Fox GT ground effects paint

[m_owing]

My 88 GT has the 2-tone paint job, grey/titanium bottom. It was never glossy. From what I've read, these pieces (ground effects and bumpers) are made of molded urethane. Does anyone know if they would have been painted with a single stage paint? Or just paint that was durable, with no 'top coat'?

[Laffs]

My understanding is that ford used single stage enamel paint until 91 on all cars. So more than likely the entire car was originally single stage. Now single stage despite not being base clear, doesn't make it dull by nature. In fact single stage can be buffed to a high gloss like it was on the top half of you car. My understanding is that the OEM Titanium finish was never intended to be a high gloss, it was mixed OEM to have more of a satin finish by nature.

[m_owing]

Thanks Laffs, that's really helpful. I'm looking at repainting and wondering if I need to strip completely or just sand to a point (that I've yet to determine)

[hammerhead]

painting the plastic can be a challenge - maybe consider a satin wrap material close to that colour Titanium - It may now be hard to get satin paint in Canada - other option is base coat with a dull down additive in the clear coat to try and achieve satin look - I'm not sure if the single stage can be dulled down (Napa or other suppliers could answer that) and if there is metallic in the original mix it will be lost in the single stage....

[Laffs]

Thanks Laffs, that's really helpful. I'm looking at repainting and wondering if I need to strip completely or just sand to a point (that I've yet to determine)

You can spray modern base clear over a prepped single stage paint. So assuming no gouges, cracks, or major defects in the oem stuff you should be able to sand it down then spray base then clear over top. If you want to maintain the OEM look you'd spray the OEM paint code YJ Titanum base then top it with a clear coat that's had a matting additive mixed in to give it the satin finish. If you're not a stickler for originality then you can do base clear with whatever combo your heart desires but yes you can spray it over top of sanded and prepped oem paint.