Painting car in a few Months... Base coat Clear coat, or Acrylic Enamel???

Im planning on goiing with acrylic enamel because its easier to paint with the base color, hardner, and clear all in one. I love the way the acrylic looks too, I think it has a a much harder looking finish than base/clear which is much softer. Im looking at the Torch Red metallic and black stripes or a black pearl and silver stripes. any opinions...



thanks guys,
-john

I dont know which type of paint would be better, but the torch red sounds sweet. I know if i ever have to repaint my 95z thats the color that its gonna get. Go for the red and then post some pics.

i have to disagree. i like base and clear way better. i think single stage is old school. i have sprayed both many times and just like the clear better. just my opinion.

i have to disagree. i like base and clear way better. i think single stage is old school. i have sprayed both many times and just like the clear better. just my opinion.



do you have any pics of some of your past jobs with the Acrylic...


thanks,
-john

Enamel easier to paint with? YOUR CRAZY. Enamel is VERY easy to run, and is the hardest paint to spray nuff said. BaseCoat on the other hand is very easy to spray, and very hard to run. It also flows on smooth. GIve it a good 4 coats of clear and itll look TlTs. I wouldnt paint my bicycle with enamel.

As far as my understanding went it's very hard to have a smooth transition between two different colour areas of a acrylic enamal.I know that the acrylic enamal is alot harder of a paint and it had a tendancy to crack and chip if what it is sprayed on bends or flexes.Although it's alot more forgiving on the body job,if the car isnt straight it tends to cover it up more

The Base clear is alot less forgiving in that case(straightness of the body) but i find it looks way better,especially with a few coats of clear ontop of the base.Its also alot easier to have a smooth "seamless" transition between the base colour and the stripes because you can bury them in clear and wet said the raised area out of one of the coats to bring everything back smooth

NO if ands or butts BASE COAT CLEAR COAT ALL THE WAY!!!!

Theirs so many plus`s to the Base coact clear coat or BCCC!!

Better protection , you can always wetsand your clear fr that GLASS look , its stronger , easier to spray , just the way to go for sure.

I paint cars & motorcycles on the side & tis is the way.

JOSH

Why would you want to paint your car red? Everybody and their dog has a red Camaro --including me.

red and black

Base/clears have come a long way as opposed to the old acrylics. If I were going single stage, I'd rather have the lacquer based paint. It has much better consistency and a finer color rendition, or at least that is what I think. Then again, it all depends on how good the application is. I've seen good acrylics as well.

I'd still vote for the base/clear. It is more durable, and will hold its shine and color longer without the appearance of wear or fading (if you maintain it, and importantly, have a very good 2 stage application). One thing about the 2 stages though, is that they seem to be more sensitive to scratching, smears and swirling.

Tough choice. Good luck.

I painted the camaro in my sig with acrylic enamal (DuPont Centari) It wasn't that hard to spray and has held up very well. I used a flex agent in the paint and primer for the ground effects and bumpers and have no had a problem with cracking or chipping. If I did it again I'd definately use base/clear as mentioned it's much easier to use and is much more forgiving. The only deterent from base/clear is the cost, a gallon of black enamal is about $99 plus another $50 for reducer hardner and flex agent whereas a gallon of base is like $120 a gallon of clear is like $170 plus a bunch more for reducer activaters ect.

I The only deterent from base/clear is the cost, a gallon of black enamal is about $99 plus another $50 for reducer hardner and flex agent whereas a gallon of base is like $120 a gallon of clear is like $170 plus a bunch more for reducer activaters ect.

You do not need to add flex to a 2 stage paint. Base/clear is flexible enough without it. Another thing nobody brought up is single stage paint cannot be buffed out. I painted my first car with acrylic enamel and never again. 2 stage is much easier and looks way better. If you want to do something hard try 3 stage paints like candies, some pearls and camillion. Took me awhile to get the hang of these