Painting my Model A

Gary Gregory

Gary Gregory

Senior Member
After a LOT of phone calls i think I've found a good paint guy to paint my car. Some of you guys have already been down this road so tell me....which paint should I use, Enamel or Base Coat/Clear Coat ? The thing that scares me is seeing our modern cars with Clear Coat starting to peal after 12 or so years. I know my Model A will be inside 75% of the time and won't be exposed to a lot of bad weather. My paint guy wants to use BC/CC....opinon's anyone ????
 
Base coat clear coat is easy to use, durable and easy to maintain. Base/clear has always been my only choice. Other paints work well but most modern painters use base/clear.

I will say that PPG had an issue with their Omni line of clear coat about 10-15 years ago. After time the finish would peel. They have this problem corrected. If your car is kept out of the elements most of it's life than I don't see a problem. In automotive paints like any other product there are better lines and grades of paint. Choose your brand and quality of paint according to what your application is.
 
Single stage urethane gets my vote. Base/clear is OK too, but I only use that on street rods, Muscle cars and Modern Iron. This is just my personal/customer choice, SS & BC/CC both have their advantages & disadvantages.

Regardless of which type of paint you use, it won't matter if you use cheap paint. Shopline(PPG's lesser end brand), Kirker and the like are good for painting lawn mowers or your mailbox, but I won't put it on a car.
 
base clear would work better for spot repairs,color matching after the initial paint job if the need arises.in my opinion,if the clear is pealing,it is usually due to not enough clear.
 
I like the single stage when it comes to painting older original cars because it pops less then base/clear coats. I have heard about adding color to the clear which is a good sugestion. I agree with the other guys, if you have modern cars and customs go with 2 stage paint but if you want a more traditional era paint go single, it will still look great.
BTW I paint my own cars with a HVLP system. If you have the space (and time) you can make a paint booth out of plastic and make a lot of mistakes before you come close to paying what a body shop wants to charge.
 
I would use PPG Concept single stage Urethane. It looks like lacquer and it sprays and rubs about the same. Base /Clear I use for a lot of other projects such as street rods and Corvettes. The deep look is fantastic but does not look correct on an antique car.
Ken
 
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