Dupli Color "paint shop" Lacquer. Any stories? Good? Bad??

Thinking of trying it (it's inexpensive, and the silver is the right color for the project).

Anybody have horror stories? Anyone use it and find that it's good stuff?

Is there something else I should use instead (keep in mind this will be done in a makeshift booth, so I'm limited to stuff a paint n00b can handle).

 

It gets the job done , it is thin and easy to spary for a novice.With that said, its not too glossy compared to a low end two part urethane clear. My brother races AFM superbike class and he use to use it on his race bikes. For the quickes I use valspar legacy 9660 clear. Its a high solids clear, it doesnt fade back on you, it is super easy to cut and buff and it blings just as nice as the high end stuff. Best part is that its only 107.00 dollars a gallon with hardner. U might want to give that a try.

 

I've sprayed the silver before. It's not bad as long as your expectations match the low price. I would put on at least 3 coats of clear to have plenty of depth for cut and buff. It's cheap enough to do a test spray. I would check Summit Racing's low cost paints also before spending $.

 

Hey,

You may wanna schek out some of the online paint supply sites as I'm told in some parts of the country you can still get Ditzler/PPG lacquer! Also check out Hemmings "Antique Motor News " for sites like Hibernia who sell nitricellous & acrylic lacquer. These ain't gonna be as cheap as parts store "dupe-colour'' but will shoot and cover much better, as well as hold up!

" Meanwhyle, back aboard The Tainted Pork "

 

Are those as "safe" to shoot as duplicolor? I will have a good respirator, but not a down draft booth (just gonna do a makeshift booth, which I've done before, but it's been a long time since i've painted anything).

 

Hey,

Let me put as simply as I can................there ain't nothin in automotive paint that's organic to the human body All solvents and fumes can and will hurt you if given the chance! PROTECT YOURSELF!

None of the lacquer based automotive finish products I've ever shot contained any of the hardners/acids that the epoxies, polyurethanes or urethanes do.

Use lots of good air movement, a good/well fit mask, and cover most of your skin, as every skin pore is a portal to your bloodstream/bodily organs!

" Humpty Dumpty was pushed "

 

Ha Ha!

This is very true but back when I learned the ropes I was taught by old timers. This is how I learned how to chop, pie cut, lead work, candies, crushed glass etc.

Yep everything I know I learned from all the old guys including their bad habits like not wearing a mask. Back when I use to do paintwork you wouldn't even give it a second thought about grabbing a paint or primer gun and start spraying lacquer without a mask.

Yep painted for years with no mask and not one bit of dain bramage!

Man how the times have changed.

 

My wife cringes every time I talk about blowing out brake drums or clutch dust from bellhousings...

All the things we do in pursuit of this hobby....guess we'll all make it somehow!

Anyhow-I'm looking into the other types of paint mentioned here. I know "you get what you pay for", so while I'm cheap, I don't want this to look like A$$ (for any reason other than my own ability to spray isn't exactly pro).

 

Most PPG distributors can still mix lacquer.
Lacquer (no matter who makes it) sprays nice, touches up well, and is easy to work with.
It's not a real hard paint though.
I am really becoming fond of the PPG's Shopline Poly,
alot like lacquer to work with.
Can be used single stage, or wet sanded & cleared plus it's a polyurethane so it's tough.
And BTW - they can flatten it too.
It's priced good too.

 

I used semi-gloss black to do my dash and all the metal in my Falcon interior. I don't remember if it was lacquer but I used 12 cans and hand rubbed it and it looked exactly like it did when it was new from Ford. It really looks nice and I keep it waxed. Hope that helps. Jim

 

We used the gloss black to finish out some repair damage on a friend's OT car. It wasn't black though, it was a semi-dark gray. It was obvious with the fender on a stand before we even mounted it on the car that it wasn't black enough. Obviously if you're buying cheap paint you're not trying to match anything, so go for it. It sprays real easy.

 

i used to finish woodwork and it involved spraying laq. most of the time. sometime i would 30-40 mins. before i realize the gun was empty. wear a mask at the very least and make sure it fits tight.

 

Dupli-Color lacquer requires a clear coat and is expensive when compared to Restoration Shop or Paint for Cars. You will also have a larger selection of colors than you do with Dupli-Color. Here are the links
http://www.tcpglobal.com/restorationshop/rspcolors.aspx
http://www.paintforcars.com/acrylic_lacquer_paint.html

 

Thanks for the links!

I'll check these sites out.

My understanding of lacquer is that it's a bit more prone to chipping, and requires a lot of polishing/work to get a shine, but it's fairly easy to spray.

Outside of lacquer, is there another paint that's safe for painting at home (without a down draft booth)? I have always been under the impression that some of the newer paints should only be sprayed in a proper booth, due to the vapors.

I will be wearing a full suit and a respirator, I just won't have a proper booth (going to make a "booth" based off of threads I've read on here and elsewhere).

