I'm painting antique cars (on which a base/clear would be incorrect), farm implements and shop equipment with single-stage urethane. I sure wish I knew of someplace that offered good prices on decent-quality paint. Probably this would be an online store rather than a bricks and mortar one(?). I'm thinking that maybe Summit's paint would be the best buy I am going to find, but then again, if I really wanted to be a cheapskate, why not Tractor Supply's paint (if I'm painting it black or red?). Any other suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
Thought I would share some of what I have learned in 30 plus years experience working in the body shop industry, as a painter for several years, before then moving into the office.
At any rate, here is the skinny on automotive paint. Type of materials from worst to first in order are
1. Straight Enamel. This is cheap stuff. It can look nice to start with but will not hold up for the long run. No way I would spray a car with it- hardener or not.
2. Acrylic Enamel This is decent paint and is not much more expensive than the regular enamel. OEMs used it on solid color(no metallic or pearl) lower end vehicles up into the 90's. This is entry level in my opinion. If the paint does not say acrylic then it is just regular enamel. Centari was the Dupont brand I sprayed back in the day.
3. Single Stage Urethane paints are very good for a solid color. I would not use it with metallics, especially if you plan to sand and buff the car- as most hobby painters will want or need to do. Long lasting scratch resistant good paint.
4. Acrylic Urethane paints are the single stage urethane's cousin. Made mainly for fleet, trucking, marine, and equipment type stuff. They are a little different to get to lay down and flow when sprayed. For a pickup truck that is used as one, a fiberglass boat that the gel coat has faded out on that you want to paint this is great stuff. This is the Imron and Amerflint brands among others. They have both one stage, and base/clear system available. This type paint is the best for longevity with no muss or fuss. Tough as nails.
5. Basecoat Clearcoat. This is on nearly every new car manufactured for the last 30-35 years. It is the best choice for metallics and pearls. Also the best choice for something that you might drive a lot that is likely to need repairs down the road. Easiest to get a color "match" that blends well enough that very few could tell it had been repainted. Base/clear system gives the best appearance of depth to the paint job. The clear is a clear urethane and holds up equally as well as a single stage urethane. This is what I would use on almost anything that I would work on.
To complicate things further, for base/clear there are value lines of paint, then their are high end paints. For example Omni is PPG's brand of value line stuff. It is decent to work with. DBC ppg is a high end paint. This stuff is known as the best for color matching for a repair. They have an ultra high end base clear as well called Global. Stuff is high as giraffe balls so I would not venture there unless you are going for a show car and money is no object.
I did not mention lacquer based paints as there are only a few old dog hold outs that would even consider using it.
None of this info is meant to put down anyone else's projects or experience. It is just my educated opinion on auto paint. We all have different budgets and expectations. 90% plus of any decent paint job is in the prep regardless of what paint is sprayed over it.
For those interested Kevin Tate has a series of videos called "paintucation" or something like it that would help guys and gals out with limited experience.
