Auto painting then vs. now

[Michael Weber]

The "then" being the mid to late 70's. Anyone know if the base-coat/clear-coat paints of today are easier or more difficult (for strictly amateur use) to apply than the older single step method? Thanks, Mike

[Ole Anderson]

When I painted my '73 GMC van with some kind of one step paint (lacquer or acrylic enamel, I don't remember) I had to wheel out the whole van, which took more skill than I had. Later I used three step (2k primer, base, clear) on my Jeep, I found that the clear coat covered a lot of inexperience applying the base coat and it turned out really well, considering I am not a painter by trade.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I shoot surfboards with two part automotive clearcoat. It's easy to use and dries quickly. Not much working time. It cures hard as ever.

[Ken Combs]

There are still single stage paints available. Same chemistry, just all in one. If you're using metallic, the two stage is much easier to use without mottling as the base doesn't have to be applied thick enough to shine. However, the single stage version is fine for non-metallic. Urethanes in general require a better gun to atomize them without over-reducing, which causes a loss of gloss.

Most people find that they have some orange peel that requires color sanding and buffing. But, with a high end gun and some practice you can get a nice finish equal to factory right out of the gun.

[Michael Weber]

There are still single stage paints available. Same chemistry, just all in one. If you're using metallic, the two stage is much easier to use without mottling as the base doesn't have to be applied thick enough to shine. However, the single stage version is fine for non-metallic. Urethanes in general require a better gun to atomize them without over-reducing, which causes a loss of gloss.

Most people find that they have some orange peel that requires color sanding and buffing. But, with a high end gun and some practice you can get a nice finish equal to factory right out of the gun. the coat thickness was a major concern. It seems when I used the single coat of whatever kind of paint it was in the 70's, it had to be applied very thickly just shy of having runs but maybe I was doing it wrong:confused: With that in mind it looks like the base coat of the two stage system can be applied in several thin coats.

[John Ziebron]

I painted several cars back in the 70s. Mostly lacquer but one enamel. All were solid colors with no clear coat.

Fast forward to a few years ago when I had to paint the hood on a 2001 Chevy truck that was metallic blue. So I bought a small cans of the base coat and clear coat from a local auto paint supplier. When I sprayed the base coat on I thought the guy mixed the wrong color for me. I was surprised too that the base coat had a very matte, but metallic, finish to it. Then I was really surprised when I put the clear coat on. In addition to providing a shiny finish it changed the look of the base coat and now matched completely.

[Myk Rian]

Back in '73, a neighbor painted his Rambler. It was very easy as he used latex paint and a roller.
True story.

[Mac McQuinn]

Back in '73, a neighbor painted his Rambler. It was very easy as he used latex paint and a roller.
True story.

A long gone friend, painted his first car with thinned out lacquer sprayed with a "Hudson" hand pump sprayer. Wet sanded it and hand polished, It looked amazingly good. He was one of "those" guys who do just about anything well. Built a stick welder from scratch and converted a gasoline engine to diesel.
Old school WWII veteran with a can do approach.
Mac

[Rollie Meyers]

Back in '73, a neighbor painted his Rambler. It was very easy as he used latex paint and a roller.
True story.

Yuck! That had to have a nasty look to it, what is almost as bad is automotive rattle can paint jobs.

[Mel Fulks]

Years ago it was pretty common around here to see brush painted vehicles. FIXALL paint was often used and leveled well.

[John Ziebron]

Quite a few years ago my older brother got our mom's hand me down '55 Chevy. Of course, it had some rusted out areas on it like around the top of the headlights. So he cleaned up all the rust and used some bondo. He figured he'd be smart to prevent future rust and bought several cans of Rustoleum spray primer. Then he took it to Earl Schieb to get the whole car painted. When he told them it was Rustoleum primer they wouldn't touch it. So he bought some Rustoleum gloss black paint and put it on with a roller. Talk about an orange peel finish. But it didn't rust anywhere for a long time.