 

what are you painting?
what end result are you looking for?
with the coverage your going to get from a quart of the premixed stuff
and the fact that you hve to clear ver it you might be cheaper looking to the shopline stuff
( dang ) did I say use the real stuff ...
I'm a cheapskate and painted my truck with rustoleum like the way I was taught to paint farm equipment
search threads on here you will find multiples of paint work done with valspar from (tractor supply) and rusteoleum from hardware stores
I painted my f 100 for less than $75 bucks and from 5 foot away you cant tell it from hot rod flatz
I have sprayed gloss rustoleum and buffed it had the same shine as a 2 stage enamel

 

Only person I know who has used duplicolor lacquer had poor results however I knowing him,,,,I would not hesitate to try the stuff,,maybe test on a smaller item..As far as painting on the cheap I used some ALLCOLOUR tm. to paint the inside of a truck box,,now this brand of enamel could be sprayed on a vehicle as the setup time was unusually fast..I had thinned with white gas for a flattened finish

 

Shopline is crap. it sprays super easy and shines real nice. but its hard to buff and after a year it peels and cracks off. I have been painting for a while now and trust me, its not fun having to rip your car apart every other year to respray it. Im not saying I dont do quality work, what I mean is I am a cheap ass too and it took a few years to realize what was worth using and what wasnt. I am self taught, and if u listen to what they tell you at the paint store, you are gonna get screwed half the time. When shop line was first available we ( the local ppg distibutor and I) used it to do my wifes s600. We used it as a demo car for a trade school class here in town. It looked real nice, but a year later it had dull spots and started splitting and spider cracking. Worse part was that I had to hear it from wife about how shitty it looked. I had to strip it and respray the entire car. Shop line is decent for bumpers and spot repair, but DO NOT SPRAY YOUR ENTIRE CAR WITH IT. Bang for ur buck you cant beat valspar legacy clear, if you have a couple extra bucks then go transtar euro, for super nice and long lasting durable shine house of kolor is best. I live in northern california and am stuck with a 2.5 voc restriction, so if u are in another state I guarantee you can get better stuff than I can. My .02

 

Me and my buddy were planning to do his 65 mustang with this paint... Had a few people tell me it was good but now I'm reconsidering...

on youtube theres a demonstration of it but the video was put out by duplicolor so its probably not too credible

 

I'm planning on spraying a '65 barracuda.

Looking to get a nice shine, and from what I've read lacquer has great shine, but poor durability and is labor intensive to buff.

I am now looking at other paints, since it seems like nobody really likes lacquers now.

I have an OT '72 chev pickup to practice on first, and then would like to paint the 'cuda...and finally, after those two-I'm hoping that I will have figured out enough to do a decent job on my '54 Olds (waiting till last to paint it, because it's the most important to me to look right).

 

Any paint is unhealthy but lacquer is easy to spray at home. I am painting my 51 AD truck in lacquer that I bought from the restoration shop. My dad helped me paint my first car in Lacquer, which was a 55 Nomad. This was back in 1979 and it looked great and held up well. And I drove everyday.
I sprayed 8 coats, color only (no clear) colorsanding each coat with 1500 sandpaper. When I spray my truck in June, I will spray 4 coats of color and 4 coats of clear. Then I will wait 1 month before I rub it out by hand.
A couple of notes. If you desire the satin look then don't rub out the lacquer and no clear. I did this with my Nomad. The bottom was Aqua and rubbed out. The top was white and not rubbed out so it had a satin look. Also, Larry Waston swore by Lacquer. Called all other paints crap.
Good luck.

 

Well,
this has restored some of my faith in spraying lacquer. I do intend for all of this to be glossy, but that's neat to know that I can get a satin look.

It sounds like going with a higher quality line of paints, and spraying lacquer, will give me something to learn/work with without breaking my wallet.

 

I used some black and clear to repair my son's fiance's Tahoe bumper.

The good - it sprays like lacquer, dries fast, no mixing. buffed out real nicely. Easy.

The bad - four months later the clear is stone chipping real badly. It is not something that holds up well on the front bumper of a new car.

I would use it again, but I prefer the regular urethane base/clear for durability.

 

it will be a learning experience and it will be work with all the color sanding and final rub out. If you do use a power polisher, don't put pressure (press down) and tape all the edges before you start. And if you mess up somewhere, colorsand, spray some more color on the area (not the whole car) and rub out again. When you colorsand, sand light, no pressure. clean with Paint thinner (mineral spirits) and a soft rag (cloth diaper, Microfiber, etc...) final wipe with a tack rag and spray your next coat. It's Work, but you will be able to say you did it yourself. Don't forget to post some pics.

 

I've used it a couple of times and I too was spraying with no real booth. It sprays and lays down well but it is thin and requires more coats than other lacquers. Lacquer works good for me because of the dust that inevitably creeps into "no booth " paint jobs. I put 8 or 9 coats on last time and wet sanded until smooth and then hand rubbed. it turned out well. Go for it!

 

I recently painted my dirt modified with Dupli Color chrome yellow lacquer and was pleased with results. By the way I sprayed it outside in the driveway.

 

Those look decent.

I guess I'll have to get to work now. Sounds like a lacquer job at home is not as bad as the rest of the internet has made it sound.

Certainly seems like I'll be doing lots of sanding, but I've got time to work, just not lots of money to work with so that's not too big of a deal.

 

Pardon the FNG type question, but what does taping the edges do?

 

there is very little paint on the edges and if you use a polisher (sometimes even when hand rubbing) you will end up removing the paint. The tape helps protect the edges during the rub out process. You always want to go easy around the edges.

 

On edges you can cut through the paint very fast. Putting tape on them helps prevent this.

 

Thanks!