I will be talking to you about how to paint small parts for your classic car today. Collector cars have many small parts that can be painted and restored with just a little elbow grease and some perseverance.
The first thing you need to do is remove the part that needs to be restore, carefully mark the hoses and wiring that you remove so that when you reassemble they go back in the same order that they were taken off.
Clean the part and the bolts that held the part on with some sort of solvent; if you are degreasing the part a good mineral spirits will remove the grease and oil. After the part is nice and clean rinse off with lacquer thinner or brake clean, this will remove the oily residue that is left over from the mineral spirits and oil. Dry the part with compressed air and recheck to make sure that the part is extremely clean. If the part still has dirt, oil, or grease then the paint will not stick and it will fail.
If you have a part that is rusty and does not have critical surfaces then sand blasting may be the answer to clean very stubborn parts. This will also cause a good mechanical adhesion for the paint. If the finished sand blasted part has too much pitting due to the rusting it may need to be built up with plastic body filler. Use the fillers instructions to mix the plastic and spread with a plastic knife to build the surface, when the filler has hardened sand down to the original contour. Repeat if the surface is still too low.
Mask anything that you do not want to get paint on, it is easier to mask off the piece instead of trying to clean off set paint. Use blue masking tape, it tends to leave a better edge on the paint line and it is easier to remove if the masking has to be left on for a few days.
Prime the part with a good quality prime, it is okay to use a rattle can primer. These parts are typically not exposed to the harsh elements as the exterior of the car is exposed to. Once the primer is dry check for any exposed metal and recoat if necessary.
Now it is time for the finish coat. Use a finish that is compatible with the primer, you do not want to take the primer off; you just want to coat it. Paint several lite coats holding the spray can about 10 to 12 inches away from the part. Use sweeping motions, start and stop the spray before and after the paint hits the part. If you start spraying the right on the part you will end up with a heavy paint mark that may run and ruin the paint job.
Remove the masking that you had to put on and reinstall the part. Take the time to reevaluate the conditions of the bolts, if they are showing their age it might be time to replace them before the part is installed.
I hope that this article has been a help to you and your project. Please enjoy your car and hobby.
