Paint: Paint suggestions please--

[mmagic]

My paint vendor's main line is PPG. As a very amateur automotive painter I like BC/CC application as it allows me to sand out mistakes and a couple stupid mosquitoes. I've been using their Shopline and satisfied with it but unlike the others this is a keeper. Your thoughts are welcome.

[bezhawk]

If you keep it garaged, Shopline will be fine... however, at altitude (like in Parker) the ultra violet is much stronger, and you might get less life out of it.
Use the best you can afford. You can still use the Shopline base, and use Concept clear, and that will be better, and still save a few bucks.

BTW.......Shopline is PPG for those of you that don't know it. It's just a different price break like the difference between chroma-base, and chroma premier is in Dupont paint.

[SScopelli]

PPG is pricey, BUT WORTH IT! I use the DCC line and it covers and flows nicely. Also to fix those occasional "Opps," it is very accommodating, and very rarely will it ever lift the old paint.

If it is a long term Keeper then go the PPG route.

[JoeHall]

According to a kajillion street-rodders and other classic car folks on the internet, Dupont is just as good as PPG. I know for a fact it is cheaper. For a keeper, stay away from bottom shelf anything, i.e. ShopLine, Omni, etc.. Besides cheaper ingredients, it is also "watered down" so a given amount does not go as far as the same amount of good stuff.

Dupont Chroma-Base, or even better, Chroma-Premier base coat, and Dupont 72500S clear is easy to put on, is very forgiving, and comes out beautiful. My bro-in-law painted his 56J with that about 12 years ago, and it never even needed buffing, and still has the "wet look" today. It is now owned by a lady in West Virginia, who posts here sometimes, and calls the car "pinky". I wish I had taken my bro-in-law's advice, but that's another story.

Unless you are OK with tons of labor in re-doing the entire car, do not experiment with materials that are not mainstream. A good example is Southern Polyurethane Inc. (SPI). It is a high end, full bodied clear, that lots of professional painters have came to prefer, but is a whole nother ball game for any painter who have never shot it before. The people who sell it should include a mandatory tech-info, phone conversation with the painter before the stuff is loaded into a paint gun. I found that out the hard way.

[R1 3137]

Unless you are OK with tons of labor in re-doing the entire car, do not experiment with materials that are not mainstream. A good example is Southern Polyurethane Inc. (SPI). It is a high end, full bodied clear, that lots of professional painters have came to prefer, but is a whole nother ball game for any painter who have never shot it before. The people who sell it should include a mandatory tech-info, phone conversation with the painter before the stuff is loaded into a paint gun. I found that out the hard way.

What are you talking about?
I use SPI for it's ease of use and superior finish.
Finish 1 is "a whole nother ball game"... SPI UC is the cats pajamas and what other manufacture actually has the OWNER man the tech line? I've called them with questions about other brands and gotten spot on advice.
Mandatory? Hell I can call Barry on Sunday afternoon (west coast time) and get help...
I once asked about rustoleum and acrylic enamels and got great feedback.
If I don't read and follow a tech sheet it "ain't nobodies business but my own" comes to mind.

[JoeHall]

What are you talking about?
I use SPI for it's ease of use and superior finish.
Finish 1 is "a whole nother ball game"... SPI UC is the cats pajamas and what other manufacture actually has the OWNER man the tech line? I've called them with questions about other brands and gotten spot on advice.
Mandatory? Hell I can call Barry on Sunday afternoon (west coast time) and get help...
I once asked about rustoleum and acrylic enamels and got great feedback.
If I don't read and follow a tech sheet it "ain't nobodies business but my own" comes to mind.

I used SPI-UC. Their tech support/owner, Barry, is nothing short of outstanding. HOWEVER, for anyone using SPI for the first time, the container should arrive with florescent orange tapes and signs everywhere saying to call Barry BEFORE trying to shoot the stuff. A 1:1 clear is something most folks never even heard of, goes on like honey, and requires special instructions, more than a tech sheet, even for the most experienced painter. Instructions that are specific to each painter's paint gun, for example.

