Automotive paint... What are the brands to buy?

Thomas

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Back when I and a friend painted my own car ala pre 1998. The flavor of choice was Dupont Chromabase he was also into a little House of Color and if a remember correctly PPG.

I know that times have changed since then and I was wondering what all the custom guys like to use now?

My 87 Rx7 turbo turned out flawless in med jade green metal flake with gold pearls in the clear. It was done with the dupont and some cheap arse yellow primer underneath to save a buck.

I know Talon loves to use automotive paint on his cabs and I think I want to follow down this same path.

So whats everybody using?
 
nowadays it really doesent matter. Quality of most is good.

If you want one step paint( shine built in) dupont still makes some nice stuff, also american finishes is decent but hard to find.

as far as basecoat/clearcoat goes, ive used cheap stuff like omni au, to high end sikkens stuff, either is nice. as far as clear, again new stuff is decent so it doesent matter.

Ive used mar-hyde. sikkens, and even some cheap krap called XTREME.


obiously, the better the product, the more it will cost. BUt el cheapo works great for what we do with these arcade games.


Once you switch to auto paint, and learn its nuiances- you will never turn back.
 
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A wealth of information! cool... So is chromabase still after all these years considered high end?
 
price wise, yeah it is.

the big bonus with chromabase, and other " one step" paints, is that if you run it- let it dry.

once dry you can carefully sand down the run with progressively fine sandpaper then buff out to a nice shine, if you do it right youll never see the original run.


with basecoat/clearcoat, you can only fix a run in the clear. so if you run the basecoat( color) you need to sand it back down and paintt again.

the nice thing about all auto paint no matter what you choose, the last layer is sandable and buffable, so if you get fisheyes, dirt in it, whatever, if you laid it on thick enough you can sand and buff the flaw out.
 
Chromabase back when we used it 1998 wasn't one step. It was a basecoat/clearcoat process. I remember the green going down and then hitting it with a tack cloth before the clear.
 
Dupont Sucks !! It does not cover for crap And the Clear Chips Real Easy !!
I have used ever paint company in the last 20+ yrs. Yes complete systems , Start to Finish.
I do not intermix primer, sealer, thinners, ect. I use the complete system, so if something fails they can not blame it on someone else, Which they will!!
Dupont = More paint and time due to value shading and covers for crap, Clear Chips Easy
PPG Is Also Nexta Autocolor = Color Match Sucks since they joined together, I know I had ppg when It happened .
Sikkens = Just Sucks, Does not fill in sand scratches and when they Demo it and make a mess of the Job, They say Your are Too Fussy. I would not Deliver it to a Blind Person. They leave You with a mess to re do.
Nexta Autocolor = PPG, Enough Said Same Company,
S/W = Not a bad product, Good color match, Good Clear , No stone chipping problems, Too Bad The went for the big guys, And Screwed the little Guys. I Used for it 8 yrs. No prob.
They got hooked up to the True2Forms and then opened there own retail stores. Pulled our discounts to pay for ther deal with Truly Deformed Shops. 2.5 Million They paid for a contract for 5 Yrs,
Standox =Tech came in made a mess and left, He did say Sorry he could not match it.
Glasurit = Good product, You will pay the out the ass for it. I do care about my back pocket but I care about my customers cars also. Good Shit, Awesome Color Tools.
But they all suck and none of them stand behind what they sell.
Example, I got fish Eyes out of no where!! Total Disaster, Ever , Tore everthing apart , Replaced Everthing as per there tech. all filters, Lines, Even the air compressor, Over 10,000 spent and they say its not there product.
After it is all over and figured out and I can Spray any clear but theres.
There Hardner is Causing the Fisheyes. I got one BAD Case Of Hardner All same lot no.
They say they are only Liable to replace the Bad Product.
They All Suck!!
 
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