory Nocturnal Blue. All the stainless and chrome was removed and polished. Door handles were well worn with lots of nicks and scratches. So, had them re-chromed. Trunk lid was rusty so replaced it with a fiberglass one from Christian Paul in AZ. Once the paint shop is done, it'll be reassembled. Looking forward when it's all back together.
Mark in Charlotte
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by George W »

I've been rather surprised at the paint work quality the local couple of Maacos ( southern NJ ) have turned out recently. Of course the cars I saw had been thoroughly cleaned and de-trimmed by the owners before taking them to the shop.
1965 Sedan, white w/ black vinyl top and red leather. 28k miles
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by mge825y »

Well, I guess MAACO is an option for auto body paint. But that’s not the path I chose. I wanted someone that specializes in old car restorations. In a perfect world I would have asked Rich Liana to paint it. But he’s very busy and has a long waitlist. So I tried to find someone that I felt was as close to doing quality paint as does Rich. The good news is that I found that guy and am pleased with their work. It hasn't been quick but it has been thorough. They have taken their time to take the car down to the metal and back up over the past 9 months.

Everyone is different and works within a different budget and on a different timetable. The option I chose is on the far opposite end of the paint work spectrum than MAACO :)
Mark in Charlotte
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by frasern »

Judging from these pictures, and some previous ones you posted, I think you have found a top notch body shop, and they aren't easy to find. Most shops won't even consider painting a car in pieces, for fear of scratching it going back together. That kind of confidence speaks well for your shop.
It looks great, the old owner would be happy!
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by Lincolnlovers »

Maaco occasionally can turn out some decent paint work, if the owner chooses to hold his franchise to a higher standard, they have a good paint prep guy, and you pay a higher price for better materials and prep/finish work. The tell in Maacos paint is what it looks like 4-6 months after it's been painted. It takes 90 days for a solvent/urethane paint to fully cure, regardless of climate (this is true for any paint job, even the high end ones) In that time, the solvents are still escaping from the substrates and the paint is settling. So, while it may be all shiney when you pick it up a day or two after it's painted, as the days and weeks go by, while it's curing, the paint can "die back". This can manifest in dull, lackluster paint, and scratches, both straight and squigley marks, appearing in the paint. These scratches are generally in the primer, and as the solvent escapes, while curing, the substrate shrinks, making sand scratches much more apparent. This can sometimes be fixed by wet sanding and polishing the clear, but not always. As a general rule, Maaco, and other inexpensive body shops, will use inferior, cheap materials, as well as poor sanding practices, which make their paint jobs much more susceptible to dying back and looking bad after a few weeks/months.
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by mge825y »

The paint work is done and the car is back together and I'm pleased with outcome.

Next up is reattaching the peak moldings, door handles, grill, headlights, taillights, bumpers, etc.
Attachments
IMG_1944.JPEG
IMG_1946.JPEG
IMG_1948.JPEG
IMG_1949.JPEG
IMG_7273.JPG
IMG_7274.JPG
Mark in Charlotte
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action
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by action »

Looks very nice.
I can see a missing tile in the ceiling


Does the paint need to sit and harden up before attaching molding and trim pieces?

Action
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2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by mge825y »

Hello Action - Those panels are like mirrors and can see all sorts of reflections - including newer old Lincolns (and the missing ceiling tile). As for how long to wait for the paint to cure....the answer is yes, there is time needed after painting for it to cure. But exactly what that number is depends. I don't pretend to be an expert, but I think it depends on the paint shop, their process, the paint products used and the equipment (the paint booth). So, if you ask 10 people, you'll probably get 10 different answers. In my case, it's good to go. They finished painting around the beginning of the month. They let it cure in the bay and also moved it out in the hot Florida sun too. After that they started the reassembly. So, it's effectively been curing for 3 weeks.

The plan is, that once the peak moldings, door handles, grill, headlights, taillights, bumpers, etc are on, they will take it back over to the paint shop for a final, final inspection. This includes any cut & buff for imperfections the team may have found while putting on the chrome. Or, to correct any scratches the team made while putting on the chrome.
Mark in Charlotte
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action
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Re: Painting my Lincoln

Post by action »

Nice!!!

May be in 30 days it makes the travel North?

Action
Phoenix - Yeah, it's hot, however it's a dry heat
2006 Lincoln Navigator Limited 5.4l 3V
1996 Lincoln Mark VIII 2DR Coupe Diamond Anniversary 4.6l DOHC, 4R70W, 3.07
1970 Continental Mark III Triple Black 460 4v, C6, 2.80 (Used for Woodward Dream Cruise or just generally stored in Michigan)
1966 Lincoln Continental 4DR Convertible 462 4v, C6, 3.00
1966 Mercury Park Lane 4DR Breezeway 410 4v, C6, 2.80
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