Just wondering, I know that darker colors such as Black have to have fairly strait bodys. But how does this rate with the color Silver? More or less.

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Thanks In Advance!
John Corbin Member #313
67' Chevelle Malibu(Someday):D, NOT I will have a funeral for the Mailbu as a organ donor for my new 67SS396!!!!!!
Deltona, Florida
E-mail anytime,If I can help I will do my very best!

as with any color the straighter the body the better the final color looks. However, I would venture too say some minor flaws or a ripple here and there would be less noticeable in silver than black, but more noticeable than white..

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X-Ray View of my Chevelle :D (http://www.normieschevelle.com/sideview.jpg)
Getting Closer (http://www.normieschevelle.com/passfull.jpg)

I'd say strive for perfection! My light green, almost a silver, is very unforgiving of flaws in the bodywork. I've found a few places where I neglected to smooth a ding enough, or blend in a repair. Plan as if you were painting black, then enjoy the final product http://www.chevelles.com/forum/smile.gif

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71 Ragtop
MCC #347, TC (Gold) #174
N3JHV@bellatlantic.net

surprising as it sounds, Silver falls on the
GOT TO BE STRAIGHT category of finishes.
Not that we all don't strive to archive that goal. But if your foundation has had numerous repairs and your not going down the total strip fill block primer etc. route.
STAY away from Silver.

Wayne
ACES 1556
TCG 186

My silver was most unforgiving. It found every little scratch and wave.

Also when blocking be sure to finish out the primer blocking with a fine sand paper. Silver tends to settle and the metalics will settle into any fine scratches left in the body work or from too heavey a grit of paper. This will then magnify the scratches even if small...
I agree with the earlier responses as well prep for black caus when they are all shiney the shortcuts show up!

Love my Cortez Silver! http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Good body work and prep is 90% of your paint job...

FastSS396man

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69' SS396 Chevelle
L78 396/375hp
M-21 Close Ratio
Cortez Silver
10 year Resto
It's brand new again!

If you want to see how the final surface is going to look, wet sand the entire car with 600 paper. Clean it thoroughly with soap and water and dry. Now look at the panels at different angles in good light. Waves, dimples and flaws should show up.
For those looking for perfection, one method of making sure a car is straight is to apply one coat of black urethane paint to the entire car. This will reveal all flaws, sand scratches and friendly (wavey) panels. Following this step a few days later, is block sanding the entire car. Take a 5 gallon paint stick, cut off 6 inches, apply some stickey backed 600 grit sandpaper and wet sand to flat perfection. (On the flat panels)
With silver as a color, you must have a uniform colored surface to start with before applying the color coat. This is where a non-sanding sealer coat comes in, just prior to shooting the color.
Silver is the most trickiest of all colors when it comes to a solid and uniform color apllication. Streaks and heavy spots are very easy mistakes to make. The trick is to apply the color coat in a machine like fashion. BE A ROBOT! Same speed, distance, air pressure and 50% overlap are critical. If you try getting far away from the surface, you stand the chance of putting it on too dry. This will leave a rough surface that WILL show up even if you have a perfectly sanded/buffed slick clear coat. I always use a slower drying reducer for silver and keep the gun further away by 4-5".
Of course a little 'fogging' of the final coat of any mettalic color is a good thing as long as the previous coats weren't applied too dry. Good luck.

A trick I used when final blocking the car was to use a guide coat of black primer over the gray sand and fill. I did one panel at a time and then went to the next. While wet sanding, I would use the water hose with no nozzle on the end and let the water flow evenly over the panel. Stand back and get a angle on the surface that will reflect the most light back to you. As the water sheets off the panel, you will see every low/high place that is there.

Any imperfections from the primer like orange peel scratches and fish eyes will show worse than black in my opinion. SS-Dave is right on what to do for final prepping. A dark guide coat will make the difference..
Lite metallics will not lay even in trouble areas and will stick right out.

Randy B www.angelfire.com/ky2/mycars (http://www.angelfire.com/ky2/mycars)
70SS with 98 Cadillac moonstone metallic
And other chevys I've owned and painted.

One of the oldest tricks in the book, take a light, not too powerful mind you, and place it almost parallel to the body and "sight" down the length of the body, you will see problem areas, not to mention panels that are not correctly alligned. One of the cheapest methods there is, and requires the least amount of paint, etc.


As for silver, my 70 is silver, will never own another silver car again. Mostly a pigment problem, hard to keep up compared to other colors. My opinion, of course.



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1967 El Camino
1970 El Camino SS/396