HOW TO PAINT

We all know itʼs what lies beneath the paint that really matters—a good chassis, great metalwork and great design. Yet, having said that, the paint job still remains the single most important element of any rod or custom. After all, even if the groundwork has been laid, your bodywork is straight and great, your design is fine and your mechanicals are flawless, a poor paint job can spoil it all. The custom paint job defines your car, dates it to an era and even reflects your personality. Primer may be one personʼs choice, but for the most part, hot rods and customs are best displayed in an array of colors and patterns with mile-deep finishes that far surpass any factory job. Not only does custom paint define a car, but it also defines hot rodding.

Always start with perfect centerlines on the hood, fenders and other panels. These temporary lines will keep your design perfectly balanced. A shortcut to find the exact center of a curved panel is to put a piece of tape across the entire panel. Remove the tape and fold it perfectly in half, and you have just found the center.

Use a simple tape measure to make some more reference marks. Make small, faint dots with a contrasting-colored chalk or charcoal pencil. In the case of the Knight Cruiser, we used white chalk. Once the reference points have fulfilled their purpose, remove them and all residue with a slightly dampened, new, soft, lint-free cloth. Avoid future problems by never using an old shop towel.

Pull the tape from the edge of the first curve straight to the next reference point, touch the tape down and you have a perfect line connecting the two points. This sounds simple but takes some practice.

To help make perfect and consistent curves, cut out some thin cardboard circles in different sizes. Experiment with a few, choose one for each pattern, mark some reference points, and then tape it in the proper location, leaving room for the 1/8-inch tape. Move the circle to the opposite curve and repeat.

Like everything else in the world of street rodding, painting has changed over the years. The materials are superior, the spray equipment is better, and the safety equipment is mandatory. Of course, the new paints are also much more expensive, but the good news is that with a reasonably clean home shop, a couple of fans and some spray equipment, custom painting can still be done at home.

We were having just such a discussion with legendary custom car builder Carl Casper recently (one of the great parts of this job is bench racing with guys such as Casper), and he mentioned how exciting custom painting can be, and how great the new materials are. Talk soon turned to custom designs, panel painting, flames, fades and scallops. Casper mentioned that while flames are seen on everything, scallops have been less obvious, yet they lend the same traditional effect to a street rod or custom if applied correctly. In an effort to prove his point, Carl Casper offered to take photos as he laid down a set of super-traditional scallops on his latest custom—a 1951 Mercury, affectionately known as the Knight Cruiser (see our feature on this car, “40 Years Later,” on page 28).

His room filled with custom painting awards tells only part of the story. Seeing Casper work his magic with tape and a spray gun is the most intriguing part. Not only did Casper design the pattern, lay down the tape and spray the paint, but he was even kind enough to tell us in his own words what he is thinking and doing while he applies custom paint. So, without further ado, letʼs hear it from the master himself, Carl Casper, on the fine art of scallop painting:

Every process in building or customizing a car is filled with incredible fun and excitement. However, in my opinion, painting is the ultimate creative high in self-expression on a car. The painterʼs imagination is the only restriction in a universe of creative choices. The quality and appeal of the paint can make or break years of arduous labor involved in all elements lying beneath its reflective surface. In addition, graphics, flames, scallops, fading and blending have always been the easiest and most economical way to put an energetic charge into any vehicleʼs overall design. Whether the paint effects are used to accentuate existing lines or to add flowing new ones, they contribute a tremendous impact to the overall concept.

I originally designed the custom work and paint scallops for the Knight Cruiser ʼ51 Mercury in my high school drafting class over 40 years ago. Good, used ʼ49-51 Mercs sold for around $300 at the time, and they were excellent customizing candidates for cash-strapped teenagers.

It was a nostalgic high going back in time and performing all the paint steps exactly as I would have as a teenager. The paint, tape, paper, compressor, spray gun and protective gear have all improved. However, the basic fundamentals of scallop painting have remained the same. With ʼ50s music playing in the background, the fun was never-ending. Once I started laying out the scallops on the Cruiser, the excitement became so intense that I had very little desire to sleep or even to stop to eat until the painting was complete. Custom painting is truly that exciting for me.

In most of my past paint work, I custom mixed the pearls and candies from raw pearl essence and paint toners. The spraying took a lot of ingenuity and talent to do top-quality work. Each painter developed his own technique to avoid streaks, blotches and a variety of painting problems.

Today, with manufacturers such as House of Kolor, PPG and DuPont, custom painting has become a very simple system that produces terrific results. Each manufacturerʼs products are so easy to apply, anyone with a little patience and willingness to learn can become a quality painter. 

