Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

[Michael L.]

Guys,

The body shop working on my 69 coupe is getting close to ready for paint and has asked me if I want a single stage product or a base coat/clear coat. Are there any recommendations? I'm really not up on all the paint types, like lacquer, urethane, etc. What kind of paint would you recommend? The car is tuxedo black if that matters. I plan on having the car judged when its finished but I also don't want to have to paint it again for a very long time so I want something durable.

Mike

[Timothy B.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Michael,

IMO, nothing will look like lacquer paint, you will get many opinions asking that question. I would suggest getting in touch with one of the NCRS paint pros and hopefully that will help you decide which product to use.

If I was painting a car today I would use lacquer for sure but there is one BIG problem with it's availability. Black should be beautiful but i would even be careful of how the color looks compared to the original black.

[Michael L.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Tim,

Please excuse my ignorance but is lacquer always base coat/clear coat or can it be single stage?

Mike

[Frank D.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Pretty sure lacquer is not a base coat to be put under clear...

Personally, on a car that is driven - I wouldn't use it...

My split window was done last Thanksgiving in single stage Pro-Spray by a painter with 48 years experience...

It was shot over the factory style red oxide sealant coat...and doesn't have the mirror gloss of clear coat -- more of a luster akin to lacquer but you can't tell that in the pictures.

Hood lip and door jambs were dulled down like unbuffed lacquer as well.

https://prosprayfinishes.com/en/index.html

[Timothy B.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Mike,

The lacquer I know is not any type of base/clear but that's why you should get information from a pro prior to the paint selection.

Things used to be easier regarding paint, with today's VOC laws it seems nothing is simple.

[Richard G.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

How important is it to you to have as close to a 100 point car as possible? If drive ability is the prime motivator I would use a modern base coat clear coat paint. If NCRS Judging score is more important I would use lacquer. I live in a district where you can still purchase lacquer. In white, expect to pay roughly $2500 for lacquer materials. Unsure of the pricing of other colors like black.

[Michael M.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Lacquer should not even be a thought. Lacquer is so inferior to the paints of today. Plus you can not even buy lacquer that was used years ago. Your car is a solid color so you are able to use a single stage paint process. Talk to Tom Ames and he will explain to you how single stage paint can be applied to look like lacquer.

[Michael L.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

How important is it to you to have as close to a 100 point car as possible? If drive ability is the prime motivator I would use a modern base coat clear coat paint. If NCRS Judging score is more important I would use lacquer. I live in a district where you can still purchase lacquer. In white, expect to pay roughly $2500 for lacquer materials. Unsure of the pricing of other colors like black.

I would say that durability is the primary goal. I don't mind a minor hit on the judging for the paint, but I don't want to paint it with a SEMA style 1000 mile deep paint job and then get mauled on the judging. My plan is to have the car judged when completed all the way up to nationals and then enjoy it.

[Michael M.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Well Michael you just answered your own question. Single stage or base coat clear coat is so much more durable then today's lacquer. Lacquer is solvent based and once the solvent evaporates which takes a few years to many years depending on environmental factors its time to repaint.

[Roger W.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

Beautiful car Frank.

[Mike E.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

As a frame of reference, my sateen silver 1962 was painted with lacquer in 1978. (With a bit of lacquer clear since sateen silver is metallic). It has been driven a lot since. Within the past year it has developed several cracks near the cowl vent opening. That was the good lacquer back then, and I only got 39 years out of it. I have two original-paint 62 Honduras Maroon cars, and the paint still is excellent. Both have a fair number of miles on them.

[Duke W.]

Re: Single stage or Base coat/clear coat?

I'm convinced that single stage enamels (acrylic and polyurethane (Imron)) are more durable than current base coat/clear coat systems that are used by OEMs. I see way too many cars no more than 15 years old where the clear is peeling off the horizontal surfaces - hood, roof, and trunk lid, and once the clear goes the underlying water-base color coat deteriorates rapidly.

Acrylic lacquers can be clear coated with acrylic lacquer clear or clear polyurethane. I refinished my two sets of Cosworth Vega wheels about 30 years ago with the correct gold lacquer color coat and a polyurethane clear coat, and they still look new. The original clear coat was lacquer and totally lacking in durability. GM didn't clear coat lacquer jobs back in the day except maybe metallic colors, and the clear coat was lacquer.

Polyurethane is probably overkill on a vintage car that doesn't bake all day in the sun. It's designed for "commercial" jobs such as trucks and airplanes that have much tougher operational environments than vintage cars.

I also think that acrylic enamel, if done by a painter who understands NCRS paint judging, is easier to make the job look like lacquer than current base coat clear coat systems, which are used by OEMs, and the primary reason is to reduce VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions, but I don't think they are that durable.

Duke