Just watched a red mustang convertible being painted on overhaulin.

They talked about the paint being easy because it was single stage, then in the next scene they were wet sanding it and buffing it.

I was under the impression that you cannot wet sand single stage paint, which they did till it was totally dull.

Are there certain types of single stage paint that you can work in this manner?

Rich

I think you can wet sand and buff all of them . The first time I painted my car it was a single stage and I had to wet sand and buff, if the paint is nicely laid, you don't have to.

I no expert but ....

I grew up with lacquer, which I miss dearly.
Paint and sand till you are happy....then buff.

Single stage after it was "cut -n- buffed"

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If you are painting a solid non-metalic single stage is the way to go

you can't wet sand METALLIC single stage. Solids are fine. When you wet sand a metallic you cut the edges off of the " flakes " and that is what makes it dull. You can buff metallics though

I single staged mine.

It looks good and has depth. I don't believe it was sanded but it was polished. It is also a solid color.

John

Single stage solid colors can look very nice after sanding and buffing. I've done seven cars this way and they have a deep beautiful shine. Ray

Of course we all defer to Scotty on this one, but AFAIK, almost all urethane-based single stages can be wetsanded, cut and buffed. Scotty mentioned the metallics being a problem. If I was going metallic, I'd use a basecoat/clearcoat anyway.

If you lay it down well enough, most people don't need to wetsand single stage - a good cut and buff should be adequate. Chip Foose (and Scotty B) level paintjobs are a different story.

I like single stage - it's more forgiving and easier to repair if something does happen, but the trade off is long-term durability. For our track car, knowing it would have nicks and dings anyway, single stage made more sense.

I'd love to learn how to shoot lacquer someday. It's a dying art and once all the old pros are gone, I'd like to be able to say I still know how to do it.

IMHO lacquer is way over rated. Yes it can be beautiful when done, but it doesn't hold out long term very well. I have yet to be able to get it to lay out as slick as I can modern single stages or clears. It is ALWAYS reversible, meaning if at any time in the future you get lacquer thinner on it, it WILL react. I just had a 41 Mercury in for some wheel skirt work. It had old black lacquer on it, the owner insisted I put lacquer on the skirts. By the time I was done the skirts looked great, but the rest of the car was full of crazing. I ended up wet sanding the fenders back a bit and " blending " the crazing out so the skirts didn't stand out like a sore thumb. I've got a set of Harley tanks I think I'm going to do one in black lacquer and one in black 2 stage and see how many people can actually tell the difference

Would like to see that Scotty!

Lacquer just allows you to fix mistakes, paint over the work and continue.
We can't buy lacquer in massachusetts anymore, so it's singles stage for the next one.

Agree, it does not hold up long term, but it's loads easier to fix and maintain...

Rich:

I am certainly no paint expert, but I am very pleased with the single stage acrylic enamel paint job on my three season daily driver. I found touch up to be easy. Will probably cut & buff it to make it shine even more before installing the side PORSCHE decals.

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That looks very nice.

Very Nice!

Since you are all talking about paint..Has anyone used the waterbase paints? I see there using them on Overhaulin now... Pros/cons?

I used DCC single stage on my TR6 and laid on enough to color sand. That way when I don't lay it on quite right I have a chance of wet sanding and polishing it out. I was happy with it.

I am going to go with Bahia Red because it was the original color. THe shop made me half pints of the single and 2 stage paint with the suggestion that red doesn't hold up well under UV, so the clear coat would protect it.

I wish that I could paint into corners in interiors. The paint just comes back at me and sometimes does other nasty tricks. Color sanding the trunk was not my idea of fun. Also the single stage paints seem to be very hard these days. Slow to sand. Good luck. My garage is still over freezing, but not for long.

Rich's favorite car in single stage

same red on an Alfa but in base clear.

Single stage Nason urethane off the gun before cut and buff.

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After cut and buff taken with a DSLR and run through editing software.

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Saigon;

Did you use the Eastwood Concours HVLP 4cfm gun?

http://www.eastwood.com/ew-concours-primer...content_reviews

And what brand paint?

My God, Scotty that looks good. For the red is single or double stage the better choice. If i ever live in CA it will be at the northern border, so the cars may not see the sun.

Also, any hints about spraying inside corners? I have painted a couple cars, and while i will never be actually good at it, i care.
Thanks,
-Warren

Very true.

+1 ....... Good stuff & reasonably priced.

My one & only paint job. Front trunk & interior done seperately.

Either. 2 stage is easier to maintain, holds out better in the long run and IMHO looks just as good if done properly. People whack on and on about the " depth " of lacquer, that it can't be obtained with base clear. I say b.s. BUt I haven't actually put the two side by side, hence my Harley tank experiment. I need to see for myself if there really is that much difference. I rarely use single stage. Only if it is a really cheap job, or if the owner specifies it, which does happen. This one was 2 stage. Looks pretty deep to me

Well, kind of.

I TRIED to paint the car myself with that gun. The finish was smooth & glossy but riddled with fisheye. It was pretty humid when I painted & I believe water from the compressor caused the fisheye problem, but will never really know. I was running a water separator at the tank and one at the gun too.

I think with the right conditions, that Eastwood gun would yield excellent results as I was able to paint a test panel flawlessly.

It was such a frustrating experience, I had the car towed to a local restoration shop and paid to have them paint it. The guy was really cool about it...he let me work with him to re-sand the car to keep costs down.

Paint is 2nd dimension 5.0 Acrylic Enamel from a local paint store, with their recommended primer.

Damn Scotty, you do some fine paint work!

I guess that's why you make the big $$$.