Paint: Enamel is enamel, or is it?

[Trikebldr]

I am restoring the wheels on my '50 Commander. They have been sandblasted, painted, cooked and are ready for the two pinstripes that were on the original paint scheme.
I will be using a Beugler striping tool, but now have to decide what paint to use. It won't take very much to do just these wheels' stripes, so was looking at Testors model enamel. It comes in 1/4oz bottles at $1.78/bottle, which should be more than enough to do these five wheels.
Of course, most pinstripers use "One Shot" sign painting enamel, but the smallest amount of it comes in 1/4pint cans at about $14/can. The Testors paint is just $1.78 per 1/4oz bottle.
So, is there a difference between the two enamels that would make a difference in durability? Of course, the One Shot has been used for pinstriping cars for decades.
Anybody have any experience using model enamels such as Testors for doing pinstripes on a car?

[Chris Pile]

Enamel is a generic word.... misused so badly it truly has no definition.

And if you want to do pinstriping - get ONE SHOT. It's the choice of professionals.

[Lynn]

I don't mean to be harsh... but...

How much did you spend last time you ate out? I bet it was more than $12, especially if it was for you and your partner or a friend. You already know the best choice available, and it is only $14. You are considering model paint. Testors model paint works well ON MODELS. Those models don't spend much time outside, so I would be shocked to find out they have the kind of UV protection that One Shot sign paint has. On top of that, you are putting the pin stripes on the wheels, which must endure one of the harsher environments of any part of the car.

Surey it is worth $12 for the peace of mind.

And no, enamel is not all the same. Even within one brand (PPG, for instance) there are two or three levels of quality.

[jclary]

Hey...it's just a danged hobby...use what you're comfortable with, don't tell anybody, and sleep well!

[bensherb]

There are vitreous enamels, alkyd enamels, acrylic enamels, vinyl enamels...etc, so no, they are not the same.

I don't think you'll have good luck with Testors model paint in your Beugler. It drys too fast, doesn't flow well enough, and does not weather well.

I'd use One Shot. It flows very well and dries slow enough to complete a line before it tacks. I have several colors of it and have used it on all kinds of finishes, from paint to polished alluminum and even glass. All spent their lives in the weather and faired quite well for many years, with no flaking.

[Trikebldr]

Maybe I should just use the Testors to pinstripe my wife's refrigerator! Yep, she said I could!
So, Tomorrow I shall go to my local paint store that carries One Shot. Too bad they don't put it in one ounce bottles! Actually, when you break it down on a per-ounce basis, the One Shot comes in at about half the cost of the Testors.
One Shot is about $14 per 4oz = $3.50/oz
Testors is $1.78 per 1/4oz = $7.12/oz
It's just that I will probably never use all of the One Shot before it cures in the can. Oh, well, it's like Lynn said, I could spend more on a good burger than what the One Shot will cost me. But, I'll bet that burger will stick around my spare tire longer than the One Shot will stick to the car's spare wheel! NOT!

[swvalcon]

trikebldr you can always rebottle the one shot in smaller bottles and sell it on Ebay.

[Trikebldr]

trikebldr you can always rebottle the one shot in smaller bottles and sell it on Ebay.

LOL. I could call it "2nd Shot. The First missed!"!!

[jnormanh]

If you used an ordinary air-dry enamel, don't use Testors. I believe it contains acetone or MEK, either of which could soften and/or wrinkle air dry enamel.

[Cus63]

I’ve been a sign writer for 38 years, so have a little bit of experience with pinstriping & using enamel. One shot is basically an enemael with extra pigment, so the theory is , will cover in one shot. The problem with painting enamel on powder coated surfaces or baked enamel, is the adhesion , in Australia we have a product called Penetrol which we add to the enamel which not only helps the paint flow but adds to the adhesion without having to key the surface with 1200 wet & dry etc., hopefully you have an equivalent product in the States, hope this helps.

[Trikebldr]

hopefully you have an equivalent product in the States, hope this helps.

PPG makes it under the "Flood" brand. It says it's also good for all that ails you, including arthritis, and most joint pains. So, just a dash in the paint pot, and two swigs down the throat and we're ready to pinstripe!
Thanks for the info and will give it a try.
I Shot makes it's own Flow Control additive, too.

[tomlewis]

Hi.

I see you are new to the forum, so, welcome.

I can’t tell, obviously, how long you might have been involved with Studebakers or the SDC, but there is a man named Max Corkins who is well-known in the club. I am assuming that Max is still with us, because I have not seen anything to indicate otherwise. Anyway, Max was a Studebaker parts dealer and, about 20 to 25 years ago also sold a thing called a “Snookie wheel striper”. It was a contraption that mounted to a workbench with a vertical shaft and a wooden cone to hold a wheel centered. A Buegler paint wheel bottle was clamped in an adjustable arm and Max had the striper for sale at the Hershey swap meet. I was skeptical about how the thing would work, but I bought one.

The next year I saw Max at Hershey again and told him that I was real disappointed in the wheel striper. I told him that I expected to have a whole afternoon’s worth of entertainment out of the striper, but once I got set up that it only took minutes to do a complete set of five wheels with perfect double stripes. What was I supposed to do with the rest of the time that I had allocated?

Max thought that that was a pretty good story. I’ve used that striper to put stripes on Oldsmobile, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard wheels.

I’m posting this for others who might have a similar memory of Max

Tom

[Trikebldr]

Yes, Tom, I am a new member, just over a week now. Also very new to Studebakers as this 1950 Commander is my first. It was a part of a purchase of two cars, the other being a 1951 Henry J, which was my target car, but the owner made me a deal on the Stude, too, that I couldn't pass up. Turns out that I am having too much fun with the Stude to even start on the Henry. The Stude will be just a nice running road trip car, but the Henry will be an all custom built rat-rod-road-racer. The Henry will be a much bigger project, or so it seems!
So far, I only know a few of the forum members from responses to my questions. And I am really enjoying reading about others' car projects on here. Learning a lot!
I have built several rods in the past, as well as sprint cars, but always used a brush for striping. Hands aren't steady enough for that anymore, so invested in a Beugler set, and was thinking of cheaping out by using model paints, but have been convinced otherwise by the guys on here.
For these wheels I simply took a kitchen cabinet lazy-susan and made up a custom fit wooden adapter to spin these wheels true. I will be doing them on the kitchen table. I will still be using the Beugler's spacer-arm as the guide. And, you are right, once set up, it's kind of a let-down when it only takes five minutes to do double stripes on five wheels. As one guy in the videos said, the set up and cleanup takes four times longer than actually running the stripes.
If I planned to do a lot of wheels I might fab up a spinner like the paint shops use, but for me, just a simple wooden adapter to fit each size of wheel works well with my cheapo lazy-susan.
Will post pics when they are done. Just waiting for my set of One-Shot colors to arrive this Wednesday.
Thanks for the heads up, Tom!

[Hawklover]

LOL. I could call it "2nd Shot. The First missed!"!!

Yea, that's what my girlfriend told her sister...........