How much paint?

[bigfosty]

Will I need to paint my truck, 75 K-10? I am going to used a lacquer based paint so no activator or reducer is needed, just paint. I have to order it online so I prefer to get the right amount the first time and not have to wait for more if I run out. Thanks for any help.

[78 Chevyrado]

stepside? fleetside?  lwb? swb?  in the cab too?  under the hood?  inside the bed?

[80stepsideguy]

Depends on how much you doing. Are you going to paint the inside of the cab??Under the hood?? inside the doors, fenders?? I really wouldnt use lacquer.I dont know where you can actually get lacquer anymore to tell you the truth.Its not durable and it wont stand up to the UV rays like todays paint.Why not go with single stage  Also your truck a LWB or a SWB???

thanks
pat

[Blazin]

As far as I knew you can't get lacquer anymore. Even if you could you still need reducer for it. Also even if you could, you shouldn't. Lacquer is not very durable, and it take ton of man hours and elbow grease to make it shine. Plus it needs constant attention once its a year old or more. I would go with an acrylic or urethane enamel if you want simple.

[bigfosty]

I'm just looking to do the outside it's a fleetside short bed, been looking at this paint. http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/KeywordSearchCmd?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&N=0&Ntk=all&Nty=1&D=paint&Jnar=0&Ne=2%2B3%2B1147708&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntt=paint

[80stepsideguy]

Man your wasting your time.you figure 20.00 a quart. thats 80.00 a gallon + tax and then reducer (lacquer thinner) and like blazin said your gonna be having to stay on top of this thing as far as shine and its not durable.Seriously go with a good single stage paint kit from a paint store.You think these commercials make the job look so easy to spray and they get them results at the end?? Lacquer is one of the toughest to keep up on and its old school for paint.Lacuqer is as old as what we call "RED LEAD" If you are aware of that term from the days...

thanks
pat

[bigfosty]

Ok, regardless of the paint I use how much am I going to need? A gallon? Two Gallons?

Thank you for the advice, not even sure when I am going to be able to paint the truck, just trying to figure out what I am going to need.

That paint I posted a link to says there is no need to reduce, just pour it in the gun and paint, is that not true?

[80stepsideguy]

No i wouldnt believe that 1 bit as far as pour and shoot. Question is what color are you planning on shooting your truck with and what color is it now??? If your going to go from a light colored truck to a dark color you be fine with a gallon i say.But if your truck is dark colored but going to go a light color your going to need a sealer like white to put on 1st so it doesnt take as much paint to cover.If you dont use a sealer your going to have alot of dark spots in the light color paint.

thanks
pat

[1980c10]

I would get 5 qts you may be able to do it with four but then you never know depends on paint gun, style of painting etc.

[Blazin]

I have never had any luck with pour, and spray. Bottom line is you get what you pay for. The less exppensize no name brands are not going to give as good of a result as a medium or higher priced paint. Keep in mind all of the big paint manufactures have a second line, its not usually the same name. Duponts second line is Nason, PPGs is Omni.
 One of the reasons we have been mentioning brands is depending on the brand used it could make a difference in how much you need. Color can also affect how much you use. The less expensive brands tend to be thinner, or less solids. This in turn will cause you to use more paint, because you have to put on more coats of paint to achieve hidding and uniform color. Some colors tend to cover better too. also causing more or less product. The gun be it gravity fed or siphon fed will use different amounts as well. The painters ability also has an affect on this. I have used a middle of the road paint, done an overall paint job on full size trucks and used 1 & 1/2 to 2 galons with single stage paint. No door jambs you can probably cut a half gallon off that.  Years ago I experimented with cheapola paint brands. Did one truck used the entire two gallons, then had to go but another gallon of Centari, respray the whole truck to get the correct coverage!

[bigfosty]

All good information to know, thank you guys. My problem with spending alot on paint is that I have never painted before and I don't want to spend a bunch on something I'm not happy with. No matter what, it will look better painted than as it is right now. I don't know what to do yet, so I guess we will wait and see.

[Blazin]

Well look at this way. You buy two or three times as much cheap stuff or just spring for the good stuff. I would say get a couple old hoods form the junk yard. Go to your local body shop, see if they have some left over acrylic enamel paint they will give you. Then just reduce it with lacquer thinner, don't use activator. Spray that to get a feel for it.

[krafty33]

I have sprayed that stuff you pointed the link to for the purpose of trying it out. I wouldn't waste money on it. Buy the stuff you mix yourself so you know the ratio is right. I have always had good luck with Nason paints. They are not very expensive and shoot very well. Just my two cents, I'm no expert

[Blazin]

I painted my 74 Malibu with Nason acrylic enamel. My 55 has Omni single stage acrylic enamel on it. The Omni is a little thinner, but covers well.

[80stepsideguy]

I sprayed nason, omni AU i sprayed kirker .All single stages and im pretty happy with the kirker .The nason i pained a 87 firebird in white.Came out pretty good for single stage.Guy was cheap and only could afford 400.00 to get his car fixed.

thanks
pat