Lacquer painting

[Dave Henderson]

I've been away from it for a long time.....If you are still using it, what supplier was your source? Is it is all imported? Brand names? Does it level out nicely and have the depth and quality as did the old domestic brands? Are there still good high temp thinners out there?

In the past I always used DuPont. Are there still some name brand USA company's stocks available? I am planning to do black. Your comments and experiences would be much appreciated. Dave jrdshen@verizon.net

[TexRiv_63]

Dave,

I quit painting cars in 1991. Before that I loved using lacquer as it was easy to blend, level and buff in my stone-age facilities. On the last car I painted with Dupont lacquer I noticed a big difference, it did not cover or flow out like before. I was told by my dealer that EPA regs had taken most of the lead out of the mix, and it was the lead that made the old stuff work so well! Of course since then things have really changed. I inquired at my current paint supplier recently and they did not carry lacquer at all but the sent me to another dealer who still had it. I did not actually buy any but on inquiry found out it was VERY expensive. I'm sure the real experts can tell you what the story is today.

[Guest Roar]

You can find Lacquer on EBay, I also like it in that it's much easier to use than enamel and dries much faster preventing contamination!

Cheers;

Roar

[Restorer32]

With lacquer you can paint a car on a windy night in a barn with a broom and have it come out ok.

[Dave Henderson]

Thanks guys. Still more answers welcomed. Dave

[Vila]

Which type of lacquer are you looking for?

The Auto Color Library has Acrylic Lacquer at: Auto Color Library - The World's Largest Online Color-Chip Library

The PPG Duracryl is approximately $375 per gallon and there Restoration Shop brand is around $160 per gallon.

For a while the PPG was going for $570 per gallon, but I noticed the price recently came down.

Visit my website at: http://mysite.verizon.net/vze114b79/

Vila

AACA, VCCA, VTR, TRA, CPTC

1933 Chevrolet

1962 Triumph TR4

1984 BMW 633 CSi

Edited May 18, 2010 by Vila
Name (see edit history)

[old car fan]

By no means do i want to hi-jack this thread,but what are the pros using,That means u restorer,i have seen some cars.Thanks

[Restorer32]

Most shops that I am familiar with now use base/clear though we still use lacquer now and then. The "look" has more to do with the wet sanding and polishing than it does with the type paint used, in my opinion. Modern paints are incredibly durable but generally difficult to repair. Lacquer won't kill you as quickly. We use all PPG products.

[Bhigdog]

R32 raises a couple of points. In my opinion single stage with hardener can mimick a lacquer job in looks. is easily repairable, and is not near as deadly as base/clear. Granted it is not as easy to apply but it is forgivable of mistakes............Bob

[Dave Henderson]

Thanks guys. Whatever I do, I won't use bc/cc. In my opinion it's a fake paint job. An old used car dealer's trick was to shoot clear coat over old tired paint to revive the gloss. Guess my recollection of that practice has jaded my thinking, but I just don't like the paint system's concept. My '93 Buick which has been mostly garaged has its bc/cc paint coming off in small chunks right down to the primer. On old cars this seldom happened, either with the enamel or lacquer paints.

Please keep those comments coming. Dave

[Restorer32]

Then you REALLY will be unhappy when Federal EPA mandated water born paints become mandatory nationwide, likely in 2012. Modern base/clears are nothing like what was available in '93.

[Larry Schramm]

On the bc/cc I agree with restorer32 that the paint today is light years ahead of 17 years ago. As for the enamel and lacquer not going bad I would disagree. I have rubbed out/ polished more enamel and laquer paint jobs that have oxidized than I can remember. If I were to do a complete paint job today I would only use bc/cc. I am painting the Corvette in a couple of weeks which had a lacquer paint job that oxidized and went bad for numerous reasons including age with a bc/cc job.

[Guest billybird]

I have seen lacquer paint jobs crack, sometimes over the entire car. Don' really know why. I like basecoat/clearcoat because it can be aggressively sanded and buffed. It's work, but the results are as good as any lacquer job I ever saw, and in my opinion more durable.

[Larry Schramm]

Typically lacquer cracks or is called micro checking because the amount of paint is too thick. Once it cracks it is usually a remove and replace activity.

[Guest Roar]

Many years ago, I bought out the remains of a body shop and still have around 35 cans of lacquer and enamel, little did I know it was an investment!--$375 a gal!! SHEESH!

Roar

53 Lagonda DH

Austin Healey 100-4

Lotus Europa TCSpecial

DolphinPorsche F1

Coffield Mk-III

1939 GMC Champ car (current project)

etc.

[hwellens]

One thing that was not pointed out with clear coat is that any repair, even minor and the entire panel must be clearcoated again. You cannot blend it. May not be a problem on newer cars, but, the older ones with possibility of fenderwelt, headlight bars, lights, etc having to be removed may be labor intensive.

[TexRiv_63]

If you are trying to accurately replicate the look of an old car that was factory painted with lacquer on a show-only restoration, using lacquer makes sense. But for any car you plan to actually drive on the street you would be much better off with modern catalized paint. Lacquer was never considered durable, chipped and cracked easily, and needed buffing out on a regular basis which thinned the paint coat. In comparison modern paint is almost indestructable and need little upkeep.

[Dave Henderson]

Wow! This thread is yielding far more inputs than I expected, and I thank all for it. Maybe I've been a bit too quick in my disapproval of bc/cc, but despite its advances, the difficulty of repairing it hangs heavy on my mind. My only experience with it was doing a full sideswipe repair on an old Mazda about 20 years ago with lacquer based bc/cc. It came out good and was relatively easy and inexpensive back then. Darn, I miss the ease of applying the old lacquer, and its pleasing results, before the formula changes I am hearing about. Perhaps I've become mental-blocked, this whole paint thing has me a bit frustrated.

Keep those comments coming! Dave

[hwellens]

Over the years everyone raved about the new paints. I don't know how anyone can tell how the future of these bc/cc and how they will hold up. If you buy a new car today the dealer will tell you the new paints are inferior and you need sealers over the clear coat. I doubt EPA did us any favors.

[Guest tgresto54]

Restoring cars for 40 years I followed the change from laquer to bc/cc in my shop. BC/CC is for sure in my opinion the way to go. An experienced painter does not have problems with blending or repairs. Now retired and not having proper facilities I have painted an 85 Fiat Bertone X19, 75 Fiat Spider and a 92 Mecury Capri conv in my driveway with Dupont colormatch auto color spray cans. Wait a week. Sand and rub. All 3 came out looking like show paint. Who knows how long they will look like that but 2 years later they still look like new

[msmazcol]

We once painted a 62 Buick Special with rattle can technology. The True Value was convinced the water tower was going to get messed with some night!

The car looked awesome from about 300 feet.

Kids.

[Landman]

I have seen lacquer paint jobs crack, sometimes over the entire car. Don' really know why. I like basecoat/clearcoat because it can be aggressively sanded and buffed. It's work, but the results are as good as any lacquer job I ever saw, and in my opinion more durable.

I had cracking happen on a car,especially on inside curves. I was told lacquer is hard and doesn't stretch as much as enamel for example and when the metal expands and shrinks, the paint pulls apart ,creating cracks.