opinions on a quality low cost paint for those of us on a budget. rustoleum professional, stuff at the auto parts stores, etc. any opinions or experiences would be of great help. only want to paint this 27t once. gloss black.
Rarely can you use the works quality and low cost in the same sentence. If its going to be gloss black, spend all your time in prep and making sure the panels are flat. Otherwise, lost cost or high cost gloss black paint will look bad if not prepped right.
Friends of mine have used the paint systems from Summit with good results. Like anything else, it all about the prep when it comes to a good paint job. KK
i've been using viking paint made here in mpls. 2 gallons of epoxy primer is 160 bucks as opposed to 90 a quart from the big boys. i do not know about shipping, i'm close by, but google up viking. epoxy paint about the same price. really nice epoxy satin black, looks just like the frame on a new pickup-not shiny, not flat. and, the primer is sandable-no clogging up the paper
Nason is Dupont's(axalta) lower priced paint line. It doesn't always match the chromabase paint chip, but it's a small price to pay for avoiding the Chromabase price. The good news: the Nason clearcoat is awesome. It sprays like butter, sands easily, a fourth of the price of Dupont clear,and has held up well on the cars that I've used it on. If you are going to paint black, go single stage paint. It actually looks deeper than BC/CC black. You don't have to worry about buffing through the clear, and you don't have to buy any clear.
Cheap and good and good and cheap.....this is a common question on here....all the major paint companies make a "value line"...you don't think Summits making paint do ya? PPG, Axalta, BASF, Akzo, Sherwin....all have a value line...
Every manufacturer carries an affordable product. Check with your local body shop supply companies. Quality paint systems are not going get you a $200.00 paint job. A driver paint job will run $1000.00to $1200.00 for fillers, paper, primers and top coats. Show quality will run thousands. As far as Summit's stuff , ask your local auto paint rep about their acylic enamel Fleet chart . Same stuff. I been at this 40 years and I know one thing for sure. Quality driver Black and inexpensive do not go hand and hand. Larry
Prep is everything. Just make sure that the base primer/sealer is compatible with your top coat. You can get in trouble when you mix and match base materials and top coats. I believe that Summit brand is Sherwin-Williams. Also check out Wanda or Matrix brands. 2X on using the single stage for black. I would stay away from the tractor store or rustoleum brands unless your making a shiny "rat"....in that case have at it.
i have found with the "cheaper" paints, that you can get decent results but at the extra cost of labor. slower dry times, harder sanding, odd buffing characteristics. i can shoot ppg concept like glass but if it needs to be nubbed and buffed it is easy to work with.
Ask Paintguru he's on the HAMB. I believe he is a chemist and designs paint products. VERY knowledgable.
check out eastwood i did a car gasser green 3 years ago and i was happy. it was only 120. for the kit at the time i think theyve gone up since then
Look into southern polyurethanes inc. great product and great prices. They have very few colors but the clear and primers is worth using either way
I will now let the "proverbial" Cat out of the Bag ! ! ! P.P.G. - Delfleet Essentials is the Commercial line of Polyurethane for Commercial (Over the road trucks) - (ie. like Imron). It is a very good product at a very reasonable price. I would suggest researching this product in Single Stage Gloss Black. P.P.G. product code = (ESSS Single Stage Polyurethane Enamel DFE-20). Good luck with the paint job. VR&C.
a cheaper way to do it is use shop line base/ppg (usually about a 100$ ) however i usually use a concept 3000 or 4000 clear regardless ($300-400). the southern poly clear however is pretty good sprayed it a couple of times. Also the concept (again ppg) single stage is very good and thats what i will be using on my car. All brands usually spray about the same when it is all said and done and usually have about the same price line. 99% of the paint work is in the paint prep/body prep, however be sure that you have great ventilation and good water trap. There is a reason why shops charge thousands to paint a car because the tools aint cheap.
