single stage paint.

[ngarman123]

Hello all! i am toying with the idea on painting my rig and just had some questions for you body/paint guys.
 1. does anyone have pictures of a single stage paint job. i know you are not going to get the depth of paint like base/clear but just wondering what kind of look i can achieve
 2. can single stage be sanded and buffed?
 3. i do not know what kind of paint is on the truck currently is there a way i can tell or do i need to take it down to bear metal?
 4. what kind of primer or sealer would i need before spraying color.
 5. can you spray clear over  a single stage. i am not thinking i am but just wondered.
 any tips/tricks/warnings are welcome. i have not sprayed a car before but should be good with equipment. (place,compressor, gun,)
if it makes a difference i am thinking about a medium to dark blue. going to be close to the current color. thanks guys!!

[jaredts]

Some experts hopefully give you some real advice, but here's my take on this:
1)  no pics, but ss paint can look good, its just not a deep gloss
2)  Yes, but I've read that sanding single stage paint removes its uv protection as that layer floats to the surface--just read that recently and don't know if its true.  People do it all the time.
3)  Only take it to bare metal if the paint/primer is cracking/peeling.  If its sound its a good foundation for your repaint.  It shouldn't react with the sealer primer unless its lacquer and even then you might get away with it because of its age.
4)  Visit an auto paint supplier on this--the options these days are overwhelming.  A high build Urethane is a basic choice but has some limitations.
5)  I think by definition its not single stage if you clear but most product lines have a clear coat available.  If you keep it single stage you'll want a wet look hardener that is pretty much clear coat.  You'll be best off to decide this up front.

Now someone who knows what they're talking about can correct my mistakes!

[80stepsideguy]

To answer some of your questions here it goes:

 1. does anyone have pictures of a single stage paint job. i know you are not going to get the depth of paint like base/clear but just wondering what kind of look i can achieve
 
Sorry no pics of a single stage here but im sure there are some here that do You can acheive a real good paint job in single stage just like a base/clear as far as depth n slickness.

2. can single stage be sanded and buffed?

Yes it can be wetsanded and buffed,

3. i do not know what kind of paint is on the truck currently is there a way i can tell or do i need to take it down to bear metal?

To tell if your rig is a lacquer paint is to take a rag and put a little bit of lacquer thinner on it , find a small area like on the lower cab corner and if paint comes off you got a factory lacquer on it.

 4. what kind of primer or sealer would i need before spraying color.
It all depends on what color your going to spray it with.If you wetsand the whole truck with 400 you can apply a black basecoat to a dark paint to make it cover faster as well as a white to lighter colors.I used high build primers to make iit wasier to block sand to make it straight and rpoxy primers over bare metal for a good foundation.

 5. can you spray clear over  a single stage. i am not thinking i am but just wondered.

Yes you can you can apply clearcoat over single stage to get it more depth.I am going to be painting my 01 ram this fall in single stage w/ clearcoat on top of it.

 any tips/tricks/warnings are welcome. i have not sprayed a car before but should be good with equipment. (place,compressor, gun,)
if it makes a difference i am thinking about a medium to dark blue. going to be close to the current color. thanks guys!!




Biggest thing is take your time in painting, actually if you havent done it before get a used door or fender n do some practicing. Make sue your in a well ventilated area, spray guns well therer are many out there i personally use devilbiss  FINISH LINE and compressors get a good one that wont be constantly trying to fill up , get a single stage or a dual stage one ..

HOPE THIS HELPS SOME
THANKS
PAT

[Captkaos]

Powerblock painted the giveaway mustang in single stage.

[80stepsideguy]

And they didnt even wetsand and buff it out, they figured the car will be used as a track car so no nedto make it show worthy.But from the pics and on tv i think its sweet..

thanks
pat

[HAULIN IT]

You've allready gotten some pretty good advice, but I'll add my Two cents worth of thought & opinion...I've got a few questions.
 Are you going to paint the truck a solid Blue color or one with metallic/pearl in it? In my opinion this has a BIG difference in whether you can/should use a single stage paint.
 The "depth" of the paint (if a solid color) has little to no effect if the paint is cleared or not, it just needs to be polished correctly.
 As to if a single stage can be sanded & buffed can be a "gray" area...a solid color can work out fairly well in MOST cases. A metallic color really can't be SANDED & buffed without "layering out" the color...this happens from cutting down past the "gloss layer" on the surface & the metallic specs start "showing up" in patterns in the way you sanded. Single stage metallics can be LIGHTLY scuffed & polished with reasonable to very nice results if done by a guy who has much spraying & buffing experience working in a near perfect spraying environment.
 Answer the solid or metallic question & we'll go from there. Lorne

[1980c10]

I had a car painted with a ss paint. it was shiny and had good depth to it. just had a little orange peel effect because never wet sanded and polished it. I planned on waiting until it faded a little or was some what scratched up. never did as i didn't keep it for very long. why not use a base clear?

