Re-painting Panda Panels?

[Mark Helm]

Hey, guys!

I just acquired a fantastic-sounding pre-ward Rick B-6, but--as you can see--it's seen some wear n' tear.



Anybody have any advice for bringing this guy back to its former glory? I don't suppose it will be easy to match the color.

Thoughts/ideas much appreciated!

[Scott Thomas]

Actually the knobs would bother me more than the paint. A couple of repro "flying saucer" knobs from (Todd Clinesmith) for example might be in order!

[Noah Miller]

I once had a set that were so worn, it just made sense to strip & repaint the lot of them. I used a thin coat of spray paint and it worked fine. The color was called "ancient white" and it was very close to the original.

[Mark Helm]

I once had a set that were so worn, it just made sense to strip & repaint the lot of them. I used a thin coat of spray paint and it worked fine. The color was called "ancient white" and it was very close to the original.

What did you use to strip them? And spray pain really worked? How many coats (and how did you ensure it stayed smooth?

Thanks!

[Noah Miller]

I'm not positive, but I think I used acetone to strip them. It's highly effective against most paints but harmless to the steel underneath.

And yeah, the spray paint was a lot easier to pull off than you might think. I made sure to do a fairly thin coat so bubbles couldn't form, but otherwise, I didn't take any special precautions. It smoothed itself out, and just a single coat was enough.

[Bill Groner]

You can take your panels to an Auto Body Paint store and before you strip your panels you can use them to pick out a color to match the original paint. Once you have it you can get them to fill up a spray can. I would strip like Noah told you. Talk to the guy at the paint store. I think they sell a solution to actually etch the steel and give the paint a good surface to stick to. He may even suggest a primer before the finish paint. One more tip, wait to paint on a day with low humidity..........we are in summer now and those days will be few and far between. Fall is an excellent time to lay down paint. hope this helps you out. BTW.....nice steel and if you go to the trouble of painting the panels, please change to knobs like Scott suggested.

[Mark Helm]

I've already ordered Todd's fantastic repro flying saucer knobs. Got one white and one black. And I'll def. take a panel to an auto body place--excellent suggestion!

Thanks, fellas!!!!