New floorboards painting...help!

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Bill Everett
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New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Bill Everett » Sat May 04, 2019 12:27 pm

Pictured are the old, blue floorboards as well as the body of the '11 Touring.

Also pictured are the new floorboards.

I don't know what type paint to use, what process (brush, roll, or spray), or the color's part number.

Any input is appreciated.

Thanks.
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Model T Blue Floorboards Bailey.jpg
Model T Floorboards-1.jpg


Scott_Conger
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Scott_Conger » Sat May 04, 2019 12:53 pm

Bill, I am curious as to why you would discard original floorboards for new ones? My oldest car is a '13. I would never in a million years substitute a new part for an old one if it was safe and serviceable, and floorboards are not a safety item like a spindle pin. Additionally, I have a survivor '15 which was bought from the original owner in 1960 and stored in an air-conditioned garage until I bought it a few years ago. The last owner replaced the top which frankly was a crime, in my opinion. This car is a near-perfect survivor with great original paint and everything else...except for a nice tight shiny top and that is really too bad.
Last edited by Scott_Conger on Sat May 04, 2019 12:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Henry K. Lee
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Henry K. Lee » Sat May 04, 2019 12:57 pm

To each is own, but I am with Scott unless they were reproduced incorrectly.

All the Best,

Hank

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Mark Gregush
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Mark Gregush » Sat May 04, 2019 1:04 pm

If you look close the middle board, the pieces that make up the slots are missing, the fingers. Along with a bad cut under the brake pedal.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Rich Eagle
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Rich Eagle » Sat May 04, 2019 1:13 pm

I like to brush urethane on the bare wood. Let it dry, scuff it and brush over it with a slow drying enamel or spray with acrylic enamel or a favorite type you use on steel but not a lacquer base or anything that would lift the urethane. The urethane likes the wood and lets other paints stick to it. This has worked for me for 50 some years.
Others have their favorite methods and will surely post them here.
Rich
When did I do that?


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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Scott_Conger » Sat May 04, 2019 1:15 pm

Which is repairable with little effort and still retain the original part.

I am by nature a conservator and caretaker of my cars and my furniture. The next generation is free to chop/channel my cars and Shabby Chic our antique furniture. I just won't do it for them! And if they actually do, I plan to come back to haunt them.
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Peter, Memphis TN
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Peter, Memphis TN » Sat May 04, 2019 1:26 pm

I suspect a search of the archives would show that the factory 'washed' all floorboards with black something-or-other.

If I'm wrong about that, others will quickly correct me. If I'm right, the blue floorboards would have been a later change, and you could go either way.

If you want to absolutely copy the old ones, take one to a paint store (I prefer Sherwin-Williams), and their computer can read the color and mix you an absolute match in new paint.

Since you're starting with new wood, be sure to use an oil-based primer first. Primer is different from paint, and its purpose is to sink into the wood and form a seal with it, and then present a good surface for adhesion of the final coat. It can be tinted to match. It's a good idea to make it a shade lighter than the finish coat, so you can tell if you miss a place.

Also use an oil-based final coat (or two). The "sheen" is your choice. It comes from flat to glossy, or you can go with what is commonly known as "refrigerator gloss," which is a harder and shinier finish.

You've noticed that I specify oil-based paint. I won't bore you with all the details, but 25 years as a General Contractor taught me that Latex paint is NOT paint - it's akin to your wife's makeup, and cannot protect the wood or provide a surface that can withstand what a floorboard must withstand. Don't let any paint salesman tell you otherwise.

It's a good idea to do something to insulate part of the underside of the floorboards, where they pass quite close to the exhaust pipe. I've seen boards that were quite heavily charred in that area, and only by chance did they not catch fire and destroy the vehicle. As you pass by an A/C service truck parked in front of a house, stop and ask them if they have any scraps of foil-faced insulation lying around, You only need a couple of square feet. You can staple it in place after painting.

