How to paint body

[LZ]

When I get my body painted, I was wondering what works best with aluminum. Should I get it powder coated. If regular paint do you paint where the tabs come together lighter. Do you just paint the outside of the body. Just curious what will last the best.  The inside of my old car was not painted.   Whats price range would a  cobalt blue shorty be with an orange stripe down the middle.  Any ideas I know price is suggestive and varies on location.  I just want a heads up if I get a quote on what is way to much or a good deal. Thanks

hello im:
You have some useful information here but especially Roo talking about Anodizing. I can speak to this in that : The Grade aluminum and its heat treat , how it is finished, if it has been welded , how much its been worked and the company doing the Anodizing will all effect how it comes out. You really have to be intimate with a plater and understand what to expect.
As in any kind of painting its only going to come out as good as its been prepped. It would behoove you to prep the aluminum for paint the tried and true way and that is with a prep and treat. If it cant be had locally you can order it. Henkel has Gordon Geckod the chemical companies but they have maintained a decent product. Use of a phosphoric acid type cleaner like Aluma prep and a  Chromate conversion coating is easy. Believe Henkel has changed the names again so you have to look it up.
Their not that expensive and exponentially give you a better paint adhesion.
Also paint prices have gone completely nuts. Shop around and if you can ,just do a simple colors (not pearls or effect paints) you will save a bunch.
Talked to a dude one time who has uses a etching primer by PPG and it worked well. Can not personally speak for this,.
Hey for what its worth , good luck and Happy Holiday.
Luke

[dreracecar]

The absolute best way is to have the alu anodized first and then primer directly over the anodize, sand and paint.

Post # 3

[ricardo1967]

Ricardo1967,
                    one of the problem with anodizing panels (for exterior finish) is that different grades of aluminum will come out different colors and even different batches of the same grade can do the same. In addition your body builder had better do a good job of any panel re-contouring (windshield opening etc) as what you see is what you will get. Another problem is the the color is simply a dye and most are prone to fading. Gold and Blue seem to be the best but red will bleach out very quickly in the sun. Even black fades, tending to end up with a purple hue. If you want a really glossy finish you need to polish the panels and then also have them "bright dipped" after the initial anodizing process adding more expense. Most anodizers specialize in industrial work and have racks made to hang the product. If you turn up with a bunch of body panels they will usually hang one panel per rack space so instead of doing say 100 parts in that space they can only do one and that can add to the " per unit"cost depending on how friendly your guy is.
  I am with 14DRT on the anodize and paint deal. It makes the body look good on the inside and promotes paint adhesion. A little more "spendy" than the basic prime and paint deal but definitely worth the effort if you can afford it.
  As for adding graphics and keeping the color consistent (especially with candies and pearls) the best way that i have seen (and used myself) is to make a saw horse deal that will support the panels as they sit on the frame but with them separated by an inch or so. Circus in New Jersey actually painted their stuff "backwards" (and Jesse probably still does) by putting the stripes on first and then masking them and spraying the base color. They would prime the body and then mount it on the frame to tape up the graphics before hanging the panels on the horse and extending the tape to the end of the panel (into the area that is overlapped when the body is on the car). After the stripes were done and masked over they would then put the primary colors on, again with the panels on the horse to make sure that the color was even from panel to panel. Using this method ensures that even if the panels move a little on the car there are never any bands of primer showing at the panel junctions.
   For most people the back masking of the stripes is overkill but the end result was the it takes a lot less clear to get a smooth finish without the stripes being laid on top of the base. Any slight "misses" on the taping were hidden by the pinstriping that they added to outline the stripes. A lot of work but the end result was awesome and in the late 80's/ early 90's they won more "Best Appearing" awards than any other shop in the country.

Roo

Thanks a lot Roo - and everyone else chiming in, I appreciate the details. I'm not repainting my car any time soon but this is - another - interesting topic.

Merry Christmas everybody!