1969 Pontiac Firebird Convertible - Eye Kandy

Part II: Adding The Graphics And More
As you have seen in the July '09 issue in Part I of our story, paint systems have come a long way over the years. Beginning with single-stage, then progressing to two-stage and now three-stage pearl, there are a variety of systems on the market, from inexpensive to money-is-no-object, to aid you in your quest for a show-winning finish.

Custom paints go even further with dazzling hues and higher gloss. House of Kolor, which was founded by Jon Kosmoski and is now owned by Valspar, has been a leader in this field for over 50 years. House of Kolor's Kosmic Kandy Urethane Enamel system, which is used for our story, features three colors: Zenith Gold Shimrin' universal base, Metajuls Pale Gold metallic basecoat, and Tangerine Kandy. These are topped by Kosmic Urethane Flo-Klear. Even the Ko-Seal II metallic primer has silver metallic in it for our application. We covered the steps necessary to apply the system in Part I, so in Part II, we discuss the graphics.

A funny thing happened on the way out of the paint booth. Melvin Benzaquen, owner of this '69 Firebird convertible and Classic Restorations, where the Pontiac was painted, decided he didn't really like the graphics he had designed once they were applied. He says that this is a common occurrence among customers as well.

The end result of Melvin's change of heart is that the Bird was completely repainted with a new graphic design.

Why do you care? Two reasons.

First, there is a lesson to be learned about deciding what you like before the paint is applied, as it can save you thousands of dollars. If you have multiple graphic treatments in mind and can't decide which one you like best, contact an artist and have a few renderings drawn so that you can get a better feel for the finished look. These drawings will certainly be cheaper than repainting your Pontiac.

Second, when Classic Restorations repainted the Bird and applied the graphics, Melvin and painter Patrick Rickle decided to do the inverse of the procedure used the first time. Instead of painting the body first and then applying the graphics over the body paint, they painted the graphics first and then the body.

Melvin states that this process was much easier, saving a lot of time in the masking stages, and it was safer, eliminating the potential of damaging the fresh body paint while applying the graphics afterward. We will illustrate these advantages further in the photos and captions, and you can compare and contrast the two methods to decide what is best for your project. At the end, we have photos of the first and second design graphics, so you can see the differences between them and decide which you like better.

Now, let's get to the action.