I am preparing my classic ford for painting. What type of paint should I use? Enamel, Lacquer, what? Any other suggestions?
I wouldn't recommend lacquer, i know its what they used way back when but its not as durable. I'd just go with basic bc/cc using whatever brand that is in your price range.
Neither of the 2 you mention unless it was 1970 and 1980....you can get a good value bc/cc system in any of the big paint Mfgs lines and still get a good quality product for a "hobby" car....I.e usually in a garage,not driven in winter, on salted roads, etc
Single stage is horrible. Your local $500 paint job shops do ss. Ss looks milky, and if you plan on a cut n buff polish ss isn't an option. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Not true at all....I did a nice nonmetallic orange with PPG concept SS urethane and it was outstanding even got some best paint awards. They key to a good SS job is to give yourself enough product to sand and buff. The other thing is to get on it as soon as it's in it's window. I would use SS especially that product again on a non metallic job in a heart beat!
Single stage lacquer and enamel are traditional. Look at all the newer cars that have a 2 stage paint job. They develop a white hazing because the clear coat breaks down.
I see way too many problems with cars painted with 2 stage.... clear coat hazing and peeling. May be OK up north, but in the heat in Texas it doesn't last near as long as a good SS paint. Prepped right and like was mentioned, apply enough material to wet sand and buff it out and even a driveway paint job can look great.
Solid color in single stage urethane (PPG Concept or equivalent). Use plenty of material and it will cut and buff just fine. If you're feeling ballzy just add a little clear to your last two coats and it will blow away a base/clear job every time.
I'm stuck in the past, I use acrylic enamel. But I'm not a painter. To get more useful answers, you might want to let us know who is doing the painting. You or someone else? if someone else is doing it, ask them what they want to use. If you're doing it, you're going to need to learn a lot more before you're ready to buy paint.
Single stage is horrible. Your local $500 paint job shops do ss. Ss looks milky, and if you plan on a cut n buff polish ss isn't an option. I see way too many problems with cars painted with 2 stage.... clear coat hazing and peeling. May be OK up north, but in the heat in Texas it doesn't last near as long as a good SS paint S.S. wont buff out shiny ? B/C hazes and peels in the sun. Do ANY of you guys actually paint for a living, or are you ( as I guess) internet painters spreading stories you've heard or saw your buddy's Earl Shibe job turn into. Total bullshit being spread here by a few. A few other obviously know what the hell they are talking about. S.S. is perfectly fine and will sand and buff out beautifully and deep provided you know what you are doing. B.C. looks just as beautiful and will hold up better. S.S. is going to be less chip; resistant, and requires more upkeep ( keeping it clean, waxing, buffing and waxing if it chalks form not keeping it clean and waxedup etc ) whereas B/C is much more forgiving when it comes to rock chips, keeping it clean etc Cheap out on EITHER and you will get poor results either immediately or long term Lack of experience and you will get poor results immediately or long term yeah lacquer is beautiful but it never actually sets up. It will always be reactivated by thinner in the future ( great for blending ) but after years of exposure it cracks because it continues to shrink. I'm sure you've all seen this. The red pic is some of that shitty single stage that can't be wet sanded and buffed shiny. And the black pic is that crappy base clear that hazes and flakes off in the sun. Too much interweb bullshit going on
What Scottb said is right on, look how many cars from the factory are released with bc/cc finishes, all the sparkly cars you see. I guess that's why body work and paint costs so much, you're paying for experience and expertise of someone that does it and deals with the products every day and know what judgement calls they can make and get away with. If a clear coat system fails you don't know the story, they could have cheaped out on product and clear coated it outside the window or used customer supplied products (cheaper) against advice (which often isn't actually cheaper, decent paint is actually the cheapest part of a paint job when you factor in time), it coulda been one of those now famous "flips" that's only meant to last a week, also, it's not like your hobby car will live out in the hot Texas sun, it's gonna get driven on nice days only and garaged so it won't peel, the paint on my DD jappa is fucked, but only because it's 25yrs old and I don't care about it
Haha carefully consider what you're saying and that you get what you pay for, a $500 bog and slop shop is your basis for quality on all direct gloss finishes?? Dam! Do you expect one of them jobs to look a million dollars and last for what they charge??
You can't beat good old Dupont Centari acrylic enamel. It sand and buffs extremely well and you don't have to do it right away like some clear coats. On my ' 36 I used Sherwin Williams 2nd Dimension acrylic enamel and it's as good as Centari if not better.
It's only as good as what you want to spend!!!! There are pros and cons to both proseceses!! regardless how you go.... If you buy cheap shit expect cheap results!!! Personally... If your allowed to shoot it.. I'd go with imron!!!
Ive done many beautiful single stage jobs... Give it a longer to dry before you wet sand and buff... And I dont like doing metalics or pearls as single stage... but for a solid color ss is my go to... But if you want your job to last use good materials, and remember your paint job is only as good as what its painted on... dont paint on an iffy surface... I like DBC (base/clear) with Vibrance clear.... Or DCC, all PPG paints...
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