Topic: 69 Dearborn Mach 1

[G Wood]

After a number of hours of scrubbing, I have been able to remove undercoating/dirt/grease etc.from the bottom of my Mach 1. In the attached photos, the grey paint in the transmission tunnel and lower floor board near the back seat appear to be a medium grey primer color. I know from reading other posts that the color could be varied depending on the day, etc. Mine appears to be original and a lighter color from photos I have seen. This is a Jan built Dearborn car. Is this in line with other cars from Dearborn built in Jan?

[svo2scj]

Aren't you glad you did that !!

Look at it this way (if you car was one of the first) that shift (before the addition of many other colors) now you know what it looked like.

Mark

[G Wood]

Yes I am glad I did it despite the challenge of getting it clean. I was considering sandblasting the bottom and starting over but it looks to be in pretty good shape and just need touch ups.

[G Wood]

So this lighter color was typical with other cars out there versus the darker colors that I have seen pictures of?

Thanks

[Bob Gaines]

So this lighter color was typical with other cars out there versus the darker colors that I have seen pictures of?

Thanks

As was mentioned before there were a variety of shades . About the most consistent thing that can be said is that gray was a primary component in the mixer. Unfortunatly we can only guess at shades that may have occurred at a particular time. There could be a number of things that effected the mixer on a given day that we may never know about. If you don't have a original pan on the specific car you are restoring to go by  the safe guess would be a mixer that would be a medium gray ,medium gloss and don't forget it could have a pinch of metallic in it. I tend to see the darker medium gray shades more then the lighter shades or the even less seen very dark shades. I think it is difficult to get a very dark shade with the light gray mixer that seems to always be a base component , which is probably way I haven't seen many. The same can be said about the lighter gray shades that tend to stay light only as long as additional mixers aren't added.  The good news it is hard to make a mistake if you don't stray from the basic shades and using the light gray as a base. Any reasonable knowledgeable concours judge would be hard pressed to find fault in a gray shade variety on a car built in January to the end of production on a 69 Dearborn car IMHO. Many people pick a exterior gray color from a car line instead of trying to mix up a special batch.  I can't say that I have seen two undisturbed underside shades that were EXACTLY the same. No doubt there were in consecutively painted cars until they added to the paint pot reservoir the next time. Out of hundreds of thousands of cars built it is understandable why there might be a wide variety. Just a few of my observations and opinions.Bob

[J_Speegle]

Thanks for sharing  adds another time period to the database for Dearborn. Agree with Bob's observations - I see allot more of the dark gray 0 yours must have followed a day or two of allot of white or light yellow cars

[craig429]

Is the grey paint over bare metal or over red oxide? In the pics, I see a hint of red but it might be the picture or my computer.

G Wood, do you happen to have any pictures before removing the sound deadener showing how it was originally sprayed?  Are you planning on reapplying the sound deadener or leaving the underside grey?  I will be working on a 70 Mach1 that the prior owner had sandblasted the underside so I lost all the original details, so I would like to see how the sound deadener is sprayed on some typical Mach1's. 

[Bob Gaines]

Is the grey paint over bare metal or over red oxide? In the pics, I see a hint of red but it might be the picture or my computer.

G Wood, do you happen to have any pictures before removing the sound deadener showing how it was originally sprayed?  Are you planning on reapplying the sound deadener or leaving the underside grey?  I will be working on a 70 Mach1 that the prior owner had sandblasted the underside so I lost all the original details, so I would like to see how the sound deadener is sprayed on some typical Mach1's.

I thought I saw the ghost of red oxide in the photos too. From my observations I believe the intent was to use the red oxide and use the gray slop paint as a top coat especially since it was a mixer of paints most of which were not primer paint and consequently not stick well depending on the concentration. I also believe it was a way to get rid of their hazardous waste (paint).  With that said I have seen what looked like no red oxide and the tunnel almost completely bare metal. So there is a lot of room for variations IMHO.  I think the red oxide underpayment represents the more typical process IMHO. The gray was typically put on throughly and with the gray on top you don't really know the red oxide is under there unless you sand through it or see it at some of the extreme edges or nooks and crannies. Bob

[J_Speegle]

I thought I saw the ghost of red oxide in the photos too.........

If that shot is from the front end of the car it might be overspray from the red oxide typically applied to the front (firewall forward) of the car or maybe overspray from the exterior of the car - an earlier repair?

[G Wood]

The photo is from the rear of the floor pan (bottom of the rear seat area). The transmission tunnel is in the best condition and there is no indication of red primer. I have not spent alot of time near the back yet, but I did not see any hints of red primer. Where the drips in the gray have fallen off, there was no red underneath. I will update this as I spend more time on it in the upcoming weeks.

Yes, I do plan to try to repleciate the sound deadener. I know Jeff has posted a photo on the pattern for a Mach 1, I have not spent much time figuring out how to apply the deadener.

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Garth

[G Wood]

I know it's been a year but I finally have my floor cleaned and resprayed. I am going to apply sound deadener as per examples in the forum for a Mach 1. My question is does the sound deadener go on prior to the body color over spray (I think it does but need to confirm)?

I did find some evidence of red primer under the gray slop color on the floor boards.

Thanks

[J_Speegle]

I know it's been a year but I finally have my floor cleaned and resprayed. I am going to apply sound deadener as per examples in the forum for a Mach 1. My question is does the sound deadener go on prior to the body color over spray (I think it does but need to confirm)?

Believe that since the brake and fuel lines are in place that this suggests that the floor sound deadener was applied much later that the paint and body section of assembly - much like the front wheelwells (may have been done at the same station) was done late in the build. So based on current data IMHO itsw was much later after body color and pinch weld black out was done.   


I did find some evidence of red primer under the gray slop color on the floor boards.
[/quote]

Since you mention the floor boards the red oxide may be the red oxide applied to the panels at the stamping plant (like the fenders and doors) rather than being applied on the line. Now if you found red oxide on the frame rails and they were the front ones it might be overspray from the firewall forward application.   

[craig429]

Since you mention the floor boards the red oxide may be the red oxide applied to the panels at the stamping plant (like the fenders and doors) rather than being applied on the line.

That explains why my 70 Mach1 built Sept 69 at Metuchen floor bottom and rocker panels also had red oxide under slop grey. The red oxide was a thin coat and the first layer of coating. I didn't know panels came from the stamping plant with a coating of red oxide.

[J_Speegle]

That explains why my 70 Mach1 built Sept 69 at Metuchen floor bottom and rocker panels also had red oxide under slop grey. The red oxide was a thin coat and the first layer of coating. I didn't know panels came from the stamping plant with a coating of red oxide.

Another possibility would be the red oxide application of red oxide to the exterior body before the floor was coated. Overspray from the wheelwell, rocker and such primering.

We don't have allot of assembly line pictures of the 69-up Mustangs especially those showing the uni-body before primer or paint. Workers at the receiving stations have describe receiving damage panels (unloading from rail cars) and rerouting those to the service replacement duty but that does not make allot of sense if they were bare metal.

Plenty of things to still figure out

[G Wood]

Jeff:

I think I have got it right, sound deadener goes on after the body overspray and with brake and gas line mounted.

Thanks again for your help.

Garth