Where to Source Paint, What's the trick? Options

[BeatNavy]

I'm inching closer, ever closer at a glacial pace, to break down and learn how to paint. I'm probably going to buy a turbine HLVP setup soon. I think I've finally decided to take my car back to its original L60E, Irish Green.

Question: why can't I find a place that will mix this? I initially tried places in Maryland until I learned that one really can't buy anything other than water-based paint in Maryland. Ok, so I'm willing to drive to Delaware or Virginia. But I've called like 6 places, and while they can find L60E in their book, they don't seem to be able to mix it.

I do have a place about and hour and a half away from me in VA that says he "probably" can mix it up. I'd like a little more confidence than "probably" before I take a 3 hour round trip.

Totally new to this process, so I'm looking for ideas.

[jd74914]

There is a PPG dealer nearby who can mix paint with codes. What kind of paint are you looking for?

Have to ask-why a turbine HVLP? I've found a good regulator on the 80 gal compressor works well with an HVLP gun.

[Mikey914]

True L60E probably has some items in it that you can't buy now. PPG does seem to offer a high quality easy to work with product and I'd be surprised if they couldn't do a modern version of it that's true to the original color.

[Shivers]

I don't know if this will help but:
"1970 914-6 are stamped 15 in the door post tag, which is the VW code for Irish Green"

[jasons]

When I painted my car, I went to one of the best paint supply shops in town and they didn't have the formula for the original 70's Porsche color I wanted (Gulf Blue IIRC). I ended up picking a 70's Mercedes color out of their PPG books. You might have luck looking at VW codes. Some of them cross over to 914's.

[roblav1]

The PPG dealer in Suffolk, VA mixed my paint. I gave them both 914 and 911 codes for Bahia Red, and they knew the difference. The woman running the store knew her stuff. I went with the 911 Bahia Red.

[roblav1]

Also, the Black Widow HVLP gun from Harbor Freight worked pretty well.

[BeatNavy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I did call the national PPG number trying to find a retailer, and they gave me two in Delaware and one in VA to call. I thought "surely one of those can do it." The ones Delaware could not. The one in VA said they could...but I'm hesitant based on how confident they sounded. Maybe I just need to keep looking at other providers? I do see the VW and Porsche codes for Irish Green, and I just tell the person I speak with that it's "L60E, Irish Green, and may come up as either Porsche and/or VW."

I was considering buying a compressor and the whole setup, but I'm intrigued by these self-contained turbines. I don't currently own any air tools, and I like the fact that the turbine systems are:

1. portable
2. self-contained (no dryer setup required)
3. Apparently very forgiving to newbies (very little overspray, low-risk on the moisture, and they atomize well depending on the setup).

[BeatNavy]

I called a couple of other shops in MD and VA today. One guy in VA told me the PPG formula for L60E used something called J23 Medium Chrome Yellow, which was discontinued a few years back. I'm not sure if they came up with a substitute or not, but they had nothing.

Got a shop in VA that says they can do it. I guess I'll make a trip over there sometime in the next week or two.

[914e]

I called a couple of other shops in MD and VA today. One guy in VA told me the PPG formula for L60E used something called J23 Medium Chrome Yellow, which was discontinued a few years back. I'm not sure if they came up with a substitute or not, but they had nothing.

Got a shop in VA that says they can do it. I guess I'll make a trip over there sometime in the next week or two.

I was always under the impression the PPG would reformulate the pigments for these old colors. The original Signal Orange also had pigments (likely the same Medium Chrome Yellow) that can't be used any more. The paint store contacted PPG to reformulate.

[roblav1]

When I was in the PPG store in Suffolk, they showed me that the Bahia Red crossed over to an old Chevrolet color. Irish Green might also.

[BeatNavy]

Thanks, @914e and @roblav1 . Yeah, I was thinking that there HAS to be some way to substitute the pigment for the one that was discontinued or otherwise cross to something that is essentially the same. It would probably help if I was standing there in the store rather than just talking to them on the phone and I could press them on it to do some more research.

When I google J23 Medium Chrome Yellow I can see PPG discontinuing it, although the page is a little unclear what the substitute is, if any.

[76-914]

My only experience with a Turbine HVLP was about 25 years ago so what I'm about to say may have been corrected. They seemed to work well for woodworkers spraying varnish and such but the turbine blows hot air and when spraying auto paint it would end up looking chalky unless you held the gun very close to the surface. Then the pattern was greatly reduced and runs were a problem. If you buy an 80 gal compressor and an HVLP gun you will always have that large compressor to use with many other tools afterwards. There are some Chinese made De Vilbess knock offs that work really well and are less than $100. Look for a gun that will accept different size tips and spend ~$25 on a Paint viscosity tester so you get the correct consistency when spraying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[BeatNavy]

My only experience with a Turbine HVLP was about 25 years ago so what I'm about to say may have been corrected. They seemed to work well for woodworkers spraying varnish and such but the turbine blows hot air and when spraying auto paint it would end up looking chalky unless you held the gun very close to the surface. Then the pattern was greatly reduced and runs were a problem. If you buy an 80 gal compressor and an HVLP gun you will always have that large compressor to use with many other tools afterwards. There are some Chinese made De Vilbess knock offs that work really well and are less than $100. Look for a gun that will accept different size tips and spend ~$25 on a Paint viscosity tester so you get the correct consistency when spraying. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

That's good info. I've read quite a few things that say the turbine technology has come a long way in the last few years, especially in terms of 3, 4, and 5 stage turbines that don't heat the air (much) and atomize the paint really well with almost no overspray. But I could be wrong, and I welcome others experiences / input.

This video shows up a lot when doing the research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uWEQpEhQFE

[rudedude]

I just painted a 911 using a turbine and was quite impressed with how well it turned out. Much less overspray and no need to worry about moisture and oil from the compressor. do need to use the slowest high temp reducer but had no problem with ppg's good paint.

[mepstein]

Rob - Call me if I can help with any DE shops. We used to use kayfield in Newark DE until the shop purchased a Glasurit mixing booth.

[wndsrfr]

Best paint I ever got was Glasurit...15 years ago though....Here's a link to the BASF paint dealers--might get some luck asking them for Glasurit......
https://refinish.basf.us/where-to-buy/

[BeatNavy]

Thanks, Mark / John. Mark, I called two of the Kayfield locations in DE after calling PPG national. I think they go by "Single Source" or something now? Neither one could help, although I probably could (or should start) pressing these shops to figure out a solution.

John, I'll check out the BASF link and see what I can find.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

[mepstein]

When you think you found the right paint, buy a small amount of it and practice with your spray gun. Just like house paint, the color will often look different than it's supposed to but at least you will get practice and dial in your settings and technique.

I think Michael/Cairo's crew had to play around a bit to find the right green for his car.

I'm no expert on paint but I do know from buying it for the shop that there is a lot of variation. You need to look at actual spray out samples and not just what the book says it should look like. Different paint brands and even different quality lines within the brands will all look different.

[BeatNavy]

@wndsrfr from the BASF website you posted I found a place called Motor Car Colors in New Castle, DE (right near @mepstein (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ). The guy there says he can do it no problem with a Glasurit formula. He was very helpful, and it's about an hour away. I'll probably make a run up there soon and pick up enough to initially just respray the rollbar. I had taken the vinyl off (as part of the rollbar group buy) and found I had to so some metal replacement. I'd like to get that all green again before putting the new vinyl back on.

My how the "while I'm in there" story unfolds with these cars....

Thanks again for everyone's help!