Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Were can I find info in how Ford prepped body panels doors for final color coating? Have seen pictures and read how the fenders, splash aprons and running boards were dipped, just can't locate references for the body color.....

Is this info in the RG&JS, have a copy now but haven't come across that info as yet, did I miss it?

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

I think by the time the Model a came along they were spraying black and colors I have an original body on a four door and it does not appear to have a primer, I suspect they just degreased well and put the finish coat on. Tried to look this up, no success as of yet.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Get some good books ; Model A Ford as Henry Built It [ DeAngelis, Henry ]
There is a section with original factory photos & a written description of what they did to finish the bodywork.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

The bare steel was treated with a rust preventive metal prep, followed by primer, and then nitrocellulose lacquer. After baking the body was sanded and then buffed to a high gloss.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Don't forget about the 30% topcoat and the 70% thinner that was sprayed prior to buffing. I am not sure the body was "baked". I understood the process was to paint the body with both colors (if applicable) and then it sat while the interior was installed. It came back for light color sanding followed by the heavily thinned color which aided in flow. THEN it was sprayed with pure thinner yet again. I know the book has commented about this being done to aid in the edge of the paint becoming thin on the edges but I can tell you from experience shooting a car in Lacquer that all this does is created a fuzzy mess on the edge. The theory is grande, ...the results are less than grande!! :rolleyes:

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

"Baked"... Is saying it went through a 30 percent topcoat and 70 percent thinner. Then know the interior was installed and then light color sanding then heavily thinned color then pure thinner... And "NOT KNOW IF THE BODY WAS BAKED". I know it's Tennessee, but it's puff, puff pass. ��

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

The paint and finish guide does not say anything about baking. "Bodies were coated with two "double header coats" of lacquer in both primary and secondary colors. ... The body interior and trim was installed ... windshield ...all glass. This gave the paint approx 2 1/2 hours to set and harden. The body was then wet sanded..." And it goes on and talks about the 70 - 30 and a final spray of thinner.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

I have used the highly thinned topcoat method after a light color sand. It was so shiny that I did not have to do any buffing or polishing, just a finish waxing.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

I started not to use the term "baked". The Paint & Refinish Guide makes reference to the bodies spending time in the "drying oven" between primary & secondary color application.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Thanks guys for the info, I really appreciate it!

I recall the reference of "baked" or drying oven many years ago regarding the dipped parts, no luck on the body though!

Both of the books referenced are on my to-order list....but The Paint & Refinish Guide was next on my list to purchase so I could see just what Commercial Drab really looks like....does anyone have a good picture???

Tudortomnz, does the DeAngelis book reference any use of a primer?

Charles Coe, this description is what I had heard of before.

Brent, now I am curious, would a Commercial vehicle also get the 30/70 layer before buffing, since that choice was an extra cost!

I originally asked the question because I found what looks like a red oxide layer on my tailgate. Other parts of my truck had been blasted and primed in Red Oxide back in the late 60's, but the tailgate looks like they hadn't go to it yet.....It has 3 different colors on top of that, the first being Red, then a Green which is lighter then Rock Moss Green, then a bad coat of Black that was chipping off with a whitish layer beneath it. Since I didn't expect I had anything with original paint on it, I wondered what to look for!
Common sense tells me that the gate had been previously re-done, and painted Red at some point, followed by the other colors later in its life before it would up with my brother and I in 1970...

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Agreed, my quote above came from the refinish manual and no mention of heat for the body colors.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Yes, dipped items were baked simply because many of those parts were stored in bins. If the parts were bin stored while still wet, they would likely stick together due to the paint.

With regard to the primer, when you look at factory assembly drawings of those body & misc. parts, they often will specify the Material Specifications (M-Specs) which includes the red oxide primer as you mentioned.

Your question regarding Commercial finishing is a good question. The 28/29 Commercial vehicles did not have the option for buffing as I recall. Matter of fact, it was late in 1930 before they even felt compelled to offer a choice of colors unless you were a "large preferred customer" who was ordering many vehicles. My guess is they did spray the 30/70 coat just because this would have been a fast way to make the paint flow out.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

THE FORD MODEL A “As Henery Built It”

PAGE 63

“The fourth step was the sanding of putty glaze
feathering it out to the surface of the basic metal.
This was done on a moving conveyor line and better
assured that the metal surfaces were free of dings,
scratches and low spots.

(Henry used body filler! So don't be ashamed if you do!)

The fifth step was that of spraying on a primer. The
spray booth was actually a tunnel, and an operator
was stationed at each side. The car bodies on a con-
moved through the spray booth or tunnel.
The primer material used was of the red oxide
type. The first coat of the two coat process was
sprayed on horizontally over the entire surface of the
he body. The second coat was sprayed vertically.
The next step was that of prime bake. Here the wet
bodies ran along the conveyor through a prime bake
oven. All ovens received their heat from steam pipes
and operated at temperatures between 190-220 deg.
Fahrenheit. The speed at which the bodies moved
through this oven was regulated so that the body was
subjected to this temperature range for about one
hour — sufficient time for the prime to set to a hard
surface.”

PAGE 64:

“. . .was allowed to air dry for five minutes. Then, the
body moved through a second spray booth where two
more coats of color, one horizontal and one vertical,
were applied.

From this station the bodies were carried through
a primary color bake oven where the units remained
for twenty minutes. Next came the masking operation
for two-tone models. Any second tone or moulding and
trim color was applied over the base body color. When
the upper body color was applied on sedans with two-
tone treatment, it was carried around each pillar up
to the weather strip.

A third coat of paint, air dried for five minutes,
a fourth coat of paint, and a second twenty-minute
color bake completed the paint application. Now the
body was ready for the final wet sanding operation.

From here, the stripers took over — and, these
men were highly skilled artisans. Each body type and
each color combination had its own standard striping
location and color. Each striper worked right along a
with the moving body, applying a fast-drying striping
lacquer from a small cup. By the time the stripes had
added their final touch, the body was ready for its last
operation.”

BTW This is an excellent Book that should be part of every Model A library!
(This makes this a review and allows the quoted sections under fair use!)

NOTE: The author states that the striping occurred before polishing, but the included 1928 factory photo clearly shows polishing of unstriped bodies. That makes sense since it would be easy to polish off the stripe. So I am guessing striping was done after polishing.

BTW #2: Notice the wheel wells were painted black. I am assuming that was another 1928 feature that was eliminated to save time?

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Typical, two different publications two different methods mentioned.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Your right. The term "baking" has taken on a meaning that makes some think that there is some magical process going on that makes the paint somehow better. Baking just application of heat to speed the drying process. The end product isn't any better.

Re: Ford Factory Painting Prep?
 

Mike, my reference to the "drying oven" in the Paint & Refinish Guide is found on page 3 under Applying The Secondary Color at the bottom of the right column.