Opinion on paint...

[chapdog105]

My 69 vert is my first car restoration...ever.
As my metal is arriving by the day, it won't be long until my car is put back together.
Originally, for convenience and cost purposes, the decision was made to go with a single stage R4 acrylic enamel.
The guy doing my body work is old school and only paints in single stage.
I've read some stuff that says this is pretty obsolete, and not the way to go. However, I've also heard that this is the way 69 Roadrunners came stock from the factory.
I'm confident that the my guy will do a good job, but I'm wondering if I should go this route considering how much work is being done to the car overall. Maybe I should just go a step further and spend big on a top notch paint job.
Doing a high cost paint job may stall the project for the season.
But if I go with the single stage, I'm afraid I'll regret it after the whole thing is done.
I can't imagine I'll ever do a full scale restoration like this again on this specific car. This is a one shot deal!

What are the positives and negatives of single stage?

Opinions please!

Thanks in advance!

BTW, I found this online from another forum on this very topic..
"My old 55 was painted 12 years ago with single stage PPG paint.. I personally cut/buffed it and assembled all the chrome etc.. The guy who painted it was very old fashioned about things, and just didn't want to do base coat/clear. He assured me I'd be happy with single stage PPG.
I'm certainly NOT a paint expert and I'm not suggesting that I know much about this stuff.. but... here is a picture taken two weeks ago of my car. It's always garaged and kept clean, and so far the single stage is holding up fine."
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x232 ... Medium.jpg

 

[Jim S.]

Acrylic enamel is how they were painted in 69. That said it is old school technology. It will not hold up or shine like bc/cc. Maybe you want it to look correct with single stage, if so I would suggest using acrylic urethane. It looks the same as enamel but is much tougher. One advantage to single stage is that it is much easier to touch up down the road say if you need to fix a scratch, considering that it is not metallic paint. Bc/cc can also be touched up but, it is a little more work. If the car is going to be garaged (and you are not going to follow a salt truck down the freeway in the winter), single stage should be O.K. Don't freak out when you wax it and your pad turns R4 red though. Boy does that bring back memories. Trying to think of the guys with the most correct cars on here. Probably 69hemibeep and glhcarl. Maybe we can get their opinion. Myself, I'd vote for BC/CC. Good luck whichever route you take.

 

[Hoosier Bird]

BC/CC all the way.........

 

[george68hemirr]

BC/CC all the way.........

X2

 

[A31PKG]

There are really only two main differences. First, will obviously be the lower cost of single-stage. The second, is follow up buffing or repairs. As already stated, the single stage will be easier to touch up. From my experience, when it comes time to buff a dull area or scratch etc, all you have is the actual "skin" of the paint to work with....not much there, especially if you have and area that requires a lot of compound. BC/CC will give you the advantage of the clear "skin" to work with, so that the actual color is not cut into.... My old AMX was a beautiful single stage Matador red.... after a season covered in the garage, I noticed a slight "hazy" area on the roof - probably from the car cover...It was bad enough that my painter had to actually re-wet sand and buff it, but it came very close to the primer in one spot. Two lessons I learned were use a loose-fitting flannel sheet to cover it when stored, and BC/CC from now on! :cents:

 

[69hemibeep]

Base clear is easier for painters to work with. I was going to go with single stage and couldn't find a painter that would work with it any more. If the guy is good with the single I'd say go for it, just realize in the if you have an accident he may not be there for you. :cents:

 

[mac]

first off i am no painter but i have sprayed all 3 options mentioned. if you want the original look then enamel. if you want the original look with toughness, then urethane. the urethane is what i use at work now and it sprays better than enamel and is tough when cured. last is base clear. a non metallic base color is a piece of cake to spray. the challenge is to get a good clear coat that will required a minimum of wet sanding then buff. as mentioned before a base clear is not easy to touch up. there is a way to do it but is kinda complicated.

 

[69hemibeep]

Mac did you just say something? I got distracted

 

[mac]

Mac did you just say something? I got distracted

looks like i might have to go back to some ugly avatars. :devil:

 

[3BIRDS1X]

I think single stage of R4 would be fine if it was a metallic color then BC/CC for sure

 

[Roadcuda]

Mac did you just say something? I got distracted

You and me both! I think he said something about putting a clear coat on them!!! :lmao:

 

[moparchris]

My Camaro was painted in single stage in my garage in 1997. It still looks awesome and it even had been smashed horribly a few years afterward and was fixed. On the other hand it doesn't have that breath taking pop that a BC/CC paint job has.

 

[joewhite440]

I have also painted them all. Best to go with BC/CC It is a lot more Durable and more forgiving should you make a mistake while spraying. Also it is easier to spot in when repairing/ replacing panels if needed later .