How much paint to order

Anyone who has painted their 70 bbody or close in size, how much paint did it take? I need to do whole outside body(minus roof since vinyl) and door jambs. Not doing bottom of trunk lid or hood. Ordered up a gallon but wondering if it is enough now.

Shouldn't you paint the roof anyways even if it's vinyl?

One gallon wont be enough.. wasn't for me and I didn't jamb it

As a rough guide figure 7oz of paint per panel for each coat. If you are shooting the jambs add 1 more. I count 9 panels including the jambs and multiply by 7, that makes 63oz per coat of mixed product. Add in the variable of how well the paint covers and that just adds more to the equation. Good luck.

These B-bodys are huge, the panels are massive.. You want to have extra not just enough. When I paint the 69 I want to have at least 1 and a half gallons. The type /brand of paint makes a difference as well but ... these cars are huge and the panels go on forever.. especially a 70...

I say be safe and buy two. Even if you don't use it all you will have perfectly matched touch up paint for nicks, small accidents etc. my green is going to need two gallons bc/cc in BASF. I know it's not cheap to pay for two gallons, but better now than trying to get a perfect match later. Good luck

2 gallons actually are 3/4 each so maybe an extra quart?

Depends on ratio for sprayable product. 2:1, 4:1, etc. color choice for transparency, pay attention to required primer color too. Many variables. Start with your personal color choice and go from there.

some brands wont cover with the same amount of coats (transparency as mentioned). Ask before you buy.

should you mix all gallons/quarts to get even color throughout?

greenmachine said:

Depends on ratio for sprayable product. 2:1, 4:1, etc. color choice for transparency, pay attention to required primer color too. Many variables. Start with your personal color choice and go from there.

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That is important (ratio), the paint I'm using is 1:1 on the base and covers in to coats some are 4:1 meaning allot less sprayable material. Dido on the primer, try to put a sealer on it that will make coverage easier, if painting it Black then use a dark sealer or a light sealer for a white paint job. I don't like to match the sealer with the base to the point where you can't tell where you sprayed or not. "MATCH THE BRANDS" if you use Dupont for the base use it for the clear "don't ask me how I know".

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MarPar said:

should you mix all gallons/quarts to get even color throughout?

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Good point, most paints can be bought by the gallon but the paint I'm using only comes in qts so I will blend them for sure. I have no idea how they mix them but mixing all together takes the question out of it.

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jag_mopar said:

some brands wont cover with the same amount of coats (transparency as mentioned). Ask before you buy.

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Absolutely, I've painted tractors that I knew would get tore up and chose cheap paint and I've used top quality stuff "the diff is huge". Right now I'm using House of Colors and that stuff is unreal, they're white sealer and base completely hides in one coat meaning two coats is just an insurance. The cheap stuff can take four coats before your happy "buy good stuff". Most brands have multiple product names, PPG has Omni for example for they're cheaper line and it's good stuff but not great so do your homework.

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I've never needed more than a gallon for a car and have always had extra but have never painted a car that big. I bought 4 qts for mine but at 1:1 I have 2 gallons sprayable. I'm going to order another quart to be safe but since I've already painted the jams, engine compartment, etc I have a feel for the way it sprays and covers "excellent".