How much paint do I need?

[vintage chromoly]

LMAO!


Yeah, you’re right. It’s the paints fault that you can’t shoot it properly and get decent results.

I've read enough of your bullshit to know your type.
Nason is ****. It is the Harbor Freight of paint. If the OP wants to waste time spraying water thin paint, that is up to him. Yeah, it can be done but regardless, the product sucks ***. You can make faster passes, allow more flash time but....Why modify your technique to accommodate an inferior product?
I can "build" a house with a rock for a hammer but it is a shitty tool. Why stack the deck against yourself when better quality products are readily available?

 

[vintage chromoly]

To be clear, I wouldn’t use Nason either.

That said, I stand by my statement that if you can’t shoot it without curtains, it’s because you don’t know what you’re doing.

 

[Officer Higgins]

When i did this for a living while back, not that the process is incorrect but more about material savings and shop time. Tinting primer similar color to top coat saves time and money using less color because the contrast from similar colors isn't as drastic as say silver over yellow primer. Typically when we did any work for ourselves we didn't worry about tinting primer, we just colored it in till it was covered. It's good to point out that we weren't under same pressure to get it finished quickly as it was after hours when we did this. State local federal regulations play big part in shops today waste discharge permits hazmat all cost factor for using less products. There is also great wisdom in spending some money up front on quality products. There really isn't any short cuts. Sanding and buffing takes alot of time and effort, my shoulders are shot from it.

 

[Officer Higgins]

Man i remember that single stage centari now that took some practice not to sag .did silver Monte Carlo in school with my classmate. Almost had to dryspray it to keep it from sliding and zebra striping, but that was in the days of binks model 7. Guy i worked for did alot of leaded lacquer work up till the time they removed the lead then the durability for that was even less then normal. We used a Richard Yale paint gun center spray hole looked like double the regular size of binks or devilbiss of the time period. But man could you lay down some smooth clear with that thing.

 

[Curt Chambers]

To the OP. I’d say 1.5 to 2 gallons sprayable material, give or take as has already been said.

Thanks for dashing through the flames to answer my question. 2 gallons sprayable is kind of what I was figuring. Just wanted to see what others used.

There's nothing wrong with Nason paint. I've painted with Nason, Chromabase, and Diamont. They all covered just fine and I didn't see any huge difference. The errors that were there were my fault, not the paint's.

 

[vintage chromoly]

I hear ya.
The main reason, I stick to the “A” line products is that by the time I’m ready for paint, I’ve got considerable time in the body work and prep and I like the peace of mind.

I’m sure you will achieve nice results with the Nason.

Thanks for dashing through the flames to answer my question. 2 gallons sprayable is kind of what I was figuring. Just wanted to see what others used.

There's nothing wrong with Nason paint. I've painted with Nason, Chromabase, and Diamont. They all covered just fine and I didn't see any huge difference. The errors that were there were my fault, not the paint's.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Depends upon the mixing ratio of the paint.
If you are using a paint that mixes 2:1 you will get less ready to spray (RTS) paint than if your mixing ratio is 1:1.
I personally agree the budget paints do not spray or cover as well. There is a reason they cost less than the upper lines.

When painting engine bays, underside of hood, trunk, underside of trunk lid, etc. you need to count those as extra panels. Hood, fenders, doors, roof, quarter panels, front and rear (combined) gives you basically 9 panels. If each one gets three coats minimum of color it doesn't take long to burn through a gallon of paint. So I suggest adding in the extras and then calculate the amount of RTS paint you need.

Let's say it takes 7 oz of RTS paint to put one coat on one panel, that's 21 oz for three coats. Multiply that by the number of panels. Let's say 12 for our example.
12 x 21 = 252 oz of mixed paint. There is a 128 oz in a gallon so if your paint mixes 1:1 a gallon will give you 256 oz RTS paint which is bare bones enough. BUT if your paint mixes 2:1 you will only have 192 oz of RTS paint - not enough, so you will have to more of the 2:1 color to do the job.

