Basecoat / Clearcoat

[nfrntau]

Hey Y'all
I'm starting to research paint for my beauty. Alcapulco Blue of course!

Can any of you tell me what the going price for a gallon of PPG and the clearcoat to go with it are?

www.ppgcarpaint shows $206 per gallon and my body shop guy was telling me $279.

Hope your all having a great weekend.
Bill

 

[390cs68rcode]

279 is probably his markup price.

 

[quicknick]

My price list here at the body shop shows as follows......
Color= $219.00
Clear= $239.00
1170 Reducer= $84.00 slow, medium, or fast. The price is the same.
CRLV Hardner= $59.00
Hope that gives you a rough idea. Prices vary by region.
Why are you considering PPG? Any special reason?

 

[rvrtrash]

I used PPG DCC Concepts, which is an Acrylic Urethane. Think of it as clear coat with color in it. It's high solids so 3 coats would be like 7-8 of conventional paint and you don't need to run a seperate clear coat.
Steve

 

[nfrntau]

PPG is the brand my body shop guy prefers to use.
I am under the impression that if I want to get that really deep deep shine with a dark color I need to use several coats of clear and then color sand and buff, polish, polish and more polishing.

 

[hcsstang]

While at the Carlisle show I talked to McGuires man he said to enable to keep a shine over the years it should be buffed once a year by a professional.

 

[quicknick]

PPG is indeed a good product. We use PPG and Sikkens here at the shop.
I was asking because a lot of my customers with classic cars and roadsters ask for premium paints instead of the body shop "standard" stuff.
Also, you may take Steves advice and shoot the car with single stage instead of basecoat/clearcoat.
Todays single stage paints are more durable, workable and shine like a clearcoat job.
They are also correct for the era of your car.
My Cal Spec is Single staged with Ultra 7000 and looks like a million bucks. I tried to go for that "factory correct" look and am very happy with the results.
Plus it's super easy to repair if your kid runs into it with his bicycle!

 

[nfrntau]

With the single stage do you have to worry about sanding through a layer of paint? (as opposed to having 3 or 4 coats of clear to work with.

The single stage gives you that mirror like shine?

That bicycle statement is still giving me the Eebee-Jeebees :-\ :'(

 

[Russ]

The cost of paint has skyrocketed in the past few years. Just be thankful you are not painting your car red, as this color costs the most. I used Dupont Chromabase two stage paint on my Highland green GT/CS, and it is wonderful. I also paint my Model T's with Dupont Centauri, which is a single stage paint, and it is also great.

The thing I learned about painting is that the top coat is not really the most important thing, it is the preparation BEFORE the final coat of paint. A great top coat will look horrible, if the body shop doesn't take the time to get the car's panels straight and aligned. When you take it to the body shop, stress that you want a straight car and that you are a perfectionist!!! Once said, the body shop will understand that you want the paint job done right. With labor costs and paint costs what they are, you can expect to pay $5000 and beyond for the right job. Keep in mind, you will get what you pay for, and a $800 paint job will look like an "$800 paint job".

Also, if you want to have your car judged by MCA (I read the other post on this subject today, and MCA judging is obviously not for everyone), keep some "orange peel" in the paint. If you color sand the car and buff the paint to look like a mirror, your car will have points deducted for the smooth finish.

Hope this helps,
Russ

 

[murf104]

Quicknick - perhaps you can weigh in on this question since you regularly use both Sickens and PPG. I now have 65 fastback in bare metal and this week will begin preperation for application of Honey Gold paint - light green poly along the lines of the 68 Lime Green. In your experience which brand that you use will offer the best results with that kind of color. I want to use the entire system for the brand chosen and it is time to purchase the initial stuff. Cost if not my primary concern but clarity of color and quality and long life is. Thanks in advance for any insight you may give. Murf

 

[quicknick]

Murf,
The thing to keep in mind here is BASF,Dupont,Sikkens, and PPG are all excellent products. It all depends on what your painter prefers and uses. It's not so much the brand you use, but how well you prepare your car for the paint process.
Russ said it all. A good paint job is 90%preporation, and 10% application. Make sure your body panels and body work is straight as can be. Don't be affraid to apply your primer, then block and sand as many times as needed.
My guys will sand the surfacer/sealer down with 320 grit.
They will then apply a guide coat of paint. We use Krylon in a spoof can.
Block the guide coat down with 800 grit. Wherever you have a low spot the paint will remain and you will know you need to apply more primer there.
Keep continuing this process until all of the Krylon comes off with the sanding block.
I could go into more detail, but easier to talk you through it than a mile long thread here.
Shoot me a PM when you are ready to dive into it and I will call you, talk you through it and answer your other questions.
Good luck and keep blocking that primer. When you think it's good enough....it's not! Do it again, Nick

 

[Mosesatm]

For the guide coat be sure to just mist it on. If you spray it on as you would normal paint you'll be sanding it off for a loooooong time.

Another tip; be careful when sanding with water. It's easy to sand the skin off your fingers after a few hours of having your hands constantly wet. I usually tape the ends of my fingers. Thin gloves will work too.

 

[quicknick]

Excellent advice. I once hand blocked a customers 70 Cyclone with 3000 grit on popsickle sticks.It took me 30 hours. My fingers bled and were sore for days. And they say painting a car is easy! HA!