Four States of Separation: Seeing Red in Tennessee (Post # 66)

Seeing Red in Tennessee

Tennessee Tim at Vintage Autocraft hopes to have the body and chassis finished in December.  The previous post talked about color, but what about the type of paint to be used?  Here is his explanation:

The Alfatross was originally painted in nitrocellulose lacquer which was introduced in European car paint by BASF (Glasurit-werkes) in 1925 and used until at least the late 1950s at which time acrylic lacquer became available. In order to retain originality, some restoration shops have used lacquer paint. However, the final outcome is not always met with long lasting success. I know of one early Bugatti which after being sprayed in lacquer was left in a transport vehicle overnight in sub freezing weather. Because of the sudden shift in temperature, the paint shattered resulting in a complete re-spray. 

The goal with The Alfatross is to use new technology in BASF acrylic urethane yet make it look as originally painted by Zagato in nitro lacquer.  Having worked with original nitro lacquer and knowing what it should look like, I have developed a process to achieve the correct original look using the newer paint without the limitations of 1920s technology. Besides, lacquer is hard to come by, is toxic and flammable, and is technically illegal to use in the automotive industry.

The steel frame of the driver's door.  Rust abounds in the
panel at the bottom.  Corrosion protection was non-
existent at this time.  Tim Marinos.

Tim has been working on The Alfatross for almost a year now.   The steel chassis needed a lot more work than I thought.  In many cases, the condition of the chassis and steel framework inside the doors, hood, and boot lid necessitated removing the aluminum skin to get at the corroded steel. Various bits and pieces of steel and aluminum had to be removed and replaced with exact reproductions.  Recent examples of this kind of work are the doors and hood.  

The aluminum skin of the driver's door after removing the
steel frame.  Tim Marinos

Tim at work on mating the restored steel frame to the
hood.  Tim Marinos.

The completed hood going back on The Alfatross.  Tim
Marinos.

Of course Tim still has a few hundred hours of work left to do.  Tim's job is the most critical right now because until he's finished the rest of the work has no sense of urgency.  Once he's finished the ball will be back in my court.  I can pick The Alfatross up and trailer it back to Santa Fe for installation of the suspension, steering, brakes, electrical harness, drive train, wheels and maybe even the engine. Then it's off to Derrick Dunbar at Paul Russell & Co. in Massachusetts for the interior.  

Derrick is hard at work on the interior even now, preparing the door panels, package shelf under the rear window, and seats in advance of The Alfatross' arrival.  More on that in the next post: "Seeking and Hiding in Massachusetts."