All the above info is available, cheerfully and readily from Barry. However, anyone using it for the first time, even after a phon-con with Barry, should still practice on an old piece of sheet metal, before actually trying it on a car. The SPI newsgroup has many devout followers (maybe you too?) that swear by SPI, with lots of pix to prove ow good it can look. But many of them also write of having climbed a painful learning curve. I am not saying it is anything less than outstanding, but it does require special instructions and training to use.

So, unless the OP is willing to climb a painful learning curve, its probably best to stick with mainstream stuff. Or at the very least, have a phon-con with Barry before loading the paint gun. Even after loading the paint gun, practice on some old stuff first.

[R1 3137]

My "Pain" was using other products... I'd say any time your trying a new product it's wise to shoot a test panel.

[JoeHall]

My "Pain" was using other products... I'd say any time your trying a new product it's wise to shoot a test panel.

I agree test panels woulda been wise. But the 8-10 small parts of the Hawk were painted separately first, and used as test panels, and they came put OK, but just OK. The larger panels, i.e. the whole car, is where the problems appeared.

In retrospect, my pain was because I asked the painter to try a product unfamiliar to him. (And do so on my car, at my expense.) He has been a Dupont guy for decades, and I shoulda just let him stick with Dupont.

While Barry cleared things up easily with my painter on the phone, he would probably tire of every new user calling. But since he is a very personable, professional guy anyway, maybe just an included 15-20 minute, personal/professional video for new users, touching on the critical points, would do it for most folks.

[jimmijim8]

Some folks might have problems with inexpensive or expensive rattle cans. Inexperienced vs. experienced folks may have different strokes. Use whatever you choose along with directions and to best of your ability. If your results aren't up to your standards, please don't blame the supplier or get into a debate over who has the best paint, price, longevity,ease of application or whatever. Such a waste of time here. We don't need to go on. No set rules on agreeance. I've seed paint jobs applied with a mohair roller as good or better than some will spray on. I ain't LION cheers jimmijim






ii've cheers jimmijim

[Kdancy]

If you keep it garaged, Shopline will be fine... however, at altitude (like in Parker) the ultra violet is much stronger, and you might get less life out of it.
Use the best you can afford. You can still use the Shopline base, and use Concept clear, and that will be better, and still save a few bucks.

BTW.......Shopline is PPG for those of you that don't know it. It's just a different price break like the difference between chroma-base, and chroma premier is in Dupont paint.

If I remember right, PPG Shopline is an acrylic enamel and their cheapest paint line. PPG concept is an acrylic urethane and much more durable and higher cost. I sometimes use Shopline for interior pieces but always PPG Concept or the Matrix equivalent for all exterior paint. The concept base pigments-toners are much better than their Shopline versions.

[mmagic]

Concept is discontinued... perhaps part of their Deltron line? Shopline is an acrylic urithane base and a two part epoxy clear. I'll stick with the base/clear because it is so forgiving and PPG because these guys have been awesome in service and finding Stude color numbers. Looking for any guidance on which of their numbers are higher quality....ie uv at this altitude and any negatives with the other numbers.
...

[bosshoss61]

I like them all......... My advise would be to organize, then...PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE..........

[JoeHall]

I like them all......... My advise would be to organize, then...PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE..........

I think another set of "3 Ps" may also be helpful with a paint job: patience, perseverance, and perspiration

[Kdancy]

Concept is discontinued... perhaps part of their Deltron line? Shopline is an acrylic urithane base and a two part epoxy clear. I'll stick with the base/clear because it is so forgiving and PPG because these guys have been awesome in service and finding Stude color numbers. Looking for any guidance on which of their numbers are higher quality....ie uv at this altitude and any negatives with the other numbers.
...

Concept has always been a Deltron line product-- goes by DCC or DBC for base. I just bought a quart two weeks ago so "discontinued" sure is news to me.

http://www.ppg.com/coatings/refinish/en/products/deltron/Pages/default.aspx

Again, the quality of the materials in each product is different, thus Shopline is not the same quality as the Deltron Concept. It is PPG's cheapest product for a reason, good product for collision repair shops that do quickies using cheap material=more profit to their bottom line.

[mmagic]

You are right.. I must have hit the wrong catagory when I thought I hit discontinued. Checked again and you are right.