Facrory paint process

[Rickv]

Hi , I was a car painter for 42 years and have a question about the mk ll factory paint process . My car was originally silver ,and has been painted black . I'm stripping the car and it looks to me the factory used an almost spot putty color brick red primer . I was always taught to use the primer color closest to the top coat color . As in gray primer for a silver top coat . The red boggles my mind ! Does anyone know if the red primer was factory used in all colors ? Thanks in advance !

[Barry Wolk]

On the 5 Mark II interiors I've had apart I've never seen anything but red primer. I don't believe I've ever seen a Ford claim of 4 double coats sanded between coats, but the automotive press made sure everyone knew. Any double-coat of anything I ever applied resulted in paint viscosity tests, or more commonly called runs. I found I'm a better sander than painter.

As an experienced painter what value would there be to 8 coats of black paint?

[Rickv]

Hi Barry , Even if you are talking single stage , 8 coats is at least 4 coats too many ! Depending on how smooth you lay it down , 2 to 3 coats of single stage is usually enough . I said 4 if you intend on sanding it totally flat and polishing it . On 2 stage , base - clear , usually 3 coats of black base should cover the undercoat . Same deal as single stage , 2 to 3 coats of clear depending on how smooth the application is . More if you plan on color sanding or had some rough application . To me it doesn't matter how it comes out , I'm gonna sand and buff . That's just how I roll ! Lol . Hope that answered your question .