Talk me out of a Lacquer Paint Job....

1931 Vicky pre-'62 style gasser (full fendered, unchopped basicly stock body minus hood sides) built with mostly period parts is headed for paint next week. I've heard a lot of negative things about acrylic lacquer. Everything from fading (it's gonna be Maroon) to simply just not holding up. I'm old enough to remember the lacquer of the 60's and the eventual cracking that always seemed to occur after 8-10 years. Just about every painter I talk with (PimpinPaint is an exception) tells me to go with a BC/CC system but man I just LOVE the look of a lacquer paint job when the light hits it. Got a guy my age that's done lacquer for 50+ years so I'm sure he can lay it down. This is a weekender, garaged, on the Cali coast and will see the GNRS before it sees the street. I'm going with it cause thats what I like even if it falls off in a couple years, so the title of this thread is bogus! But it's "on topic" so......got any thoughts?

Terry

 

Sounds like you are old enough to know what you like.

Pics when done? Sounds nice with that color.

 

Use the laquer and keep it waxed.If you keep it in the garage you will be fine.Plus as long as it's not mettallic .Blending is a breeze.I think most cracking occured due to the guys spraying nitrostain and floating out waves with that stuff.

 

i encourage lacquer

 

If you're looking for the lacquer look with modern technology, a urethane kandy would be best. It will give the depth and shine of a lacquer job but in a urethane that will last forever.

Lacquer jobs take alot of upkeep to continue looking their best, and like you said, they don't hold up too well.

Its your call, but with modern technology I wouldn't even think about using a lacquer.

 

NOTHING shines like Lacquer....Ive sprayed my fair share..haha Im only 29.

 

Take a walk thru the wal-mart parking lot & look at all the clear coat peeling off 10 year old BC/CC cars. And everything fades in sunlight. The problem is age - sunlight - lack of maintainence. I have fixed botched lacquer many times, I NEVER been able to blend in BC/CC. Just my 2 cents. Just remember the old saying: Somethings are good & somethings ain't, you can paint lacquer but you can't lacquer paint.

 

sounds to me like that if you do it anything else, you're never going to be happy with it, and that's not what it's all about. do it with the lacquer with no regrets.

 

Nothing wrong with lacquer except the clears. The solids do a fine job of holding up over the years but the lacquer clears don't last. It's not as forgiving or "painter friendly" as enamels and the longer you wait to buff, the better the results. Lacquer just looks right when it's done well and someone with 50+ years of experience can't really go wrong. They blush like crazy but retarder just about cures that and like someone said above, they blend like a dream. Go for the lacquer.

 

+1 for lacquer

 

Lacquer in the daytime, liquor at night.

Yep! I was a bodyman for 30 years. Loved the stuff, both of them.

 

No wait stop don't do it........

Fuggit, use the lacquer, period correctness from hell!!

 

Hey Terry,

I wouldn't spend alot of time listenin' to anything that PimpinPaint has to say 'bout paint! The fumes claimed anything he ever had between his ears years ago! Hell, at this point it could even be demonic possession!

Swankey Devils C.C.
"Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Compassion!"

 

My question is why? Not being sarcastic. Just curious. I wouldn't waste good money on sub-standard material.

 

Lacquer...and lacquer clear...



Been on the car since 1983...roof is finally starting to check...always garaged, summer and winter with the exception of 130,000 miles worth of rod runs...

R-

 

we used to joke in the shop that it took 9 months to do a good laquer job and it might last for 6.

i used to sware id never paint my cars with anything but laquer, but with the stuff you can get now, i never will again (i think).

you are right about one thing though, they look tough when you 1st get'em buffed out. on a samller car, and one well kept, and in a solid color, i think you will be alright.

a single stage job in concept, or rm-uno with some clear mixed in will net ya the same results and last a hell of a lot longer.

either way, im lookin forward to pics, so get sprayin

skull

 

nice lookin car.........mix some clear in with some retarder and spray it over the checks, and they will disapear


skull

 

Hey Terry, You've gone this far with staying era correct, go with lacquer.
Can't wait to see it finished, and I can't wait for you to hear those porter mufflers bark when you fire it up for the first time.

Clark

 

I llke the look of those old crazed or checkered vintage lacquer paint jobs.....
but you will have to wait eight to ten years to achieve that look.