On the other hand, why not cover the floorboards with a period-correct floor mat?

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fbergski
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by fbergski » Sat May 04, 2019 2:38 pm

The floorboards in my 11 touring which I believe are original are not painted.

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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by david_dewey » Sat May 04, 2019 3:41 pm

If the other original boards are good, I think that I would only replace the one bad board--actually, knowing me, I'd patch the original board! :D
T'ake care,
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Mark Gregush » Sat May 04, 2019 3:43 pm

RE;"If you want to absolutely copy the old ones, take one to a paint store (I prefer Sherwin-Williams), and their computer can read the color and mix you an absolute match in new paint"
Not true. The scanner will only match to what is closest in its data bank and give the formula for that.
I know the voices aren't real but damn they have some good ideas! :shock:

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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Scott_Conger » Sat May 04, 2019 7:15 pm

Mark that is true (I think)

working on our old house over the years was an interesting experience in seat-of-the-pants matching. I'd get the best match they could give and then work an area...look at the color in different light during the day and then take the quart back for "1 part umber, 2 sienna, 1 black", etc. Usually took 2-3 trips to the Home Depot and each time the "kid" would say he didn't know how and the older guy would do what I wanted. Once everything painted correctly, I'd buy my volume of paint. Did this on walls that needed to be spotted and sections of woodwork that had been restored. Takes some color knowledge, perserverence, and luck. Only lost 1 quart to error, though there were a few that were VERY full before the match happened!

Remember when EVERYTHING was matched by eye??
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by John kuehn » Sun May 05, 2019 8:48 am

Did the early T’s have floor mats? As far as paint on the floorboards in that era I think it probably was from overspray or a simply a quick coat of what was handy. Just my opinion of course.

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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Susanne » Sun May 05, 2019 12:10 pm

Peter, Memphis TN wrote:
Sat May 04, 2019 1:26 pm
... It's a good idea to do something to insulate part of the underside of the floorboards, where they pass quite close to the exhaust pipe. I've seen boards that were quite heavily charred in that area, and only by chance did they not catch fire and destroy the vehicle. As you pass by an A/C service truck parked in front of a house, stop and ask them if they have any scraps of foil-faced insulation lying around, You only need a couple of square feet. You can staple it in place after painting.
The floorboards on my car had a piece of asbestos cloth on the underside where the exhaust pipe ran underneath. I was able to find a chunk of similar asbestos cloth (from a recycled building materials place) when the old stuff finally disintegrated, but if this one goes, I'm not sure what I'll do to replace it - maybe fiberglass cloth? I know unprotected (seeing the damage on other T's from not having that area protected) the wood will char. And I'd rather not have that extreme a heater in the winter!!!


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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Peter, Memphis TN » Sun May 05, 2019 4:19 pm

Mark, you used to be correct, that the computers only found the closest match. Today, however, they can do an exact match. Essentially it's an infinite-choice machine.

They also know that a different mix of colorants is required for each type of base.

As for Home Depot, not only "the kid" doesn't know how - their machine is a 'closest match' machine.

Susanne: the idea is to either reflect the heat, or to insulate the wood from it -- preferably both. A foil-faced batt of fiberglass or other insulating material does both. As a last resort, you could just tack a piece of aluminum sheet to the bottom of the floorboard, and that would reflect radiant heat.


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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by Scott_Conger » Sun May 05, 2019 5:53 pm

Peter

that is excellent info!

won't likely use the info anytime soon as I've traded our old traditional home for a cabin, and it's interior colors are varnish, varnish, and varnish. :D
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Re: New floorboards painting...help!

Post by SurveyKing » Mon May 06, 2019 8:56 am

Bill, I just asked Jonathan Anderson, who makes them, what he recommended to replicate the original as close as practical. He suggested one coat of black epoxy primer, matt finish brushed on to get the original translucent type finish. That is for my 1924, so would guess black was used for earlier models also?

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