I've always wondered why they never developed a lacquer paint that utilizes hardener, or I don't believe they ever have. What I like about lacquer paint is it's abbility absorb new coats of paint. Make a mistake? Sand it and spray on a new coat. Want to blend panels? Much easier to do with lacquer. Clear coat worn down? Wet sand and put on another coat of clear. With all instances of poly 2K products, you cannot repaint clear coat or spray over old clear coat. You have to strip your car back to primer, or reprime and paint your entire car again. I don't see why they could not have developed a 2K lacquer clear, that had the strength of 2K hardener but also the flexibility of lacquer. Did they ever?
From my undertanding, lacquer will melt into the previous coat if you want to fix a mistake or blend, or fix a section of a scratched clear coat. With 2K urethane products, you have to repaint again adding more coats. A little different.
Lacquer paint was not durable, and if you used the flow thinners it got worse. I've seen panels that have been repainted six or more times with 2k paints, panels that have had bodywork over 2k paint, not that I recommend either of them. The last compleat I did with House of Kolor I went around the car seventeen times for one color, if that was lacquer it would have been over twenty and it would have been seven ? year paint job. That was nine years ago and it still looks like the day I finished it.
What I have always wondered about, is it less durable because it's not 2K or just the nature of lacquer. Are single stage urethanes any more durable than lacquer?
Yes signal stage paints are more durable, the entire paint job is catalyzed. I will add that some of the high end versions of base cote ar recommending that a small amount of hardener is added to there base so the entire paint job is catalyzed but I don't buy it.
The Jalopy Journal