I get the prep and labor costs. But why is certain paint $300 a gallon or whatever? What the hell is "in" that stuff that is so fricking valuable??
Its that high because paint companies know what the market will bear. Every paint company had at least a 4% price increase last year but solvent went down, resin went down, and shipping cost went down this year, so they screw every body yet so many people dont care. I am still using my 2012 price sheet because there hasn't been a increase on my end. Now there are certain things that go into the product that cost a lot, but more on the pigment side, not so much on the clear coat side. Blacks are one of those pigments that can get expensive, the way its ground, the solvents that are in it and the resin it gets suspended in can give it a gray or reddish cast. To the question of the thread, there are a lot of inexpensive ways to paint. However a lot of inexpensive coatings do not last. Most any major line inexpensive or value line, is not a durable product. I have seen loss of gloss in as little as 6 months with a majority of box store paint lines. Will a typical person see the loss of gloss? No. But I have tested most every line available in the US market. We have ran extreme weather testing and UV test. If you would like recommendation please pm me. I can tell you that some of the worst performing lines have been mentioned on this thread, but good ones have been mentioned to. If I can help just let me know.
The Rustoluem thing has been talked about here many times, one thing I can say about it is don't do it. The paint will fade and you will have to repaint and if you repaint you will want to remove all of the rustoluem. I just painted my tudor with TCP Global Laquer and it came out nice, easy to spray, easy to rub out, not bad for the price. BUT not as good as the old school laquer from many years ago. One other think don't use the el-cheap-o swap meet high fill primer. it does not stick to the steel very good. One other thing, I painted a couple of panels on my daughters car about 7 years ago, got the paint from NAPA that was some nice paint also. not too pricey.
Agree with paintguru, the low priced major paint lines, do not last long. They are not made to last long. They're made for places like Maaco, and for used car lots to freshen up (temporarily) an older car that isn't worth a lot. Yeah, they look good out of the gun, but in a short time, they break down. When anyone I did a job for, was looking for a lower cost (not cheap, won't do them!) paint, I use a good brand acrylic enamel, WITH a hardener. Relatively lower cost, but still very durable, easy to spray, and you can even buff them and look great. I did a 63 Galaxy for my old boss, and he told the customer that we were going to do it in black lacquer. Years later, I saw him, and he wanted me to touch it up, and I broke the news to him. No one ever disputed him when he said it was lacquer, as it was sanded and buffed.
This is what we used on my coupe, purchased from my local O'Reilly Sent from my SM-G920V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Ah yes, the dream of all dreamers, show winning paint for hardware store prices. Durability is as much care and exposure as it is chemical make up, in a very broad and simplified sense. Over 20 years ago I sprayed the cheapest Omni black and air dry clear available on a snowmobile. It still looks good, but I cleaned it up every year, and it doesn't spend 40 hrs a week exposed on a parking lot. Preparation, as mentioned already, will also have much to do with final quality and duration because the substrates are also important when looking for durability. UV rays go through the final top coat so serious efforts toward the lowest mil thickness possible will net longer life. I won't bother with too much chatter about make up and such, but I've value line color on serious vehicles with no ill effects. The time and money was spent on prep, low mil thickness, and quality clear. There's an expert in the field on this topic. Listen to his input and you won't go wrong.
Southern Polyurethane-SPI has some great stuff especially there 2 part Primer has pot life of 72hrs. high build ,built in guide coat, guarantee water barrier up to 2 years, you can buy it by the quart online , I have used DuPont, PPG, AKZO NOBEL ,MATRIX with good results I met a PPG Tech that tried SPI and got hooked! if it is only Black single stage may be the way to go, its easy to polish with out fear of breaking through top coat as on 2 stage paint
try Tamco paints...ive been reading and checking out their clears and primers...looks like quality stuff...very limited on actual colors though....
A second vote for PPG Delfleet-easy to work with, commercial grade polyurethane. Single stage or base clear either way =good results
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