Technical Is it still OK to paint a car with Acrylic Enamel?

Hope it's still OK. I get the gun out every decade or so. Gettin' ready to do the new bed for the OT daily pick-m-up. I've had good luck with NAPA's Crossfire line in the past. Hope I still 'got it'....

 

I guess my reason for starting the thread is based on the fact I've never applied Urethane, and the Urethane I've seen has an orange peel or "Cellulite' look to it that can't be removed by block sanding. I did turn out award winners with Acrylic Enamel and wondered why it isn't the first choice any more. Bob

 

Nobody welds with a torch any more, either.

 

What gets done the most depends on what is being touted today. I remember Rustoleum being the real deal a few years back. Red wheels, bench seats out of a mini van, school bus seats. We jump from one what is best to another.

End of the day most of it is not really better it is just different.

 

What's wrong with Enamel and a Hot Plate?

 

Nothing wrong with acrylic enamel. Everyone has a different preference as far as looks go. I shoot a lot of BC/CC urethane because it's tough and pretty well stain resistant. It's more work to get them slick, but they are resistant to most chemicals. I don't know who sanded and rubbed the first car, seems as though it was a manufacturer way back when. Maybe not even sanded just rubbed. All these paints, synthetic, acrylic, urethanes everything was for high production cars. WE the do it yourselfers demanded sanded and rubbed cars. If my car was going to sit out a lot, I would not put acrylic enamel on it. The closest thing to lacquer I have used is single stage urethane. Shoot it, block sand it and give it a couple more coats then sand and buff the crap out of it. If you have a booth, are good, the conditions and reducers are correct, I have seen some beautiful jobs with all kinds of paints. You can shoot any paint on slick and it's a piece of cake to sand and polish or you can put it on orange peelie and make a ton of work for yourself. But no, nothing wrong with acrylic enamel w/hardener, No hardener is a nightmare to repair or polish. Takes a long time to cure. Have fun, Lippy

 

Jim the reason I don't weld with a torch anymore is I can't find any coat hangers worth a shit anymore. Lippy

 

I like Limco acrylic enamel, good results for the cost, but a friend of mine got some PPG single stage Urethane black to do my roadster with and it turned out really nice too, it looks "right" to me.

Clear is great to bury loads of metalflakes until they're flat, all the products have their place, I guess it's more about what period you're shooting for, or what effect you want the paint to have, (or just what you can afford) that would be the deciding factor.

 

[QUOTE Jim the reason I don't weld with a torch anymore is I can't find any coat hangers worth a shit anymore.
I use bailing wire works good.
Think about TIG torch has a electric arc and you add filler, just like a oxygen/acetaline has a torch with a flame and you add filler.

 

Jeez, and people think I am sarcastic...

 

But I do admire folks that have that technique. Got to start practicing it. But this is a paint thread so never mind.

 

I used Centari back in the 70's and early 80's until I found Super Max. But then that went away and I starting using PPG Concept, but I've heard that is now gone too. I really liked the DCC9000 Urethane that my coupe was shot with. Black as Black can be

 

My Nova was completely blasted, DP90'd and shot with Ditzler/PPG Delstar acrylic enamel/Delglow clear by a friend in the mid 80's.
IIRC he said it got real hard overnight which seems opposite of what some have said. It was just roughed in because he understood it was to be a long term project and still has never been finished.
It seems to me that it chips to the grey primer very easy if bumped, as if brittle.

 

Is acrylic enamel generally more brittle than urethane?

 

speaking of rust in peace... ( my non hamb friendly 68.)
time for some paint.

 

Just 10 hrs sanding and buffing would bring the level up a few notches.
40 hrs cutting and buffing would get your finish to the best it can be. If the underling surfaces are good, the paint job will look high dollar.

 

Shot an old Shasta 63 camper with Sherwin-Williams latex (two tone) two years ago. Still looks great. Time will tell. Didn't have the effect of blowing my skirt up though. Coverall prevented that.

 

LOL After the jenny jumped her stall and started following me around at the state fair my missus started weighting my hems.

Back in the '70s an acquaintance had a gallon of DuPont acrylic and a 60 Bug. he didn't have a compressor but he had a dime bag and a paint roller. He ended up with a fuzzy blue bug, the hippy chicks were really diggin' it.

