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Why is automotive body paint so costly ?


..... and I've got three red cars that need work. Aaarrrrgggghhh! (And I don't even really like red)
Paint your Z with this implement paint. It's made by Sherwin Williams. I painted this car with it and 30 years later, it still buffs out. It needs buffing every year, but I put it on thick so I haven't burned through yet. I used automotive reducer, but no catalyst, though they sell both with the paint.


With red, yellow, blue, black, and white, any color and shade can be made. Ih Red, Ford Dark Blue, and JD Yellow are great base colors to make pretty much any color. I would like to see the label of a Sublime Green paint can label to see if I might make it with tractor paint.


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Is Earl Scheib still around ?
I actually know of one locally to me in socal. One of the guys on the A side had his (68?) Barracuda done there, including a color change. He, of course, did all the incidental removal, and some body prep. He was VERY happy with both the price and result.
My old camaro isn't gonna get any of that prep work, I'm just gonna get the destruction done by the thieves covered up.
 
With House of Kolors you are paying for the name and the fancy graphics on their advertising.....plus all the sales reps and their fancy cars.
Yep, but it was the only solvent based paint we could snag in 2017 to spray. No way I was going water...
 
I think many of the very expensive options are un-necessary...... our cars rarely see bad weather, even the sun for that matter.......

I have zero issue using a "middle of the road" base coat; covered with SPI clear....... could any of you tell the difference?

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That's hideous. I think I'm blind.

Ok, couldn't tell any difference. There's also painter talents. I learned it's a far cry from spraying your bedroom walls and ceiling. Lol.
 
Here is TODAY'S REAL cost (Canadian $$) for solvent based red in Sherwin Williams ATX - this is for the base only - no clear in this price.

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When I painted the truck there was 2 options for the base coat, Omni or Deltron. Deltron was 5x higher priced. I chose Omni with a premium clear. It’s a pampered cruiser with limited sun exposure so it will probably outlast me…
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Glasuirt is some pretty kick butt paint I hear. DuPont was Imron , Nason was the cheap line , I found out the UV protection is in it as I went Nason over DuPont base.. 15years later it’s peeling. Makes you wonder.
 
Used Matrix paint PPG. Started with a black primer epoxy. Before the car was done, they did not make the black primer anymore. Had to order black primer from east wood. Two coats of base coat. One coat of color blender with mini flake in it and one coat to seal it then three coats of clear over it all. Now my shock towers in the engine bay are wanting to bubble and peel off but the epoxy primer is not coming off. So, having to sand them down and do them while my heads are off the engine. Paid dearly, for the matrix paint. Glad I have left over paint and don't have to buy more. What does not cost now day's and going through the roof on our old cars. :BangHead:
 
I will not ever mix brands I’ll stay one flavor all the way thru.
 
Base coat over different color primers will make them darker or lighter depending on what you are looking for. Can not use gray primer on part of the car after using black in the first place on part of the car. Using candys is a totally different world when painting. Then they are over the top priced. Use them mostly on motorcycles due to a lot less surface to paint keeps the cost down. Painted a work truck one time with Shop line from NAPA and will never ever use it again. It faded in no time in the Florida hot sun.
 
My GTX was painted in PPG.....the hood stripe was the first time the (at the time) new AAA Reducer was used. It was almost given to my painter to trial it.
All the interior and underneath including trunk inside was finished in base coat with matt clear. The rear taillight upright panel, inside the hood, doors & jambs, and engine bay were finished in two-pack. The main body of the car was finished in lacquer.

The reasoning for the above was longevity of the hard to clean & polish parts finished in the two-pack. Underneath the floor was a matt clear over a black base coat on top of the under-sealer ..... making clean-up underneath a breeze with rags and some detergent. Outer main body in lacquer for that ability to buff up and polish like a mirror. Must have done something right.....won plenty of awards and much praise for Best Paint trophies.

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There is no shortage of solvent-based paints in Canada. HOWEVER, the majority of the product in most of them is "binder" which seems to be just a clear product. Subsequently it takes a lot of coats to cover. It seems one of the better solvent based products right now is Automotive Art which apparently has no binder and it does cover well with fewer coats. However, they have no paint codes prior to around 2000
 
Akzo Nobel is Sikkens, Lesanol, Wanda, U-Tech, maybe others? ........ all of it commonly used in the auto body industry; and in my opinion, there isn't much difference in any of them

BASF is Glasurit, R-M, Limco.......

I'm not as familiar with PPG, but I know they offer a "Shop Line"?, something like that.....

I would never use any really cheap generic materials, that would not be a gamble I'd be willing to take.......

but sometimes I think the "very top of the line" exists for people who "must have the best at any cost"......

see post #4


Your correct in that, sikkens and lesonal are more or less identical . I mix the 2 brands ( sikkens autowave and lesonal equivalent) daily.

UTECH is their industrial/ commercial line up mostly consisting of single stage polyurethanes which are incredibly durable and look fantastic. I have painted a few cars with it have to say if your looking for a single stage it's up there with the best !

The wanada is no doubt their lower end product its no where near the same quality as sikkens and lesonal.

The price of basecoats, as already explained is directly related to what they are made with in order to achieve the desired colors and effects . Sikkens 2.0 line up has some specialty toners that are made to achieve the look of the newest colors by the manufacturer. Someone coming in at a cool $300 - $800 for 500g. ! Now that's expensive !

Sikken superior 250 clear coat is their top dog , but when you spray it you see why. The clear coat , simply has better spray ability , better uv hold out , better gloss and once fully cured is incredibly hard. That's what you're paying for....

At the end of the day you can achieve the same results with any number of products , but to me the biggest thing is , how much work did it take to get to that result , and how long will it last..
 
Base coat over different color primers will make them darker or lighter depending on what you are looking for. Can not use gray primer on part of the car after using black in the first place on part of the car. Using candys is a totally different world when painting. Then they are over the top priced. Use them mostly on motorcycles due to a lot less surface to paint keeps the cost down. Painted a work truck one time with Shop line from NAPA and will never ever use it again. It faded in no time in the Florida hot sun.


Unless it's truly a translucent color like yellow, you can and should always achieve black and white coverage. Anything else and you simply don't have full coverage .

Pictures of spray out card with black line threw it. As well as bumper primed in black and side in grey. All same color......

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How much does pearl add to the cost now days. They use so much it stinks. (not literally)
 
How much does pearl add to the cost now days. They use so much it stinks. (not literally)

Not really a straight answer for that , as each color requires different amounts and sometimes multiple types of pearl.

It can be very deciving how much and pearls are in some colors. I would never have thought the color on a 2015 elantra I painted today had 4 different pearls in it !
 
Not really a straight answer for that , as each color requires different amounts and sometimes multiple types of pearl.

It can be very deciving how much and pearls are in some colors. I would never have thought the color on a 2015 elantra I painted today had 4 different pearls in it !
I am not a pearl fan and I don't know why it's added to paint that is supposed to duplicate the 60's and 70's colors. It turns to mud unless you are looking straight at it in sunlight.
 
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