Do they make single stage paint anymore - paint that is not intended to be topped by clear coat? I am a paint newbie, but if I buy a project car I am probably painting it in my garage. I read somewhere where modern 'base' coat actually dries with what I can best describe as orange peel or sticky like texture that must be topped with clear coat. You then polish the clear coat. All this sounds kind of wacky and complex for a garage painter. They make HVLP painters and you can buy a decent air compressor and in line filter that is probably better than they mass painted cars in the 40's to 70's. I ask because there is a single stage painted car for sale in the member's section that was painted 30 years ago "and still looks good." If you add 30 years to my nearly 56, I am pretty sure I won't still have a project car I buy and paint. If the car is well maintained, garage kept and waxed regularly, I don't see why people fuss over clear coat. What am I missing?
If you are not familiar with painting . I would not paint. But then if you have a good head of things you could pull it off. So many things could go wrong. Even if your a good painter. So many things can go wrong . Single stage painted years ago probably looks like suede . Even if it’s a Good dirt free paint job. They just chalk up with age. That’s why i always tell you guys on the last coat of Single Stage to mix 50/50 with clear. so it could be nibed. to get the dirt out. Not ruining the paint job. Bryan i paint brand new cars and Tesla’s With single Stage every week. As long as it’s Black or white. Metallic i just use water base. And clear over it.
I just painted a black 57 Roadmaster with single stage urethane. Customer wanted to go frugal, so we did. I’m currently color sanding and will buff this weekend. I much prefer base coat/clear coat jobs. Clear is much easier to cut.
Single stage urethane is a good option for solid colors,..for metallic colors it can be a hassle and a mess for a novice painter. Both single stage and clear will have orange peel little less with single stage if sprayed correctly. A novice painter will have better results with base/clear 95% of the time imo The materials used in the paint 30yrs ago is very different than what we can buy today keep that in mind As to Wherever you read about the characteristics of base clear I would suggest you avoid that particular source, because that's anything but accurate
I can still buy old school acrylic laquer here, thats what I use, but theres a lot of labour involved. even with solid colours I like to mix clear with last few coats then clear over it, then Im polishing the clear not the colour. With metallics I have to use clear over base....thats what you call 2 stage? As opposed to 2-pack? where hardener is mixed with the paint or clear 2-1 or 4 -1. Im stuck in the past
I painted my 69 skylark last year with white single stage and it came out great. I use summit racing paints and they lay down excellent. I’m not a body man or painter by trade but I have done enough of my own projects to get it done well. Very easy to use products from summit. Prep is most important. You can practice painting on a old hood or body panel to get the hang of it. A good spray gun and compressor and you can do it!
To OP, Bryan - find a voc-tech school in Des Moines and take a car painting class. Most shops will allow you to paint your car in the class. Then you get access to a hands on expert advice and a paint booth! Best $25 I ever spent!
Considering the Summit systems for a scratch and spray (there’s a little more work than that but not much) on my ‘72. How’s the Summit paint holding up a couple years later?
Those are widened nova wheel wells. I always liked the more aggressive look so I went with that. I also just finished a ls swap into the car which was the best thing I have done to it yet. I will make a post at some point.