 

See, that's the thing...I don't want it to look high dollar.

Also, the underlying surfaces are not all that good. A really nice finish would show the low spots more!

 

Model As were sanded and polished. All Packards were through 1947 (my last dealer info). Lincoln Continentals were sanded and polished from the postwar years through 1970 or 71.

Chemical resistance is a huge reason, not to mention cost. SS 'thanes cost less than acrylic enamel, at least within the PPG lines, and, And, AND, most single stage 'thanes will "handle" like enamel anyway. Too heavy? Add 10-20% solvent and get where YOU like to be. Need a touch up? Won't lift on the edges like un-catalyzed base, lacquer (sometimes) or the worst culprits of the past, acrylic enamel if it wasn't catalyzed either ( as bad as synthetic enamel). Longevity is another consideration. At any given time all of these producers will drop a product line. Might be 3-4 years after you bought it, maybe 3-4 weeks. Yes, I've had it happen. All of this can be as hard as you want it to be or as easy. I like easy, reliable, longevity, color selection (another new problem), cost. Kinda lazy like that, but my livelihood is also dependent upon quality. Sorta stuck with the high end gig. Could be worse I reckon...

 

I am 99.999% sure acrylic enamel is illegal in the People's Republik of Kalifornia. To the point of jail time if you get caught with it. Look at all the mail order places, they all say 'not for sale in California'. I still use it but it is hard to get in here. My paint supplier tells me of horror stories when the EPA/CARB does surprise inspections and cites him for selling paint that was legal yesterday, a crime today. Stupidest thing I was told one time when I wanted to get some epoxy primer was, a) they could only sell it to me as a primer on bare metal, they couldn't sell it as a sealer under a paint job, and b) they couldn't sell me a gallon can, they could only sell me 4 quarts. While they were still selling lacquer (that is a felony here now, punishable by contract ISIS beheading) a few years ago you could buy it if you promised you were painting furniture but not an automobile. I think they have reformulated epoxy paint 'cause I have bought it since with no hassles. I normally now ante up the $300/gallon for base/clear coat urethane. I like it better anyway after I recover from sticker shock.

 

Could agree with you more.
Although I don't like to see heavy orange peel, I do think some texture gives the final product a closer look to originally painted lacquer. I totally hate a bathtub finish.
Read this interesting article.

http://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2007/11/Acrylic-vs--Urethane/1538643.html


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

interesting...there seem to be some questionable "facts" in that article. But yeah, there are good reasons for using urethane paints. Like there are reasons for using radial tires, 5 speed gearboxes, transistorized ignition, etc. If you like it, use it. But don't say that the old ways no longer work...because they still do.

 

I've used everything from cheap laquer to high dollar base/ clear, and everything in between. If you're comfortable with it and know enamel, then go for it. I use mostly base/ clear for reason already stated in this thread, it can be cut and buffed to an amazing shine with no texture, but so can laquer, enamel, or just about anything else you want to use. It's just a matter of getting the prep work right, and using the right products when it comes time to cut and buff.

 

You can buy Lacquer paint TODAY in California. I bought some Black Lacquer and Lacquer Clear just a few days ago - made by Paint Shop Finish Systems part of Dupli color. I know that Fender Guitars in Corona CA also sprays lacquer.

 

I still don't like the orange peel in the Urethane finish I've seen, and it CAN NOT be sanded out, and see no reason to switch from Acrylic Enamel. Bob

 

Not sure where you get the idea that orange peel can't be sanded out of urethane. It most certainly can.

 

I still don't like the orange peel in the Urethane finish I've seen, and it CAN NOT be sanded out, and see no reason to switch from Acrylic Enamel. Bob

It has all to do with the Applicater

 

If you spray it correctly cut and buff is not necessary. In my opinion todays water base urethanes suck. Two stage paints suck. Spraying paint off and on for the last 50 years Ditzler Delstar acrylic urethane was the best thing I ever layed down. Centari was also very good. Cut and Buff is for those who don't know how to spray.

 

Probably not in California, but then nothing is allowed in California anyway.