70 Challenger grill repaint

[MEK-Dangerfield]

  Hello All,
   I just finished repainting a nice 70 Challenger grill I bought. It was already stripped, so I light sanded it, primered it, and painted it with organisol black paint. I have to say, that organisol black paint smells bad Anyway, my problem is that the paint seems too touchy. If I use my fingernail I can scratch it off again. What can I do to toughen it up? Would heating it a little with a heat gun help? Thanks for any replies

   Mike

[70Cuda]

Seems like a little clear might do the trick for you.  I'll probably be in the same situation so let me know what works for you.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

  I decided against the heat gun, figuring it would be too much and bubble the paint. I used a hair dryer instead. I went along very slowly, and kept a couple of fingers on the back side, just so I knew when it was hot enough to move on. It seemed to work some, but I wish there was a better way. I thought about the clearcoat and using a thin layer of non-glossy paint, but I'm afraid it might take away the texture feel from the paint. So basically I'm scared to try it out of fear of having to start over from square one.

   Mike

[Grancoupe]

Was this paint sprayed on with a gun or from a can? The reason for asking is that is sounds like there isn't any catalyst or hardening agent. If you mixed it yourself I'm thinking you may have not have put that in the paint? I would call the manufacturer if it came pre-mixed from a can. Good Luck

[70Cuda]

OK, on the clear deal, I see Eastwood (http://www.eastwoodco.com) has a satin (item no: 10300Z), semi gloss (item no: 10197 Z) and a gloss clear (Item No. - 10200 Z) so maybe one of those would still work for you.

Alternatively, if it's a problem with the organisol black not sticking to the metal, did you ever consider putting down a black etching primer (Item No. - 16114 Z) underneath and then top coating it?  Check out this Eastwood product that does exactly that for black trim - Item No. - 10042 Z.  Maybe adhesion is the real problem in your situation.

What companies black did you use?  I was planning on using http://www.totallyautoinc.com/paints.html for mine.  I see Herd's book on Barracuda and Challenger Restoration (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=30135339&loc=106) gives some Ditzler numbers for the original paint too.

[MEK-Dangerfield]

  Eureka, I think you hit on something!!! I used the spray paint from TotallyAuto, but I just used a general purpose primer before that. I'm guessing adhesion is my problem. Thanks for the tip.

   Mike