Personally I always figure 10 oz per coat per panel because experience has taught me that things can go wrong while painting. Sometimes you need to re-shoot a panel, other times you have an uncoordinated movement and spill a cup of paint on the floor or you could decide to paint another part of the car to match. I'd rather have a few ounces of extra paint than to run out while spraying and have to run to the store to get more.

 

[1967coronet]

Depends upon the mixing ratio of the paint.
If you are using a paint that mixes 2:1 you will get less ready to spray (RTS) paint than if your mixing ratio is 1:1.
I personally agree the budget paints do not spray or cover as well. There is a reason they cost less than the upper lines.

When painting engine bays, underside of hood, trunk, underside of trunk lid, etc. you need to count those as extra panels. Hood, fenders, doors, roof, quarter panels, front and rear (combined) gives you basically 9 panels. If each one gets three coats minimum of color it doesn't take long to burn through a gallon of paint. So I suggest adding in the extras and then calculate the amount of RTS paint you need.

Let's say it takes 7 oz of RTS paint to put one coat on one panel, that's 21 oz for three coats. Multiply that by the number of panels. Let's say 12 for our example.
12 x 21 = 252 oz of mixed paint. There is a 128 oz in a gallon so if your paint mixes 1:1 a gallon will give you 256 oz RTS paint which is bare bones enough. BUT if your paint mixes 2:1 you will only have 192 oz of RTS paint - not enough, so you will have to more of the 2:1 color to do the job.

Personally I always figure 10 oz per coat per panel because experience has taught me that things can go wrong while painting. Sometimes you need to re-shoot a panel, other times you have an uncoordinated movement and spill a cup of paint on the floor or you could decide to paint another part of the car to match. I'd rather have a few ounces of extra paint than to run out while spraying and have to run to the store to get more.

good post 68 Coronet.
A {complete} and I mean all panels in and out of a full size car like our B bodies using a metallic base color I will have 2&1/4 to 2&1/2 gals total to work with. Sure there are exceptions like shooting 9700 black over a black sealer. White base over a light grey sealer ect.
But unless you paint on a regular basis you are going to recoat a panel or two when using a silver, gold, or other metallic known for streaking, stripes.
Most at home paint jobs happen on a weekend , not a good time to be trying to track down a pint of base, plus add in counting on that extra pint to be mixed the same as you gallon you bought 2 weeks before. Your working with a window of time once the base is sprayed.

 

[YY1]

Both my brother and I have had pretty good luck with Nason full-cryll II.

It is an 8-1-2 mix, so a gallon will yield 1.3 gallons.

I got a gallon and a quart just in case.

It took about 20% of the gallon to do the engine bay, but it covered in 2 coats easy.

The roof on my Coronet has been on 5 years but it's in inside storage )after being outside for 6 months, though).

My bro's Satellite has been on 3 years and is doing fine. Again, inside storage but gets driven.

My engine bay and fender tops are now 1/2 way into year 2. Stored inside but gets driven frequently, usually to work on Fridays where it sits in the FL sun all day.

 

[Curt Chambers]

5 qts is what I wound up getting. Good to know that quantity worked for you. A couple things I didn't mention in my original post (because I just wanted to know how much paint other people used. I could then adjust it for my own situation).

First, I'm not doing the inside of the cabin (the part that's covered by interior panels and carpeting). It's in gray epoxy right now and that is where it will stay. Also, the roof is going to be covered with vinyl so I'm planning on just a light coat of BC/CC up there.

Vehicle prep was: 1) strip to bare metal 2) coat metal with epoxy 3) apply 2K gray hi-build and block sand 4) finish sand in 600 grit. I've painted a couple inside panels with the paint I bought and the dark silver metallic easily covers the gray 2k primer in 2 coats. I've been adding a 3rd mist coat just for good measure. My plan is to finish all the inside panels, engine bay, trunk, and door jambs and then re-evaluate the remaining paint. If running out is even a remote possibility I'll go purchase another quart and mix it in before I start the exterior. After everything is jambed I'll install and align the body panels. Finally, I'll shoot the entire exterior in one session.

