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Ten Questions With KC Mathieu of KC’s Paint Shop


KC Mathieu: KC’s Paint Shop, Ft. Worth, TX

We hope you enjoyed Ten Questions with Troy Trepanier. For RideTech’s second “Ten Questions With…” article, we bring you into the world of painter and car builder KC Mathieu, the owner of KC’s Paint Shop. KC’s work ethic and enthusiasm are unstoppable.  Though he’s done the “Fast N’ Loud” TV show thing, KC is humble and his builds are accessible and built to drive. Look for RideTech to showcase more up and coming builders like KC in future “Ten Questions With…” articles.

Here’s KC Mathieu with his signature socks doing an interview at SEMA 2016. The truck behind him will be at the center of a soon-to-be-released action video.

RideTech: How did you get involved in the industry?

KC: I grew up helping my dad in his body shop in Crowley, Texas. I loved working there so much, I even rode the bus that dropped me off there after school.  I did my first all-over paint job at 12 years old and that lead to side jobs through high school and until I opened my own place.

Way back in season 1 of Fast N’ Loud, KC painted this maroon ’32 Ford 3-Window coupe. The traditional vibe helped it sell well at Worldwide Auctions.

RideTech: After all the Fast N’ Loud TV builds, is there one car from the show that you would like to have in your garage?

KC:  I would love to have my hands on the ’32 Ford 3-window coupe that we built in season one. Coolest car we did on the show!

RideTech: As a painter, what is the number one mistake you see when re-painting a vehicle?

KC:  Poor prep — Not cleaning properly before laying down paint. A lot of people don’t take the necessary precautions when painting a vehicle; there is a lot more to it than just spraying paint. Prep is key and having a clean car and environment is vital.

 

KC’s desire to be a trendsetter started at a very early age. The sock movement is coming!

RideTech: What’s up with the knee-high colorful socks?

KC:  Life-long sock game- the pic above proves it.

 

KC still owns his first vehicle. This 68 F100 was originally built on Fast N’ Loud, but KC took it apart for upgrades after the show.  He’s taking it apart again to build a full custom chassis.

RideTech: There seems to be a trend with your personal builds… trucks. Could you name a favorite?

KC: My green truck of course! My 1968 F100. I have owned this truck since I was 14. My dad had a 1967 while I was growing up. Since originally building it on Fast N’ Loud, I have pretty much re-built the truck… minus the paint. Boxwood Green is the truck’s original color. I really want to re-design the truck and do a custom chassis, so it may look different next time you see it.

KC learned a thing or two about promoting yourself, your business, and your builds by letting it all hang out. Look for his fun, colorful videos on his YouTube channel.

RideTech: We see some fancy driving in a few of your YouTube videos. Are you self-taught or do you have a stunt double?

KC:  Ha, stunt double? Heck no, that’s me. I love to drive!  Little do some know, but I’ve been driving on tracks and doing autocross since I was a youngster. I actually won a couple trophies too — One for “best burn out” when I was only 15 years old, lol.

KC’s Paint Shop earned its reputation by laying down amazing paintwork on real-world cars that you might own, like the gorgeous paint on this awesome truck built by ScotRods Garage.

RideTech: Over the years you have been in the presence of several famous people, who’s your favorite?

KC:  Man, I have been so lucky to meet some bad ass people. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but I’ve looked up to Charley Hutton for a really long time so meeting him was really cool. It was good to learn that he’s a really nice guy. It sucks when your heroes turn out to be jerks.

RideTech: If you had to do it over again, would you still start your own shop?

KC:  When the wife and I started KC’s Paint Shop in 2008 it was tough… like any business owner knows, you pretty much live on a passion. I was lucky enough to know a lot of car people to keep the work coming in. We do quality work. That has always helped to build our reputation. Fast N’ Loud was a huge break, but we put our business on hold. I was working seven days a week for the show. I gained a lifetime of exposure in only 3 ½ years. I knew we would end up right back where we started with our business. There is nothing like working for yourself, though. This time only bigger and better.

This 1957 Chevy is scheduled to debut at the 2017 SEMA Show. It will be painted a shade of green that is so dark, it will appear black except in direct sunlight.

RideTech: What’s next… Any cool house cars coming down the pipe?

KC:  We’ve got so many awesome builds we are working on right now. I’m most excited to finish up this one of a kind 1966 International 1100A and for our 1957 Bel Air that we are taking to SEMA 2017.

This 1969 Camaro received a flawless Hugger Orange paint job followed by some pro-touring upgrades.

RideTech: As a shop owner, what advice would you have for the consumer looking to get his car painted?

KC: Don’t be fooled by a cheap job- you get what you pay for, and this work takes time to do correctly. We’ve re-done several builds from other shops and nothing is worse than paying twice for the same work.

This ’49 Ford is 100% new underneath the skin. The patina really draws people in for a closer look.

RideTech: Your yellow ’49 Ford F1 pickup looks rough. Explain the build?

KC: The patina really draws people in. It’s one of our full ground-up builds. It’s very important for us to weld, fabricate and turn wrenches. The patina’d look really draws people in, Once they get close, the truck shows off all of the amazing new parts that are available for old cars and trucks like Dakota Digital, Roush Performance, and of course you guys — RideTech. It’s one of the best customs I’ve ever been in. Even driving 3600 mi to SEMA and back-I was never fatigued. It’s a better ride than my new truck!

For more information, visit KC’s Paint Shop HERE

3 thoughts on “Ten Questions With KC Mathieu of KC’s Paint Shop”

  2. Smitty says:

    I really liked your video of the walk-through of your beautiful shop. I can imagine how great it must be to have your own business and to be able to work for yourself. But I do realize as the boss the manager everything comes back on your shoulders. It must be such a relief to put everything in your time schedule and not having to deal with that ridiculous time schedule you had working at Gas Monkey Garage. Oh by the way I like seeing metal work as in chopping a top, putting in new floors, quarter panels things like that. Also when to use a MIG welder or when it would be better to use a TIG welder. Keep the viideos comming. I wish you and your family and all your employees the very best. Smitty

  3. Steve Anderson says:

    Hey Casey. I may house painter but have painted everything but a car I know you mentioned prep is everything do you have any advice for me as I am building at 32 Chevy that I had blasted and came out with virtually no rust just a few pinholes. How should I prep the metal before priming I’m sure I could look it up online and get multiple different answers but would love to hear from you. For the age of the car I was pretty impressed when I got it back from being blasted there’s no dance except for the previous owners well job as it has been chopped and channeled and whomever welded it back together did a shitty job any information would help. It’s awesome to see you own your own shop in our away from the gas monkey garage not that I don’t like them guys but your paint jobs are flawless and would love some kind of feedback good luck with your new shop

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