Grabber Lime Restoration Update - Trunk Area

[7173Vert]

I see that you also used red oxide primer. So I assume your 71 cars had red oxide. That was what I was trying to find out from the Pinto guys to confirm color. I am thinking NJ cars got red oxide and MI cars got gray primer. Some say slop gray but not so if you check the Ford facts book they are very specific on type and amount of primer and top coats used. I could not find a copy of the 71 Facts Book but Ray had posted a copy of the 72. If you look at it must have been very early in 72 with some of the pictures having the cast Mustang letters going all the way across the trunk instead of the script on the right.

The Slop Gray was a mixture of any purge paint or paint that was caught in the recovery process and used on several of the bolt on parts. The primer is formulated different from top coats so entirely different type of paint.

The way your painter applied the top coats looks like factory for sure. They did not try to cover unseen areas with color coats to save paint. 

While working in the automotive supply chain I had to visit assembly plants that used our parts during launch. I was bored to death at the Econoline plant in Ohio and asked if I could get permission to go into the paint area. They are very strict on who can go in and what you can take with you. So they gave me a paper jump suit booties and a hair like shower cap. Me being 6'5" the jump suit made me look like a cartoon character coming half way up to my knees, lol.

When the cars came out from first pass in the paint if it was white the workers would sit down on a bench and do nothing. If it was a black or dark color they worked on any small dings before final paint. 

A guy comes over to me and wants to know what I am doing in the paint area and I told him I was a stamping supplier and was just killing time. We went into his office and he was a car guy also. I said something about Ford probably paid very little for paint. This was in the 90's and he said the price of paint to Ford was over $500 a gallon back then. The reason it was so high is that the supplier has to take care of any warranty work that comes up after delivery of the vehicle. 

The other thing I thought was odd was the Econoline body was made and painted in one plant then shipped to another to final assembly. They also did the Windstar and Nissan vans there but they also did final assembly there. It always amazed me how much twisting and rubber hammering and massaging they did in final assembly. It has got better over the years but few sheet metal parts are dead on when bolted together.

I see that you also used red oxide primer. So I assume your 71 cars had red oxide. That was what I was trying to find out from the Pinto guys to confirm color. I am thinking NJ cars got red oxide and MI cars got gray primer. Some say slop gray but not so if you check the Ford facts book they are very specific on type and amount of primer and top coats used. I could not find a copy of the 71 Facts Book but Ray had posted a copy of the 72. If you look at it must have been very early in 72 with some of the pictures having the cast Mustang letters going all the way across the trunk instead of the script on the right.

The Slop Gray was a mixture of any purge paint or paint that was caught in the recovery process and used on several of the bolt on parts. The primer is formulated different from top coats so entirely different type of paint.

The way your painter applied the top coats looks like factory for sure. They did not try to cover unseen areas with color coats to save paint. 

While working in the automotive supply chain I had to visit assembly plants that used our parts during launch. I was bored to death at the Econoline plant in Ohio and asked if I could get permission to go into the paint area. They are very strict on who can go in and what you can take with you. So they gave me a paper jump suit booties and a hair like shower cap. Me being 6'5" the jump suit made me look like a cartoon character coming half way up to my knees, lol.

When the cars came out from first pass in the paint if it was white the workers would sit down on a bench and do nothing. If it was a black or dark color they worked on any small dings before final paint. 

A guy comes over to me and wants to know what I am doing in the paint area and I told him I was a stamping supplier and was just killing time. We went into his office and he was a car guy also. I said something about Ford probably paid very little for paint. This was in the 90's and he said the price of paint to Ford was over $500 a gallon back then. The reason it was so high is that the supplier has to take care of any warranty work that comes up after delivery of the vehicle. 

The other thing I thought was odd was the Econoline body was made and painted in one plant then shipped to another to final assembly. They also did the Windstar and Nissan vans there but they also did final assembly there. It always amazed me how much twisting and rubber hammering and massaging they did in final assembly. It has got better over the years but few sheet metal parts are dead on when bolted together.

