black speedster

Hi all,
I'm still in the process of finding a speedster I like. I was at a dealer for vintage yesterday and he mentioned I should stay away from black speedsters produced by vintage because the black brings out any waves and other imperfections in the body. Anyone know if this is true? If it is, does it really make a big difference?

Fiberglass auto bodies can have "wavy" surfaces owing to inadequate preparation before painting. They need to be well sanded, primer coated, and sanded again before painting. And, black paint with its deep finish makes any body imperfections that much easier to see. Vintage Speedsters has no corner on the "wavy body" problem. All the manufacturers suffer from it to varying degrees. It's all in the pre-paint prep...some builders do more than others.
Simple solution for any car you're considering - carefully look at all the body panels, especially the top surfaces of the doors (where your arm would rest while driving). If you see a lot of "waves," and it bothers you, you might want to try another car.

And the "waviness" isn't just in Speedsters, either. Go to a "Cruisin Nite" or a show with Hot Rods and look at some of the fiberglass bodied cars - you often will see some degree of waviness in the panels - even on many Steel-bodied cars. It takes a whole lot of time (and money to pay for that time) to get perfectly straight (flat) body panels. Not impossible, just expensive.

David
I have a friend that ownes a large body shop that caters to big rigs and the like .
Tom has done four fiberglass bodied cars for me all in black that were as smooth as glasss ....no pun intended . As mentioned above it is all in the prep.
Alan

I agree with the prep. When my car was done the guy spent a full week block sanding by hand since this is really the only way to do glass. And, I still see some waves where he probably got tired. I think that manufacturers that are delivering painted cars only have so much time to do the paint. Then they need to say, enough is enough and go for it. That being said if you are planning on painting a used car, make sure your body shop understands that you want 'smooth as glass' no waves.

When I was looking for a Speedster I was going to order form VS and I wanted the black. I told Kirk that waves or flaws would not be acceptable. He assured me that alittle more money they would spend the time and block and sand until perfect. You have to understand that the speedies they produce daily are production and even though they spend time on the details and quality they have to knock them out quick. So it is well worth the extra money cause in the long run you will hate the car every time you see a wave or flaw. They can definetly get the car very straight. Good luck.

I own a black speedster and there are one or two places where, if I really concentrate, I can see some imperfections. I went to our local paintmeister and he said, "no problem we will just block it until there are no imperfections and then we will repaint."

I wouldn't own anything but black. It just says "speedster" to me.

I own a black Vintage and it's nothing but waves. When the light hits it right it looks like it was painted by kids with black Crayolas and a Spirograph kit. I still love it, but if it bugs you, pony up big cash or stay away from black. Stay away from black. (Repeat intended)

If not black, then what?
I am deciding which colour I am going to paint my project vehicle and was down to either black or dark green.
I know it's a cliche to go with silver, but is this a more 'forgiving' colour to such potential problems?

Jim.

Any lighter color is "forgiving" showing less imperfections, dark colors tend to mirror and magnify problem areas.
Want to go black or other dark colors ?
Check out a few area car shows , look at the paint jobs that catch your eye.... ask who prepped and painted it, this way, you are assured of what to expect should you go with the particular painter.

Good points from Alan, not just for paint, but for other custom stuff as well. When I was thinking about a custom interior, I checked out the cars at local street rod shows and asked who stitched those interiors that I really liked. Turns out there are like, two guys in New England who do really super interiors, and there are, maybe, half a dozen to go to for really super prep and paint.

Just remember that quality costs......if you want a flawless paint job on something like a Speedster, be prepared for $5K minimum unless you do a lot of the prep yourself (only if you're good at it).

David, I have a black one, and I can definitely see the waves. It bothers me about as much as the fact that I am not really driving a speedster...not much.

My black VS had some waves when I purchased it, used only months after being produced. Especially on the upper front of passenger door. I have seen this same spot on other VS cars. I believe it is in the mold.

Since then my VS body has been changing. There is a lot more waves. I now see a line where the firewall attaches to the upper deck on the rear.

A fiberglass body will migrate. A black paint job will show this movement. I will rework my car after a few more years and by then I suspect a more stable surface.

PS. I cannot wax this car without swirls!!

As others have said its all down to the preparation.
I'm more than happy with the finish of my black speedster.

I think the waves on VS's are usually in the door, part of the molding. I stayed on them regarding prep and ended up with a nice paint job, and one door blocked down enough to make a straight reflection, but the other side not so good, but not bad.

