The price of paint

[WZ JUNK]

I am ready to buy the paint for the 54 Chevy that I have been working on forever.  I really wanted to use a good paint and Dupont is my preference and I want to use a single stage urethane paint.   I went to Oriellys this morning as I get a little discount there.  It was $433 a gallon and I need two gallons plus the activator and reducer.  That means a little under $1,000 for materials.  Now I am shopping for other brands.  I priced Matrix brand from another paint store that I deal with and it comes in at about $200 a gallon.  It will take a little more product as it does not reduce as much and I do not know how good it covers.

The last couple of paint projects I did, did not require a premium paint.  The paint for Hooley"s Henry J was $88 a gallon and it went on good but I really wanted a better quality for this project as we intend to keep it a long time.

Does anyone have any thoughts or preference on paint?   What is the best buy for my money?

John

[rumrumm]

Check out Urethane Enamel like Ditzler Starthane or some of the other urethane enamels. It is much less expensive than base coat/clear coat urethane. My first street rod was painted with single stage Urethane Enamel, and I could not tell it from urethane.

[Charlie Chops 1940]

John,

I've heard good about Kirker paints. I took a look at their website but didn't get in deep.  Looks reasonably priced.

$400 a gallon for any paint is  getting stupid. Look at Sherwin Williams, R-M also.

I'm using acrylic lacquer from Restoration Shop in San Diego on my '40. It comes a little thinner than the old AL's I remember on the color, calls for going 1:1 mix. Seems to work pretty good but it's a bit more work. I bought my stuff a couple years ago but I don't recall what I spent, but it was dumb cheaper than urethane.

Charlie

[MrMopar64]

These are the guys I use.... http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/
I can buy from them and have it shipped for less than buying local
Also if you buy enough (I think $250) they ship for free

MM64  

[34ford]

There was an article in rod & custom or hot rod where they used the new paint that Summit was selling. If I remember right it had good reviews. I see if I can find the article. I think someone on the hamb posted about it also.

bob

[kb426]

Let me save you some grief if you'll let me. All single stage fades, period. Don't do that unless it's your only option. Now, I use Kirker with clear with good results. The cheapest place to buy is smartshoppersinc.com. You can't order from their website. You have to call and talk to a human. I've placed at least 15 orders since 2001 and have yet for them to make an error. Summit and Eastwood sell their product. The Kirker people try very hard at making sure you get what you should. Order more than enough product so if you make a mistake, you will have the same batch number of paint. The color match isn't perfect from batch to batch. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

[Ohio Blue Tip]

I have used Kirker primers with good results.  A local friend whom has done a lot of painting over the last 30 years used their base/clear on his 32 with very good results.  He thought it was as good as the premium paints.  Bought mine from here;

http://www.smartshoppersinc.com/AutomotiveFinishes/AutomotiveFinishes.html

Price is very good.

Ken

[WZ JUNK]

Let me save you some grief if you'll let me. All single stage fades, period. Don't do that unless it's your only option. Now, I use Kirker with clear with good results. The cheapest place to buy is smartshoppersinc.com. You can't order from their website. You have to call and talk to a human. I've placed at least 15 orders since 2001 and have yet for them to make an error. Summit and Eastwood sell their product. The Kirker people try very hard at making sure you get what you should. Order more than enough product so if you make a mistake, you will have the same batch number of paint. The color match isn't perfect from batch to batch. If you have any questions, I'd be glad to help.

I am curious about your comment about single stage paint.  I prefer to use it and I have never had a problem.  Have you personally had problems?

John

[kb426]

Yes, I've had problems. My stuff sits outside most of the time. In 3 years the single stage has faded. I have used Kirker and PPG Omni with the same results. Several years ago, there was a thread on this forum or the hamb about this and there were many posters that had the same exp. All my work was done on bare metal, urethane primer, epoxy sealer and not swapping brands. I'm not an expert but I was a painter back in the 60's. I have painted sporadically my whole life. I have enough equipment to be dangerous.

[chimp koose]

Has anyone tried the duplicolor paints ? they are laquer and I was wondering about the quality. They sell a clearcoat as well but if it is laquer I wonder how it holds up.A local auto parts dealer here sells it for about $25 a quart.

[brucer]

try
omni, or i think its duponts budget brand called shopline...   i think both are sold by dupont suppliers.. they both covered great for me.
i used concept clear

[Digger]

Shopline is by PPG and it replaced Omni. We have used it for a couple of years with very good results. It is about half the cost of reg. PPG line. We had bad luck with Matrix a couple of years ago with no help from the company. The Duplicolor lacquer being sold is already thinned and doesn't cover that great so it's not really a bargain.
A lot of these bargain priced paints are of inconsistent quality and if you have a problem chances are you won't get it fixed.
When we put as much time and sweat as it takes into a project, why chintz on quality at the end? This is the part we have to look at.
Buy from your local paint store, they can help you if something goes wrong.

[WZ JUNK]

Yes, I've had problems. My stuff sits outside most of the time. In 3 years the single stage has faded. I have used Kirker and PPG Omni with the same results. Several years ago, there was a thread on this forum or the hamb about this and there were many posters that had the same exp. All my work was done on bare metal, urethane primer, epoxy sealer and not swapping brands. I'm not an expert but I was a painter back in the 60's. I have painted sporadically my whole life. I have enough equipment to be dangerous.

I appreciate your comments.  I may change my mind and go with the base clear.  I do not want to.

John

[Digger]

Something else to consider if you have a Dupont dealer handy would be Imron single stage, it goes on nice, it can be buffed if need be and it does not fade! Several years ago I painted my wrecker and 2 shop trucks with Imron and they sat outside in midwest weather for four years and were still perfect. The same with several customer vehicles also. A friend of mine has a black Dodge 4w drive I painted 6 years ago ( Imron) that still looks new and has never been garaged. Anyway this is another choice in single stage.

[58Apache]

Check out Southern Polyurethanes; a small business but good. I did a lot of research before I went with them and talked to a lot of pro painters that had used his products and praised them. Check out his forums as he has had some long time pro painters that are happy and have stuck with him for years.

The only thing he doesn't make is base coats anymore. I bought some of his last base coats before he stopped making them.

Southern Polyurethane clears have been used on many famous cars including the mustang that the producer of several car shows owns.

Here's some pics of my car that I painted. It was my first ever paint job and I had a LOT of advice from the owner of Southern Polyurethanes:

http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd16/csmartin33/

                             Steve