Back Corner Studios - a stunning beginning starts with a 1950 Merc

When SATANEWS last spoke with Josh Dobson over two years ago, he was working at a busy collision shop and had a home studio turning out complex custom paint and airbrush work on motorcycles and helmets.

As of July 2022, he had gone full time with his shop, Back Corner Studios. We caught up with the busy Josh at the recent Toronto Motorama in March. The Back Corner Studios booth was prominently featured in the main hall next to a stunning 1950 Mercury coupe that he had painted.

Back Corner Studios offers full restoration as well as custom paint services.

“I’m doing all the paint and body work along with minor fabrication. I have been working on full builds with Binbrook Speed & Custom, a traditional hot rod shop, they are respon¬sible for the major panel work, chassis, and drivetrain work. Binbrook will send me the car for final fitment, bodywork and paint.”

The classic Mercury was the company’s debut, Back Corner Studios first big restoration in the new shop. The Mercury retains its stock roofline, but Binbrook worked its magic adding a big block Ford bored out to 466 cubic inches and suspension upgrades bringing the ride height four inches closer to the pavement.

“We partnered with Binbrook, they wanted to show case their work at Motorama and allowed us to do the same.”

The Mercury received considerable attention for its clean resto mod design and perfect black paint work. Under the show lights the unique red and black pearl finish, created especially for the Mercury by Josh, could be studied, and appreciated.

“The customer wanted a black car but one that would appear red in the bright sunshine, highlighting all the curves and contours that Merc’s of that era have.
To create this in-house custom colour, I used some speed shapes to model just the right blend for the Mercury. I took two different pearls from the Sherwin-Williams Sunfire Line and then experimented with various percentages of the pearl and sprayed out the different versions, allowing the customer to select which colour he thought was best.”

Josh used SATA equipment throughout the refinish process, “for epoxy primer I used my SATAjet 4000 B RP with a 1.4 nozzle and a SATAjet 100 B F RP with a 1.8 nozzle for sealer.

Painting the Mercury was a bit of a challenge and quite a bit different than regular collision work. The car has a lot of curves, Josh explained and the panels are much larger, meaning more gun time, for a real work out and some sore shoulders.

Base coat was applied with a SATAjet 5000 B RP with a 1.3 nozzle, clear coat with a SATAjet X 5500 1.2 “I” and absolute¬ly nothing but SATA RPS cups - “that is how we get that great flow with no starvation.”

“I love matching the RPS system with my SATA guns and an adam 2. Everything is balanced perfectly while you are spray¬ing, even with a full cup.

SATA equipment is designed to work together, you can feel the quality design and engineering while you are painting. RPS helps prevent the fatigue you might get with other heavier cup systems, especially when you are using 0.9 liter cups full of base coat, clear or sealer.”

Josh also relies on SATA breathing protection in his shop:

"I have a SATA air vision 5000 and a SATA 284 series filter allowing me to breath clean compressed air. Proper breathing and skin protection was instilled in me from day one when I started painting in the late nineties. Lessons imparted at a family-owned collision shop where the owner never saw breathing protection as an unnecessary cost. He believed in investing in safety for his workers.
I spend a lot of time in the booth, and I don’t suffer the ill effects that others have, who didn’t enjoy the same oppor¬tunities.
I am truly fortunate to learn these lessons at a young age and it is why I have my health today. The apprentice that I have here now, is very aware of my thoughts about PPE and fresh air, so he has his own SATA breathing system."

Back Corner Studios is also well known for its custom paint and airbrush work.

“I want to do more of that, it’s a fun mix to go from restoration to custom work, whether it be metal flake designs, airbrush stencil designs or pinstriping,”

We joked that Josh just needs a full-size lowrider project to combine all his painting skills.

In the near future Back Corner Studios will be offering, custom airbrush training.

“I am teaming up with another custom painter, to offer classes. Come for a day, we can show you the tips, tricks and techniques to get the effects that we use in our custom paint work. Whether airbrushing “true fire”, skulls or lowrider graphics.“

What’s next in the shop, upcoming builds include a 1966 Chevy G10 van as well as a 1969 C10 long box, “we are doing everything, welding, some fabrication, body work and of course paint.”