Paint Recommendations:

[451Mopar]

Looking for recommendations. Need a gallon of custom color paint. Who would you trust or do business with either online or possible national franchise with local stores? 1st time paint job, recommendations for paint that will spray easily, be forgiving of newb mistakes, gloss up great with a few coats of clear, and last for more than a year?

Good question. I haven't painted a car since about 1990, used the Dupont Chromabase/cromaclear, but it looks like Dupont was bought out or changed brand names? I was shocked at how expensive paint is now!
I'll read the suggestions of others.
I'd like to see prices and quality scale for the different paints?
Like is PPG Deltron a better value for quality/durability than Omni which seems only slightly less expensive?

 

[Davefinan]

I have only used ppg. My last two I went with the Omni line. First of the two was a metallic, it took many passes to get any kind of coverage…..hell of a time. The second one was a solid color white (spinnaker). That one went real well.

 

[Erik Morris]

Oh... one more caveat... yes, the car itself bears strong consideration. A 69 Charger is not a 63 Rambler, no disrespect to a Rambler, but point made. Your approach for this car should be an important one.

Sorry, my reply was deliberately flippant as I caught nothing but condescending from your "eric...eric" reply, as in "tsk...tsk..." while shaking your head. I can't imagine you'd be excited about someone replying back to you with "Bobby...Bobby", your post makes no sense". Long frustrating day in the garage and I'm doing a keto meat diet that prohibits beers so I'm understandably rather F'd up. I agree that all is well.
Condition of the metal is excellent overall; only exception is pinholes in the trunk. Original color was Silver Iridescent, but the prior owner rattlecanned the whole car flat black to include 1/2 of the trim. It had a vinyl roof at some point but that is long gone and I do not plan to install one; the roof is rust free. Paint, in addition to the exterior, will be going in the engine bay, hood and underside, jams, trunk lid and underside, as well as trunk interior. Bottom of the car is still thoroughly coated with 53 year old dealer installed undercoating which has preserved the underside greatly and I'll be leaving that as-is for the time being. I don't plan to paint the car in any original factory color thus no need for that code. At the moment I have a pair of Devilbliss paint guns donated from a local MOPAR enthusiast and will be painting in my garage with floor to ceiling drop cloths and a dual fan intake/exhaust setup.

 

[Dan64]

Erikkk , Look up "Paint Society" on You Tube, tons of great videos geared to the Do it yourselfer.

 

[Budnicks]

I hadn't painted a car since like 2005-ish,
my old silver 68 RR
I did a paint job in my garage in 2017,
another 68 RR in the org. base/clear LL1 Surf Turquoise Metallic

make sure to use a high quality & compatible primers
& a good sealer too
sand & sand some more
the finished product weighs heavily on the prep

I just recently (4+ years ago) did a Base Clear Coat
Acyrilic Laquer LL1 paint style org. paint
I couldn't find much in stock anywhere
I bought all the stuff from https://www.AutomotiveTouchUp.com
$495 a gal. & $74 a gal. for the clear (really easy to use the product)
about $1,200 total, I got 2 gallons of primer from them too...
with a few cans of aerosol rattle can touch up
like at $20-$28 (?) a 20oz (?) can...
On my 68 RR
They were only people that had it in stock
& at a decent price
at the time & I didn't want to wait, months on end or pay $2,000-$3,000 ++
for just paint alone for 2 gals & clear
(they even made rattle cans for touch up if need be, of both base & clear
it has different black paint & red accents, below the body line & lift-off hood)
it took near 2 gals of base for the roof, trunk, back & (1/2) sides of the car
I was amazed how much paint it took
(some guys I know said; 'I needed 7 coats of base' maybe I should've )

**(I also didn't do the interior of the trunk or engine bay, it is OK for now, I will
do them when I pull the engine sometime in the future, it's just a driver mostly,
it's a driver quality car & paint now too, I do love the org. color, no fault of the supplies)

I sanded the **** out of it,
primered it several times (3) & sanded/blocked/boarded
the **** out of it
between coats, prior to the layers of primer
It was painted in metallics base/clears,
& really show 'any scratches' & I assume I had paint shrinkage
I put between 4 of base 50% overlay & a 7 total with (3) clear coats
of base/clear coat on the main exterior