We actually made a mistake when we painted this one.   I looked at the underside of all my 71 Mustangs and 3 of them had red oxide, 2 of them had a darkish gray/black metallic, and 1 has a goldish color underneath (above the gas tanks).   We went ahead and painted this one underneath the darkish gray/black metallic thinking they just painted the underneath whatever color they had mixed from the plant (not thinking that was the primer for the whole car).   I thought at the time, they all had red oxide primer over the entire car, then they painted the underside whatever paint they had mixed laying around.  Thus the red oxide on the inside and dark gray blackish underneath - oops.   I spent too much time making sure the overspray on the inside and under fenders with the red oxide was correct,  but didn't want to repaint underneath since the Grabber Lime was already done.   This was the first 71-73 Mustang I am restoring, have only done 65-70 Mustangs/Shelby's prior,  and they were all red oxide.   Good thing I am driving this one!!

My Dearborn ‘71 J Code AZ Vert had “0” red oxide anywhere on the car... I painstakingly and carefully checked many areas of the car before stripping and sending out for blasting. The undernearth primer colour was a very dark grey/black combination. Interestingly enough, the Underneath of this car had been over sprayed at the factory with sound deadner ( not undercoating!). 

I returned the underneath as close to as I found it. Like you, I tried to concentrate on the overspray body colour underneath, except for the the afterward’s... applied black paint to the visible area of metal sticking down just under the door’s. It is my understanding this was done on light colour painted car’s...

 

[Motorcity Mustang]

We actually made a mistake when we painted this one.   I looked at the underside of all my 71 Mustangs and 3 of them had red oxide, 2 of them had a darkish gray/black metallic, and 1 has a goldish color underneath (above the gas tanks).   We went ahead and painted this one underneath the darkish gray/black metallic thinking they just painted the underneath whatever color they had mixed from the plant (not thinking that was the primer for the whole car).   I thought at the time, they all had red oxide primer over the entire car, then they painted the underside whatever paint they had mixed laying around.  Thus the red oxide on the inside and dark gray blackish underneath - oops.   I spent too much time making sure the overspray on the inside and under fenders with the red oxide was correct,  but didn't want to repaint underneath since the Grabber Lime was already done.   This was the first 71-73 Mustang I am restoring, have only done 65-70 Mustangs/Shelby's prior,  and they were all red oxide.   Good thing I am driving this one!!

My Dearborn ‘71 J Code AZ Vert had “0” red oxide anywhere on the car... I painstakingly and carefully checked many areas of the car before stripping and sending out for blasting. The undernearth primer colour was a very dark grey/black combination. Interestingly enough, the Underneath of this car had been over sprayed at the factory with sound deadner ( not undercoating!). 

I returned the underneath as close to as I found it. Like you, I tried to concentrate on the overspray body colour underneath, except for the the afterward’s... applied black paint to the visible area of metal sticking down just under the door’s. It is my understanding this was done on light colour painted car’s...

So then whatever color primer was used (dark gray/black or red oxide), then the whole car was primed in that color correct?   That will certainly make my other restorations a lot easier from a paint perspective.

 

[Frankenstang71]

We actually made a mistake when we painted this one.   I looked at the underside of all my 71 Mustangs and 3 of them had red oxide, 2 of them had a darkish gray/black metallic, and 1 has a goldish color underneath (above the gas tanks).   We went ahead and painted this one underneath the darkish gray/black metallic thinking they just painted the underneath whatever color they had mixed from the plant (not thinking that was the primer for the whole car).   I thought at the time, they all had red oxide primer over the entire car, then they painted the underside whatever paint they had mixed laying around.  Thus the red oxide on the inside and dark gray blackish underneath - oops.   I spent too much time making sure the overspray on the inside and under fenders with the red oxide was correct,  but didn't want to repaint underneath since the Grabber Lime was already done.   This was the first 71-73 Mustang I am restoring, have only done 65-70 Mustangs/Shelby's prior,  and they were all red oxide.   Good thing I am driving this one!!

My Dearborn ‘71 J Code AZ Vert had “0” red oxide anywhere on the car... I painstakingly and carefully checked many areas of the car before stripping and sending out for blasting. The undernearth primer colour was a very dark grey/black combination. Interestingly enough, the Underneath of this car had been over sprayed at the factory with sound deadner ( not undercoating!). 

I returned the underneath as close to as I found it. Like you, I tried to concentrate on the overspray body colour underneath, except for the the afterward’s... applied black paint to the visible area of metal sticking down just under the door’s. It is my understanding this was done on light colour painted car’s...

So then whatever color primer was used (dark gray/black or red oxide), then the whole car was primed in that color correct?   That will certainly make my other restorations a lot easier from a paint perspective.