Still, despite the occasional paint complant out of VS customers I have to say the PPG Black on mine was well done. And if detailed right and consitently it still gets remarks on the paint three years later. I have had to feather in a couple of light surface scratches and the nose for stone chips. My bro in law did the job and then reshot the PPG. After curing we polished it out again with 3M's great polishing product, then went with the liquid McGuires # (?). To buff out the black cars you sure need some baby soft towels. I used my rotary polisher once to do the buff and got swirls where I stayed too long on the ridges Since then I have used a very light coat of liquid wax, and a light touch on buffing by hand. I also have a product line that John Leader laid on me that I used on my wifes new Acura TLS (black) and that baby looks a foot deep and smooth.

I am with the other comments... I think black or Silver speak Speedster. And if I was buying and looking for "that" look I would not hesitate to go black with any of the builders. But, in my future planned build is that light cocoa look on a GT you'll see in the pics below.

Jim

Hi Jim,
What was the name of the product you used on the Acura and where did you purchase it from. Micro Fiber towels also work great for a swirl free shine.
Jerry

At IM Henry 'post' cures his cars before block sanding and paint. He has a paint curing oven that he passes the cars through to fully cure the gel coat. With out this process, the first HOT day as the car sits in the sun, waves show up as mentioned in a previous post.

It's all in the prep...

I thought that the ivory color was a good one for a Speedster and it seems that there are a lot of them out there. This color seemed to make the finish look better than it really was and minimized the ripples which were definitely there.

On my first trip to SAW, I saw Charles Gardiner's Torch Red IM conv. D and it really set the car off nicely. After much debate with myself and sweet bride (she liked the red idea) about using a more conservative blue, I went with the red. I thought Meisen Blue like on Dan Palmquist's Speedster looked great, but when I saw a Cabrio painted this color, it didn't move me. I also considered darker blue but finally gave in to the wild side. I guess that's what it is.

Aye, you're a wild one, Johnny! I've heard tell the neighbours can hear howling at night....even under that hat ;-)

Hey Bob, when the moon rises I sit on my front porch to play my dulcimer, sans hat. If I was to sing along as I played, them nay-bours would be fetchin' up a possee and them dawgs to hunt down and kilt the varmit howlin' an disturbin' the peace. Believe that!

Johnny.......are your nay'bours the Bumpas's? If so, I think their cousins are up here next to us........

Gordon, no Bumpas sightings. However, I will keep a close watch on the Turkey come Thanksgiving just in case one passes through.

John,

Don't even think about coming to Carlisle without the hat!!!

Jerome

Yeah, but he'd probably get the award for "Best Speedster Hat"

"Hoss" Hallstrand......I love it!

John: Do you have any special wing or airfoil to help keep it on when you're driving the Speedster?

If you are buying the Vintage in kit form, try going up the road to Auto FLM in North Hollywood. They are connected (physically through a common door) to JPS. They can prep and paint any speedster, any color, without worries. JPS has the awards to prove it.

It's that old conundrum: black is more masculine, but it's ALWAYS dirty. White is more feminene, but it's ALWAYS clean.

But red is what the chicks like to ride in!!

Bruce, red JPS

Gordon: I have only worn the hat for parades at parade speed, 0-5 mph. It takes up a lot of room when packing which is not what I have a lot of to spare. Maybe I can pack other items inside it so it won't be such a waste. Awards? Did you say awards? John E. has a similar hat, so we might have to arm wrestle for it.
Hoss Hallstrand
ps. W/C Bruce, don't know about the chick part. The car gets lots of looks but no sweet young things have jumped in yet. My luck would have the Bumpas dogs jumping in instead and they ain't no Jack Russels.

John, combining this thread with the next one, the hat would be a great place for a 3rd brake light!
ed

Hell! Make the WHOLE HAT light up when you stop!

David, I have a black Vintage Speedster that was built in 1997.It does have some waves in the body but they show no more than the Corvette we used to own and it was silver. People comment all the time on how straight the body is and how glossy the paint is. I used a 3M polishing compound to remove the swirl marks and scratches when I first got the car about 3 years ago and have used Mothers Show & Shine and Their liquid wax on it since. No more swirl marks. I think black defines a Speedster and really shows off it's curves.

Great photo, John. And I bet you didn't even have to 'dress up' for it, did you?

Whatever I may be driving come next year, I will be at Carlisle, to see that hat!

Bring your dulcimer, will you?

Bob

Bob, thanks. Actually, I did dress up for the photo. My regular bibs are torn and soiled and the Hoss hat doesn't fit under a Speedster or even an F-150. The hat is a possible, but the dulcimer probably won't make it :-(

Hey Johnny

Love the hat.. guess you have to take it off when driving the speedster under an overpass....

David... I own a white speedster, and if you ever question my
masculinity.....I'll crown you with my handbag!!

I have a black CMC and the doors are wave city, rest of the body is fine. Before next paint job I will block sand etc. but I won't go
with black again, I have to wash it every time I drive it. The minerals in the water leave spots and every time you dry the car by hand your scratching the surface (spider webs).