Thanks for everyone's help and advice on this.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

Keep track of how much paint you use to completely cover a large panel with one coat. Then you can do the math and see if you have enough paint to make it.
Also, you may want to roll the car out into the sun after the second coat just to make sure you have full coverage (true color). Silver can be a bit tricky to get even.

 

[zyzzyx]

All I can say is I'll be Damned if I'm going to spend hours upon hours priming and blocking and doing all the prep with high dollar
material, and then squirt some cheap-*** paint on top of my labor. I'm using Speis Hecker Permacron on my work! Sure, it costs more
but I know I won't be looking at it in five years and say, :What the F_ _ _ K! What is that??? Or seeing the clearcoat dull right before
my eyes. At this point, Money is not the object.

 

[slimt]

 

[Kern Dog]

I used Nason stuff when I was just starting out in the mid 90s because for just over $100-125, I could get a package deal of 1 gallon sprayable acrylic enamel. I had problems every time but attributed that to my low skillset. As I improved, the paint jobs did improve but it wasn't until I sprayed some PPG that I realized how much difference there was in product quality.

 

[zyzzyx]

Spraying quality material really does matter. It hides better, goes on trouble-free, and the high solids clears
flow out and don't dull. One problem: They cost more. It's an easy concept, you get what you pay for.
I don't shop at Harbor Freight, and I don't squirt on cheap paint. I'll be sorry!

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

There definitely is a difference between the inexpensive line and the top line of the major paint lines. The Coronet in my avatar was painted with high end paint and the cost of materials was astronomical.

Now after having painted a number of vehicles I have found a couple of reasonable priced paints that get the job done just as well as the high dollar ones. Understand these are not bottom basement paints but quality alternatives to the top of the line stuff.

Right now I use Automotive Art's Motobase LV for most of my colors. I have a source in Michigan the mixes and ships this paint to my doorstep. Southern Polyurethanes Inc. (SPI) has what I consider a true black and also produces Reds and an Orange. They also provide free shipping to my doorstep.

In the past I used ProSpray for a few projects as well. I can post pictures if anyone is interested.

 

['68 Coronet R/T]

good post 68 Coronet.
A {complete} and I mean all panels in and out of a full size car like our B bodies using a metallic base color I will have 2&1/4 to 2&1/2 gals total to work with. Sure there are exceptions like shooting 9700 black over a black sealer. White base over a light grey sealer ect.
But unless you paint on a regular basis you are going to recoat a panel or two when using a silver, gold, or other metallic known for streaking, stripes.
Most at home paint jobs happen on a weekend , not a good time to be trying to track down a pint of base, plus add in counting on that extra pint to be mixed the same as you gallon you bought 2 weeks before. Your working with a window of time once the base is sprayed.

You are so right about the at home paint jobs and finding yourself short of paint. I actually got in a hurry once and knocked a full quart of mixed paint on the floor. Not only was it a mess but I came up one panel short on the last coat of base. The nearest place open was 90 miles away but fortunately the guy offered to meet me half way with another quart of base.

Now I use a formula for calculating paint that gets the job done with some left over for touch ups. This formula is based on larger B-body cars and some pick up trucks that I have done so keep that in mind before telling me I'm crazy. I count the panels (fenders, quarters, doors, hood, trunk floor, engine compartment, etc.) and then figure 10oz of mixed paint per coat per panel. My standard practice is to shoot 3 coats of base (more for lighter colors if needed) to get "true color." Full coverage can be a deceiving term because coverage means everything is painted while true color is getting the exact color by applying enough to negate any effect of undercoat colors.

I know not everyone will agree but this is what I do and it has been working for me.