How much paint should should I need?.....

[Greg L.]

I'm ready to place my order(or drive down and pick it up) for the lacquer paint for my car and was wondering how much I will need?

It's a 69 coupe and the paint is cortez silver and yes I am going with PPG Duracryl lacquer...sorry Chuck. I've been told to spray on two coats and then let it sit a week or so and then two more coats. I was also told that if I wanted, I could wait a couple more weeks and then spray two final coats. So I'm looking at about 6 coats total...any idea how many gallons this would be? I think I was once told that about 5 gallons of lacquer that was already thinned and ready to spray would be about right but I just wanted to double check. I need to get this right because depending on where I get it from I'll either have to have it shipped part way and then go and pick it up or drive the whole way which is a day each way! Yes I just might be crazy....

Also, besides the actual paint and thinner, is there anything else that I might want to pick up that is lacquer specific. I can get all the filters, cleaners, etc locally but anything to do with lacquer has been long discontinued up here.

[Wayne P.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Used to paint back in the day. 1 1/2 gallon minimum, not thinned. 5 gallons could be ok, depending on % thinnned. Why wait for two days between coats?? I always painted the entire thing once I started and the results were good. If you plan to do any clear top coat, there are some other considerations.

[Greg L.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Thanks Wayne.

The tech sheet https://buyat.ppg.com/refinishProduc...b-39887475f6e8 calls for 1 part paint to 1-1/2 parts thinner so I guess that will make 2-1/2 gallons. Buy the sounds of it then 2 gallons of paint will need 3 gallons of thinner so that's where I was coming up with 5 gallons total.

The reason I was going to spray two sets of two coats was that I was told this will better allow the thinners to evaporate and it should provide a more durable finish in the long run. I've had several people tell me this so maybe this is a newer technique?

I'm still on the fence if I want to use a clear or not... Most say that there is a lot of clear in silver anyways so it's really necessary. I do like the idea though of have a little bit to play with for buffing. What other considerations do I have if I decide to clear it?

[Terry M.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Be sure to get a primer that is compatible with the topcoats.

[Greg L.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Yes Terry I think I should be okay in that I have Dupont's lacquer primer on the car right now.

[Tim E.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Greg - I bought 2 gallons unthinned and have a half gallon left over. Thinned at 150% on a perfect paint day in Houston (I had to wait a while!) I sprayed 8 coats back to back. I was originally planning on spraying 4, lightly sanding dust & bugs, and then the final 4 but it turned out I just kept on going! That was on my '66 convertible.

As someone pointed out above, match the temperature range of your thinner to the outside air temperature.

Tim

[Jim T.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Not knowing how much longer you will be able to buy PPG lacquer, recommend buying a few quarts or a gallon more paint that you need for possible paint later. Driven C3's get chips between the rear door edge the infront of the rear wheel down low, would be nice to have paint to make it look nice again. Buying it all at the same time could be better for paint matching later. I ended up with only a quart extra for each paint job on my 68 and 70 from painting years ago with Dupont lacquer that I am sure I could not match in Ralley Red and Donneybrooke Green.

[Stephen R.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

this maybe off subject a little, and I apologize for stepping on the thread, but where did you get the lacquer? I've tried around here, (Philly Pa), no body seems to have it. I settled for a one stage acrylic enamel with a hardner to paint my hardtops. I screwed that up and now am going to take the tops to a paint shop to get it done right. However all they want to use is the two stage base and clear coats. Even the local Vette specialist doesn't want to talk lacquer. All I need is the snowcrest white.
Steve

[Alan S.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Hi Greg,
The fellow who sprayed my 71 Coupe ordered and used 7 quarts of PPG DURACRYL. I have a quart of THINNED paint left for an emergency.
The car has more paint on it now than it did when it left St Louis, but not a lot of paint by any measure. He only paints lacquer and cautions strongly about the temptation to put too much on.
Regards,
Alan

[Mike G.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Greg: On my '65 roadster, I consumed 1.5 gallons of PPG Duracryl lacquer. I shot 6 coats, over DZ primer.

After shooting, if you can be patient and wait a month before color sanding, you'll be surprised at how it levels out on its own.

Just for info, I used these grits: 1000 for the rougher spots, 1200, 1500, and finally 2000. Then switch to 3m compound followed by 3m finesse it II. Kevin Tetz's video on cut/polishing was well worth the $$ for a newbie like me.

[Jim T.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Mike did you use 3M polishing compound not the more abrasive rubbing compound?

[Greg L.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Thanks guys it sounds like two uncut gallons will do it then but because this stuff is so hard to get I might just spring for a third gallon. This stuff sure ain't cheap is it!

[Brian K.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

I painted my 66 coupe laquer ralley red, no clear & used 1 1/4 gallon. If I remember correctly this was done in about three phases with colorsanding in between with a week cure between them because laquer cures forever.

20 years later it is STILL a very good looking paint job that with another colorsand & buff should be good for another 6-10 years.

It's all in the prep. I primed with Featherfill polyesther primer. I'm not a pro but took the advice of pros when I did it

[Mike G.]

Jim - Compound #

I ended up using 3M Finesse-It II Compound 05974 followed by 05928 Finishing Material. I was amazed at the gloss level. Absolutely like glass. Shot it with two DeVilbiss guns, a GFG670 "plus" gun and an SRI spot gun for jambs & small stuff. Used a Makita 600 rpm buffer to lower burn-thru risk. Great tool. BTW, lots of good info on Len Stuart's Autobody forum.

Just for info, the PPG jobbers in So. Arizona are getting almost $300 a gallon for Ermine White these days. I checked Las Vegas - same price there.

[Tracy C.]

Re: How much paint should should I need?.....

Thanks guys it sounds like two uncut gallons will do it then but because this stuff is so hard to get I might just spring for a third gallon. This stuff sure ain't cheap is it!

Greg,

Congrats on deciding to use lacquer. The seasoned old painter who taught me what I know (which isn't much) told me to check the batch numbers on the paint lables. If they aren't the same, he recommended mixing the contends together in a larger container and then dumping them back into the separate cans prior to mixing with the thinner. This removes any chance of a slight color variance between the batches and ensures a good match if you need to touch up later down the road.

Paint mixing at the factory is probably greatly improved these days, but it still makes sense to the feable minded like myself.

Good luck with the shoot....
tc