 

The factories used to paint them with lacquer and they lasted as long as the factory jobs you see now with bc/cc.I don't think its an inferior product,but inferior painters can spray it.

 

Single stage urethane. Lacquer look with a hell of a lot more durability. Rubs nice also. Bird shit will still stain it though. Toss up, not going to drive it or let it get shit on? Lacquer. Driver not gonna get shit on? Urethane single stage. Driver, no shit stains? BC/CC. JMO.

 

OK let me see. Nope I don't see any rrason in the world to not use laquer.
Sorry buddy.

 

just doit and quit overthinking yourself!!

 

Im not going to talk you out of lacquer, Im about to paint my brookville 32 roadster in black nitrocellulose lacquer, over red oxide primer. If it was good enough for henry in 32 itll do me!! Im kind of a luddite.

 

I'm a fan. I like lacquer. The only down side I see is abraision resistance. It does stone chip easier and the only way to stave off the problem is keep the mil thickness down. I've posted before that PPG hasn't changed their lacquer clear for 30yrs. That's good news for us. Durability isn't the concern it's made out to be and niether is maintainence. Even the durable urethanes look like shit when their not kept up. They get all hazy from scratches and car washes and need to be polished up just like lacquer but the urethanes are actually harder to bring back to the 'new paint' look once they're hazed up. Wheel marks and terminal cellulite are additional benefits of BC/CC finishes unless you invest the same time required for a show quality lacquer finish. So how am I doin talkin you out of it?

Here's another reason to use it for a 1st rate finish. It's the easiest cut and buff you'll ever do if you try this. 3M has their Trizact system that includes a 3000grit DA disc. Block the initial finish with 1000 and let it stand several days to let all the solvents out. Block it again with 1500 followed by 2000. Using a short stroke Dynabrade orbital sander and lots of soapy water, sand the finish down with a Trizact 3000 disc at a relatively high RPM keeping in mind that lacquer will burn without due care. It can now be wheeled out with Meguires #3 on a quality wool bonnet. The wheel time is effectively reduced by over 1/2 and the resulting depth is staggering. Wheel marks are almost non-existant also since you're buffing with a glaze.

On 2nd thought, I don't think I can talk you outta lacquer after all.

 

There's three kinds of paint. Enamel which is thinned with mineral spirits/paint thinner, Lacquer which is thinned with lacquer thinner, which is mostly acetone, and house paint that's thinned with water...

Seagull shit will take Lacquer straight to metal faster than brake fluid or nail polish remover. (nail polish is lacquer)
I had it happen to a Sunbeam Alpine hood in the time it takes to take a shower .
Other than that, lacquer is the best!

Also, read a can of BC/CC Base instructions.
They say if you don't have the reducer, you can use lacquer thinner... Base coat IS lacquer!

 

I sprayed my '32 3W with R&M Acrylic Ebony Black lacquer ten years ago. It's always garaged and I don't use wax just Astro Polish. I've been spraying lacquer, acrylic lacquer and enamel, plus lately urathane single stage for fifty years. They all work but for me lacquer is my first choice. An old timer taught me to spray lacquer in even flow coats and color sand between each four with 400 wet, this method gives the next four coats some tooth. After the final flow coat let the solvent evaporate for 3 to 4 weeks, not in direct sunlight. Then break the surface with 800 or 1000 wet this opens the surface for evaporation of the solvent. Let it cure another month before final color sanding and buff. The reason for this is that it takes time for the thinner, solvent, to evaporate and if you final color sand and buff too soon the paint hasn't had a chance to cure and once the surface is sealed with glaze or wax the paint continues to cure and will crack. This technique of finishing a lacquer job has been proven by me many times none of my lacquer jobs have cracked or crazed as they aged. Go with the lacquer and don't rush to do the final color sand and polish. The FOGGER

 

Is it different when you shoot a solid laquer compared to a metallic laquer. I have in a previous thread about painting my car with Venus Martin no9 gold dust and am wondering if it will be different then regular solid.

 

different in the respect that you will need clear if you wish to sand and buff it


skull

 

Go lacquer, by the time it starts cracking
you will have decided to paint it again
anyway. Remember, a finished rod is
someone else's, not yours.
Matt