It would take countless pages and photos to cover each and every detail in custom painting, but on these pages we have outlined the basics to laying down a good set of traditional scallops. You may vary from these procedures in your own style and fashion, but I feel most car builders, pros and amateurs alike, miss out on the greatest part of building a street rod or cruiser by not doing their own paint work. Hopefully, after seeing how easy custom paint can be, youʼll give it a try. When youʼre done, youʼll have the pleasure and pride of telling admirers, ʻI painted it myself.ʼ

Two of the most important tips I can give a potential new painter are as follows:

1. Always wear an excellent respirator and protective clothing. A health problem gave me a serious wakeup call. Be smart and protect your health.

2. Donʼt rush the paint work. Get the bodywork perfect first. A great paint job loses its glamour when the panels are full of waves and imperfections. I am a firm believer in getting the bodywork right without the use of layers of plastic filler. I also donʼt believe in layers and layers of primer. Get the metal right and finish it with a minimum of any fillers.

Here are some of the tools youʼll need: a pencil, chalk, masking paper, masking tape (I like to have 1/8-, 1/4- and 3/4-inch tape on hand), a reasonably good spray gun, a compressor, an excellent respirator, protective clothing, razor blades, stir sticks, strainers, measuring cups, a few new cloths and enough top-quality paint, reducers, etc., to complete the job.

Donʼt be intimidated by expensive, high-tech equipment. Itʼs great if you can afford it; however, itʼs not necessary. If youʼre on a tight budget at paint time, consider doing it yourself with used, borrowed or even rented equipment.

Casper opted to spray the lavender a bit on the dry side for a soft satin look. Be patient, as it may take several thin coats to achieve the desired color. Spray that is too wet or too dry can cause problems. Prior to painting on the car, adjust your fan, pattern and hand speed by taping a piece of masking paper to the spray booth wall and spraying a test pattern. Make adjustments to the pattern before actually spraying paint on the car.

This front view shows the lavender pearl as the third coat begins to bring out the color.

The fourth and final coat of lavender is applied. After the color is dry, intercoat clear is applied to protect it.

The final color used in the scallops is being mixed. PBC-36 Tru-Blue Pearl will blend perfectly on the car.

Casper keeps the spray booth floor damp when applying topcoats to help keep dust down. Of course, too much water on the floor can cause other problems, so use common sense. You needn’t be practicing the backstroke in your paint booth.

Always use paint strainers when pouring paint into spray guns and mixing cups.

Tape a few sheets of masking paper to the wall of the spray booth. Each time the gun is loaded, use the paper for checking the fan, paint and gun. Make your mistakes on the test paper, not on your prize painting. Casper uses 30 psi at the gun when spraying blends and scallops.

One of the most exciting moments of a custom paint job is removing the masking paper to get a sneak peek at the final effect. For excellent results, you must be patient and wait for the paint to fully dry. Your patience will be rewarded with sharp, crisp, clean paint lines.

Before the final clearcoats, carefully go over the entire car looking at all of the paint edges. If you find a mistake somewhere, it can still be corrected. Also be on the lookout for any small areas of overspray caused by a “leak” in your masking tape work. Nothing looks worse than a small triangle of pearl overspray on the side of your car!

After a marathon session in the spray booth, it’s great to roll out the finished product for full viewing. You may be a bit blurry eyed, but the adrenaline rush from the new scallops is incredible. Custom paint is one of the greatest thrills in the car-building process.

Here we see the finished product: After color sanding and buffing the clear, the scallops are now buried in the topcoat. The long, low lines produce a true custom silhouette, and the scallops make the Merc look even lower. Custom painting at this level can be achieved with patience, and with the assistance of people such as Casper, we’re sure more people will be mixing candies and pearls and creating their own custom jobs.

Remember, practice makes perfect, so spend some time spraying an old hood or fender to get a feel for the process and build your confidence. Read the mixing and spraying directions carefully and follow them to the letter. These new paints must be mixed correctly. Donʼt be afraid to call the technical hot lines. House of Kolor, PPG and DuPont all have great tech support available.

Youʼll have a lot of fun and soon realize how simple it is. The smile will really begin taking effect when you start counting all the money youʼve saved. In time, you may become an award-winning painter! Remember, all the pros started in a similar fashion, and most custom painters are more than willing to offer help and advice to newcomers. 

With this, Iʼve outlined the steps we used to paint the Knight Cruiser. I hope it will inspire you to custom paint your car.