I thought I sanded the hell out of it, from 180-220 after the 1st
& 220-320, after the 2nd & 3rd
(3 coats, mostly from some minor bodywork, dings & dents nothing major)
& to 600 grit wet-sanded
before the 1 coat of sealer & then paint
I thought I went way up & above what I needed too...

good thing is no dirt in the paint at all no overspray or dull areas
really great coverage for what I did...
At no Fault of the product at all

this was 1st day out in the sun, no cutt or buff yet
don't pay attention to the date codes either it was Nov 2017
it was still 70*+ outside & 80*+ inside the garage,
when painted
*That was part of my inpatients, I just wanted it done,
be over with it & have color back on the damn car
I didn't want to wait till the following spring...
I wasn't looking for a show car, just a decent/affordable paint job...

It looked great for about a month or so, after it was painted
then slowly I started seeing fine scratches under the paint & clear
a few deeper scratches, I thought would be gone
from prior to all the primer & sealer/sanding again between each coats...

I think I needed better light, that's my story & I'm sticking to it...

I used to paint all my racecars all 26 of them
The single-stage is far easier IMO, goes on much thicker too,
fewer coats needed

I like the product, I did something wrong
I don't know what either, I did all the right steps "I think"

The moral of the story is prep the **** out of it
I thought I did it right...

by the way
77' Corvette has/was a great color of "Bright Yellow" in a single-stage

good luck

 

[joe smith]

I was shocked at how expensive paint is now!

Now?? I spent over $1500 on a gallon of red and a gallon of clear 18 years ago...

 

[slimt]

Now?? I spent over $1500 on a gallon of red and a gallon of clear 18 years ago...

ya. Its not cheap.

 

[slimt]

I hadn't painted a car since like 2005-ish,
my old silver 68 RR
I did a paint job in my garage in 2017,
another 68 RR in the org. base/clear LL1 Surf Turquoise Metallic

make sure to use a high quality & compatible primers
& a good sealer too
sand & sand some more
the finished product weighs heavily on the prep

I just recently (4+ years ago) did a Base Clear Coat
Acyrilic Laquer LL1 paint style org. paint
I couldn't find much in stock anywhere
I bought all the stuff from https://www.AutomotiveTouchUp.com
$495 a gal. & $74 a gal. for the clear (really easy to use the product)
about $1,200 total, I got 2 gallons of primer from them too...
with a few cans of aerosol rattle can touch up
like at $20-$28 (?) a 20oz (?) can...
On my 68 RR
They were only people that had it in stock
& at a decent price
at the time & I didn't want to wait, months on end or pay $2,000-$3,000 ++
for just paint alone for 2 gals & clear
(they even made rattle cans for touch up if need be, of both base & clear
it has different black paint & red accents, below the body line & lift-off hood)
it took near 2 gals of base for the roof, trunk, back & (1/2) sides of the car
I was amazed how much paint it took
(some guys I know said; 'I needed 7 coats of base' maybe I should've )

**(I also didn't do the interior of the trunk or engine bay, it is OK for now, I will
do them when I pull the engine sometime in the future, it's just a driver mostly,
it's a driver quality car & paint now too, I do love the org. color, no fault of the supplies)

I sanded the **** out of it,
primered it several times (3) & sanded/blocked/boarded
the **** out of it
between coats, prior to the layers of primer
It was painted in metallics base/clears,
& really show 'any scratches' & I assume I had paint shrinkage
I put between 4 of base 50% overlay & a 7 total with (3) clear coats
of base/clear coat on the main exterior

I thought I sanded the hell out of it, from 180-220 after the 1st
& 220-320, after the 2nd & 3rd
(3 coats, mostly from some minor bodywork, dings & dents nothing major)
& to 600 grit wet-sanded
before the 1 coat of sealer & then paint
I thought I went way up & above what I needed too...

good thing is no dirt in the paint at all no overspray or dull areas
really great coverage for what I did...
At no Fault of the product at all

this was 1st day out in the sun, no cutt or buff yet
don't pay attention to the date codes either it was Nov 2017
it was still 70*+ outside & 80*+ inside the garage,
when painted
*That was part of my inpatients, I just wanted it done,
be over with it & have color back on the damn car
I didn't want to wait till the following spring...
I wasn't looking for a show car, just a decent/affordable paint job...
View attachment 1277677

View attachment 1277684

It looked great for about a month or so, after it was painted
then slowly I started seeing fine scratches under the paint & clear
a few deeper scratches, I thought would be gone
from prior to all the primer & sealer/sanding again between each coats...

