Question on urethane paint

[myredracer]

Am just block sanding the entire body on a '58 Fiat and getting it ready for paint for when the weather turns decent. I've done all the body work including primer. I had been thinking of getting a pro to do the final paint but am now thinking of doing the paint myself out in the driveway.

I've painted several cars in the past but that was in the 70s & 80s and I used acrylic enamel. I remember it being a bit of a challenge to avoid putting down a little too much paint and getting a run or getting orange peel.

What is the current single stage urethane paint like? Is it any harder or easier to use? I want to use a flattener to make it look more like the original enamel paint.

 

[IndyGarage]

The big difference between today and the 70s and 80s is the paint guns. They are completely different and better.

Urethane paint is much better than the old stuff, but much more dangerous - you have to protect your lungs

 

[myredracer]

Thanks for the reply. I have a couple of good HVLP guns and even my old Binks siphon feed gun. I have a 3M full face respirator and the correct cartridges for anything with isocyanate it (plus I suit up). Also have a good compressor setup along with an air dryer.

I used to be able to do decent paint jobs years ago with acrylic enamel. After selling it, one of the cars I painted even ended up at the RM Auctions in Monterey.

What I would like to know is if urethane paint is any harder or easier to lay down without having issues or if there's maybe any tricks or tips to using it. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

 

[IndyGarage]

I still use enamel Tractor paint on some projects.

I'm a pretty much an amateur, so I don't know if my opinion is very good - but I have painted a few vehicles then and now. I've done several body repair jobs with base/clear and I can match the paint good enough it's hard to tell. It probably takes me more time than a pro.

I don't think the paint today goes down a lot easier or more difficult, although newer paint has more metallics and pearls and that can be harder to lay down correctly. It's mostly in the quality of the spray gun. I tried using a Harbour Freight gun, and it was OK - not great. I then bought a top of the line Iwata Supernova and it was the bomb. More recently I saw a screamin deal at a swap meet on a brand new Air Gunza - which is made in Italy by Iwata - it's pretty close to as good as the Supernova

The other thing, HVLP uses way less paint, and the paint is way more expensive. Which kind of evens out. I paid $195 a few weeks ago for a quart of base silver for a Honda that I was doing. It was a small car and I did several panels and probably have half the paint left. I could have probably done the entire car with 1 quart. It would have taken a gallon with an old siphon gun. I bought some Red for another car (most expensive color) to paint two bumper covers - 1/2 pint was $96 - that's at a rate of $1500 a gallon!

One tip - buy the disposable cup system - either 3m or Dekups. I use Dekups because it is slightly less expensive. It makes mixing, cleanup and shooting much easier and I think it's more valuable for a DIYer like me. I can mix spray clean up and be done in 30 minutes with it. I use both the 9 ounce cups and the larger - I want to say 24 ounce size. I will mix as little as 4-6 ounces at a time to spray a single panel.

Honestly, I don't really think those 3m respirators with the cartridge are good enough. I've used them and I didn't think they worked well enough. To be perfectly safe you have to have a source of fresh air.

 

[ilovevocs]

I would buy a quart and shoot a few test panels.

Would try to find something with a roof to paint under even if it’s a cheap canopy. Your vertical surfaces will be on but the horizontal surfaces will certainly have some dirt / bugs.


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[tdcisco1]

The difference ive noticed is with acrylic enamel it covers in 3 coats. With urethane ive had to go 5 coats to get good coverage. no issues otherwise. I find it easy to work with, as suggested try a test panel first.