How many coats of paint?

[skyman51]

How many coats of paint is usual for a complete paint job starting with bare metal? It is two stage enamel color/clear. Thanks

 

[747mopar]

If your including primers than that's impossible to say considering you sand off coats then reapply them until you get it all straight. At a minimum you'll have 2 coats of epoxy primer or whatever surface prep you choose, 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of sealer, 2-3 coats of base and at least 3 coats of clear.

 

[gtx1of1]

I've painted cars with 6 coats of paint.
some paints just don't cover

 

[Torkmnstr]

Paint for sure 2-3 coats and at like above at least 3 coats of clear.

 

[ckessel]

The coats of base will depend on how well it covers the primer or old paint its going over. Some colors are really transparent when they are a metallic, candy, pearl etc. It will help if you lay down a sealer first that has been tinted in the general color you are spraying. The sealer also acts as the glue to get the paint to bond and keeps underlying issues from popping through. On panels that will see road rash, it acts as kind of a undercoat to help lessen the effect of rock chips etc. I remember seeing some blues and golds, for production cars, that took more than 5 coats to cover. Clear should be 3+ coats, especially if you are going to color sand and buff.