I think I needed better light, that's my story & I'm sticking to it...

I used to paint all my racecars all 26 of them
The single-stage is far easier IMO, goes on much thicker too,
fewer coats needed

I like the product, I did something wrong
I don't know what either, I did all the right steps "I think"

The moral of the story is prep the **** out of it
I thought I did it right...

by the way
77' Corvette has/was a great color of "Bright Yellow" in a single-stage

good luck

It takes time. It all starts with trying to make sure the metal work and welded seams are nice. Proper materials are used and proper flash times. Blocking inline to achieve a straight panel , cross blocking on the contours , finessing each step. Edges are important not to have to much build of product and its a great area for chipping , peeling. Its a process. Ive often mentioned to my apprentices. That doing a panel at a time keeps a person from being overwhelmed with the scope of the project. Read the tech sheets provided by the painted company. Learn the process.

 

[Imperial One]

Hey I am obviously completely out of it here. If a person wanted to cheap out can't they just buy old school automotive enamel like we did back in 1980 for $40 per gallon (plus whatever inflation has added). Does that product no longer exist?

 

[slimt]

Hey I am obviously completely out of it here. If a person wanted to cheap out can't they just buy old school automotive enamel like we did back in 1980 for $40 per gallon (plus whatever inflation has added). Does that product no longer exist?

You can buy industrial paint. But chances are they could not mix the color.
We have endura up here they can mix most colors. But its for a overall complete job. No chances of panel blending if something happens.

 

[Imperial One]

You can buy industrial paint. But chances are they could not mix the color.
We have endura up here they can mix most colors. But its for a overall complete job. No chances of panel blending if something happens.

Old school paint has got to be available in other (read third world) nations. No way, say, some regular guy in India or Mexico is going to spend $1,500 just on materials for a paint job.

And what happened? Some environmental issue? Back in the day every automotive parts store mixed paint. As I said, I've been "out of it" for 40 years, but this seems ridiculous.

 

[WileE]

Sorry, my reply was deliberately flippant as I caught nothing but condescending from your "eric...eric" reply, as in "tsk...tsk..." while shaking your head. I can't imagine you'd be excited about someone replying back to you with "Bobby...Bobby", your post makes no sense". Long frustrating day in the garage and I'm doing a keto meat diet that prohibits beers so I'm understandably rather F'd up. I agree that all is well.
Condition of the metal is excellent overall; only exception is pinholes in the trunk. Original color was Silver Iridescent, but the prior owner rattlecanned the whole car flat black to include 1/2 of the trim. It had a vinyl roof at some point but that is long gone and I do not plan to install one; the roof is rust free. Paint, in addition to the exterior, will be going in the engine bay, hood and underside, jams, trunk lid and underside, as well as trunk interior. Bottom of the car is still thoroughly coated with 53 year old dealer installed undercoating which has preserved the underside greatly and I'll be leaving that as-is for the time being. I don't plan to paint the car in any original factory color thus no need for that code. At the moment I have a pair of Devilbliss paint guns donated from a local MOPAR enthusiast and will be painting in my garage with floor to ceiling drop cloths and a dual fan intake/exhaust setup.

Ha ! ... see how print does not convey intent. Let's add some ambiance for MY intent: { the old guy puts his arm over the kid's shoulder and says} Eric, Eric... what is it you're looking to accomplish ? {in an inquiring tone} Your post doesn't make sense.{to me, I need to hear some more} Elaborate what you have & what you intend to do, many people here can assist you with great experience. { asking for more info, so we don't inadvertently steer you in the wrong direction } .... Hope that makes my post better understandable . Now... you REALLY got my sympathy ! No beer ???? AAagh !!!

 

[slimt]

Old school paint has got to be available in other (read third world) nations. No way, say, some regular guy in India or Mexico is going to spend $1,500 just on materials for a paint job.

And what happened? Some environmental issue? Back in the day every automotive parts store mixed paint. As I said, I've been "out of it" for 40 years, but this seems ridiculous.

in the early 80s up here. They removed lead from the paint. solvent Base / clears became a thing. Nicer finishes. Then it was the solvents that were toxic Water based paints became the norm.
You can still buy single stage urethanes. All I know is the color selections are limited with the products I use.

ppg has a water based primer. But it has its limits also a life span before its no good to use.