My 71 Mach 1 had the entire bottom painted/primered with a dark olive green (this was under the factory tarlike undercoating).  My interior as seen on firewall and kick panel areas was the reddish brown.  I can enclose pictures later is anyone is interested.  I have not figured out what color my inside trunk was primered with originally as it was heavily damaged and recovered.  I have thought it was strange that no one else has talked about ford using odd colors on the car floors as they did on mine.  certainly factory applied as it is underneath every bracket that I have cut off car.

 

[Motorcity Mustang]

My Dearborn ‘71 J Code AZ Vert had “0” red oxide anywhere on the car... I painstakingly and carefully checked many areas of the car before stripping and sending out for blasting. The undernearth primer colour was a very dark grey/black combination. Interestingly enough, the Underneath of this car had been over sprayed at the factory with sound deadner ( not undercoating!). 

I returned the underneath as close to as I found it. Like you, I tried to concentrate on the overspray body colour underneath, except for the the afterward’s... applied black paint to the visible area of metal sticking down just under the door’s. It is my understanding this was done on light colour painted car’s...

So then whatever color primer was used (dark gray/black or red oxide), then the whole car was primed in that color correct?   That will certainly make my other restorations a lot easier from a paint perspective.

My 71 Mach 1 had the entire bottom painted/primered with a dark olive green (this was under the factory tarlike undercoating).  My interior as seen on firewall and kick panel areas was the reddish brown.  I can enclose pictures later is anyone is interested.  I have not figured out what color my inside trunk was primered with originally as it was heavily damaged and recovered.  I have thought it was strange that no one else has talked about ford using odd colors on the car floors as they did on mine.  certainly factory applied as it is underneath every bracket that I have cut off car.

This is interesting then, maybe I am ok with the red oxide on the inside and the dark color on the under belly only.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

If you have ever peeled the sealer off the floor, outside of the torque box and such you find bare metal. The seam sealer and sound deadening and what little undercoating the factory applied was done before primer or paint.

That is one of the reasons they rust so bad. The sealer with age cracks and pulls loose from the metal then water gets in the crack and starts the rust. 

If you call up the copy of the Ford Facts Book that Ray put up for us you will see the diagram of where different materials were applied. They do not state a color of primer just say Epoxy Primer. 

I only have 72 & 73 models and four of them have factory applied paint and all are gray.

In an ideal world you would vary the color of your primer to change with your top color so that it covers easier. When I paint in the home I have them tint the white primer similar to the top coats it is a no cost thing and helps coverage. A light color for whites and pastels and darker for the browns and blacks. But in mfg. you never know what color is coming down the line. 

By using gray that is like the average between black and white so makes since to pick that as your one color to use in the factory. 

I do have one 73 vert that has non factory color so it was painted in the Special Vehicle area which is not part of the normal paint line. It is where they do special paint for fleets, police cars and any non factory color cars. I have never tried to see what color primer was on it. The car is black and was repainted many years ago. I will have to check it out one day and see if it is the same. 

The pic is my 73 Mach 1 when I took the gas tank off when cleaning it up. You can see the gray primer that was under the tank. I had my car sprayed with undercoat at the dealer so that is the black you see.

 

[Frankenstang71]

So then whatever color primer was used (dark gray/black or red oxide), then the whole car was primed in that color correct?   That will certainly make my other restorations a lot easier from a paint perspective.

My 71 Mach 1 had the entire bottom painted/primered with a dark olive green (this was under the factory tarlike undercoating).  My interior as seen on firewall and kick panel areas was the reddish brown.  I can enclose pictures later is anyone is interested.  I have not figured out what color my inside trunk was primered with originally as it was heavily damaged and recovered.  I have thought it was strange that no one else has talked about ford using odd colors on the car floors as they did on mine.  certainly factory applied as it is underneath every bracket that I have cut off car.

This is interesting then, maybe I am ok with the red oxide on the inside and the dark color on the under belly only.

As can be clearly seen this green was under the black coating and was covering the entire bottom of trunk and floorpans.  certainly not applied later.  the red primer can be seen in the interior, this is an early 71 from dearborn.  

 

[jpaz]

I have a Dearborn made car and it has red oxide in the interior. I pulled the rear seat to change my shocks and found some on the braces behind the seat. My car has been restored, but the po who did it didn’t spray anything on the interior. It has the original color overspray and the red looks like it was on first, so pretty sure that was done at the factory. Plus from looking at the pics of the car from before the restoration, it was very original.