1940 Buick 51

March-June 2023 - Paint Shop!

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As noted in January 2022 - Body undercarriage and firewall work, the original factory color for this Buick was a two-tone Alameda Gray upper half and Nottingham Gray lower half. The paint shop first painted the entire car and all the pieces in the lower Nottingham Gray body color with a base and clear coat. Afterwards, they would sand the clear coat until smooth and then mask off the lower half to prepare for spraying the upper half base and clear coat. Then a final sand and polish of the entire car and all the pieces was done for a mirror smooth finish.

After the lower Nottingham Gray was applied, the clear coat was lightly sanded and polished. For the areas that were to be painted again in the upper Alameda Gray color, they were sanded and then masked to prepare for paint again.

While the paint shop was progressing on the car, I cleaned all the stainless trim and chrome pieces to prepare for reassembly. The paint shop reinstalled most of the stainless body trim including the hood release handles that attach to the sides of the front fenders. The headlight and turn indicators were rewired with new period-correct cloth wiring and shrouds.

After 3 months, the paint shop completed their work and the Buick returned home for further reassembly.



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