 

[Erik Morris]

by the way
77' Corvette has/was a great color of "Bright Yellow" in a single-stage

good luck[/QUOTE]

Budnicks,
Thank you for the detailed layout and "fill in the blanks" details. I'm not looking to ever show the car, I want a decent paint job that won't look like a case of scurvy, but looks a bit less apocalyptic than the 68' Charger pictured below. I've considered the Corvette Yellow, Daytona Yellow, electric yellow, and a host of other similar hues. I'm interested in a bright yellow with some black accents. Taillight surround, bumblebee stripe, hood indentations beside the turn signals....looking to do matte black just for a little more contrast to the yellow. Windows will have some tint to complete the effect. This is pretty close to the color I'm considering.

 

[Budnicks]

by the way
77' Corvette has/was a great color of "Bright Yellow" in a single-stage

good luck

Budnick,
Thank you for the detailed layout and "fill in the blanks" details. I'm not looking to ever show the car, I want a decent paint job that won't look like a case of scurvy, but looks a bit less apocalyptic than the 68' Charger pictured below. I've considered the Corvette Yellow, Daytona Yellow, electric yellow, and a host of other similar hues. I'm interested in a bright yellow with some black accents. Taillight surround, bumblebee stripe, hood indentations beside the turn signals....looking to do matte black just for a little more contrast to the yellow. Windows will have some tint to complete the effect. This is pretty close to the color I'm considering.

View attachment 1277714

[/QUOTE]
Erik, I had my org. 68 Charger R/T I got in 1974
painted in that 77' Covertte 'Bright Yellow'

it had a black interior & a black vinyl top too

it was org. a GG1 Dark Green, with black accents

Sorry, No Photos available... I wish I did have some...
never was a real photo or camera guy in my youth...
Rebel with no cause

Right after it was in color & I unwrapped all the taping etc.
I totally regretted it
But it was in the 70's like 1979,
I wanted a bright color, there was too many Orange cars so I went with the brightest Yellow I could find, in an Emron Enamel Paint
I was young & didn't give a crap about originality...
It was a day 2 car all the way, 1 of 12 Gen 2 Chargers I had

My current 68 RR was a Dupont Ultra Flat Black Paint,
(sort of a semi-gloss/low gloss) for 12 years
(IIRC it cost like $200 in paint, was like $100-ish a gal.)
IMO it was 'sinister looking' cool as all hell !!!
but it got old, the look got old to me anyway
& it was supposed to be temporary...

IMO it really needed to have 'a color' again, other than black
before I finally broke down & painted it the org. color LL1

 

[Erik Morris]

Budnicks "Right after it was in color & I unwrapped all the taping etc.
I totally regretted it"

????? Regretted it? Why?

 

[Runner 68]

My two cents.
Since he's not looking to shoot a show quality job, go with the Omni line of PPG. It's cheaper but I'm still not convinced the higher end Delton paints are much better.
Do a two stage over a single stage. The base color coat is pretty much idiot proof as far as running it and even flow. The Omni clears have a slight yellow tint to them but lay down real nice. If you **** it up, block it down and buff it out. Piece of cake. The single stage paints seem to be a little thin to me and run easier.

They developed 2 stage for a reason.

The U2 blue above is Omni 2 stage for the interior. The jambs are Deltron WW1 white with blue Murano mid coat-tri stage as is the rest of the car.

 

[Erik Morris]

Budnicks........Love those rims!

 

[Canadian1968]

Sikkens is good to. We are in the process of going Sikkens after 5 years of envirobase ppg. Ive used it in the past. Every bit as much work. And making sure all the tasks are done properly for a Great looking job.

Also a long time sikkens user . For the OP they also have a line called UTECH which is a single stage urathane paint. Recently had to spray quite a bit of this stuff on some fleet vehicles and I must say was very impressed !! Great coverage, easy spray, very nice durable finished when cured! . For a solid colour it would be my choice !! Make sure you get the accelerator with it though!

 

[streetmachine]

Would the TCP Global paint be any good? Some people say it's a decent paint. I hear some people say PPG isn't what it use to be for quality but, wanted to hear more opinions?