[ngarman123]

HAULIN IT: its going to be a solid color. i am going to be painting at work but dont want to take up to much shop space for only as long as necessary. i was thinking thursday through monday. i am going to do most of the prep work at home before hand drive it to work and finish prep and shoot it. i was thinking this is how its going to go... take everything off, sanding whole truck and fix 2 little rust spots (just bubbling), drive truck to work finish truck prep. shoot primer, block sand if necessary. shoot color, wetsand and buff depending on finish after i shoot color.
   couple more questions though.. what brand of products do you recommend? i am trying to keep costs for materials at or below 4-500$ is that a realistic goal? what is the best place to buy paint? online in a store? thanks!

[three8six]

Well for a gallon of primer, gallon on paint, and gallon of hardener for Matrix S/S ran me around 220$ So figure it from there maybe?

[jaredts]

$400-500 is possible, but I wouldn't get it online.  Visit several local paint shops and go with the people that seem most knowledgeable and willing to help.  You'll save shipping and should have plenty of options.  You can do this in two days if you stay on it.  Don't skip high build primer and wet sanding that with a guide coat--its the difference between a crap job and something decent.  That'll have a bigger impact on quality than the choice of paint.  Haulin it seems to be "in the know", so if he has more advice I'll be looking for it as well.

[campcrf]

I painted my white shortbox in ss and it turned out alright... I didnt buff it yet though and it has been 3 years.

[Pullin81]

heres my truck after spraying it single stage black...this was my first paint job it took me 2 trys to paint it ran it pretty bad the firat time...after i painted it i knew i was going to clear it but i wanted the added depth in the paint so i wet sanded the entire truck and cleared it 3 coats.. once again a couple of runs but with some wet sanding and pollishing i managed to get them out....i  painted it in an industrial shop right on the shop floor over all it turned out good i didint want to spend the big bucks for some else to do it because some one careless with half a brain or somthing will scratch it...sure enough

[HAULIN IT]

$400-500 is possible, but I wouldn't get it online.  Visit several local paint shops and go with the people that seem most knowledgeable and willing to help.  You'll save shipping and should have plenty of options.  You can do this in two days if you stay on it.  Don't skip high build primer and wet sanding that with a guide coat--its the difference between a crap job and something decent.  That'll have a bigger impact on quality than the choice of paint. 

This is good advise, I don't like the "on-line" plan either. The knowledge of the guys @ the paintstore will vary GREATLY so be careful...ask for the MSDS/guideline sheets for the products you buy.
 As I've mentioned before, the "quality" of the paint materials will have less effect on the real outcome of the job compared to the quality of the prep or lack thereof...same goes for "rookie mistakes", you'll make those just the same if you use a $150 gallon of paint or a $250 quart. It's just part of the learning experience. Just buy what you can/feel like spending., Just remember, once your done you will have learned a few things to make the next job better Spend a little more on materials for that job.
 With a solid color, in most cases you can get away with using single stage.
 Good Luck & if you have any questions, Just Ask! Lorne

[Blazin]

High build urethane primers are the way to go. They will make it much easier to block it nice and strait. I like self etching primers for bare metal. As far as the factory paint it has been my experiance that old tired laquer paint is not a good foundation for a new paint job. As far as materials go the cheapest paint will bite you later. Stick with middle of the road or better. Dupont, and PPG make a lower line. Dupont makes Nason, and PPG makes Omni. I used Omni on my 55, it came out great. I used Chassis Saver over any of the surface rust, then 5 Star 2K urethane primer over that. Sanded the entire thing with 4oo DA, then sprayed the single stage Omni black. Its been about 6 years now, have never touched the paint except washing with car soap. Its starting to show its age, but still looks decent. I used Sherwin Williams on my 86 K 2500 plow truck, It too has been about 5 years, It still looks decent. If you want something a little more durable look into a urethane single stage in stead of acryilic enamel.
This is my 86 2500.








The 55 a few weeks after I painted it. I added some flattening agaent to the paint, I was looking for more of a satin finish. I didn't add enough though.


This one is about 2 years later.


I did this Farmall in single stage polyurethane enamel. Dupont Imron.