I'm about to order paint through CarQuest. They carry PPG and have my paint in DBU and Omni. There is a $50/qt difference in price with DBU being the expensive one. Obviously the DBU would be better, but how MUCH better? This will be an amateur paint job done in a garage for a non-show car. Thanks
Color matching is the only problem Ive ever had with it ,if your not worried about that then the omni will work fine
I've had good results with both, considering your cir***stances I would go with the cheaper alternative.
Here's my amateur paint job done in my garage with Omni. Less than $200 for paint,primer. clear, reducer etc. I'll paint my next one with it too...just a different color because green is their worst color for coverage.
57Wagon said he used a cheaper version from NAPA and it had terrible coverage, but the expensive one worked great. WildWilly, how bad was the coverage? I'm painting the car a dark green and it's important that it's even and dark
omni's coverage ****S. The auto-body school I went to used alot of it and it never came out right, especially in color matching situations. I always wondered why they kept using it (cheap ***es). I've used their primers before but always stayed away from the basecoat and single stage paint. I'm all about the Dupont Nason Select Line now, it's duponts "cheaper" paint. I've been using it for a few years and haven't had a single problem with it......
It was a ***** not to leave shadows in the base color. But this particular green (2000 Ford Electric Green Metallic-stock color) is a very heavy metallic and reacts to light. I still have some funky looking spots depending on how you look at it in the sun. I don't know if a darker color would be the same or not. When I told the guys at the paint shop they told me their book said this color had poor coverage and they were right. And Switchblade is right on color match...it ****s. I was thinking about the Nason line from Dupont too....sounds like that may work as well. Good luck.
It depends on if you want the car to look good & how long you want it to last. If you want it to last for decades, you can spend $800 to $1,000 on materials (I usually do - using Sikkens clear). I know that's above most folks' budget. However, if you want it to look good - & I ***ume you do if you're going to go to all the trouble of painting it - get the better base coat (DBU is good shtuff) & use the Nason clear. Nason is cheap clear but it holds up pretty well. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" America - made in China! :-(
I wasn't gonna say anything.......(omni stinks--Krylon has better coverage/density) Dark Green? Okay, dig thru the older model color chips and find a NON-metallic dark green(commercial or truck application), preferably a non-coded color(read that cheap)...something REAL CLOSE to the final color. About a quart should color the car enough to come back with your final color. I know it's cheatin. I know it'll be hard to repair if later necessary. BUT, I *think* Hellfish said this was gonna be an amateur job, not a show car....so don't y'all be tellin me how stupid this idea is or how it won't work cause it WILL. HOK uses basically the same principal with their colored candy bases.
Willie your car's the ****. I just got a set of '57 Caddy hubcaps for free, your car just confirmed my decision to run 'em, now I gotta buy a set of 15" wheels and tires.
use the best paint you can aford. I have had cars come out better painting in a garage then in a $100,000 booth. If it is one of your first paint jobs get lots of extra base and clear cause there will be plenty you have to redo
Thanks for the good word Nads...I like the caps too, much better than the cheapo Olds flipper knockoffs I had. Earl are you saying to paint it with the other color first and then the final color or tinting the primer? I've heard some guys say to tint the primer with your base color to help coverage. Hell who knows I might just buy DBC since the wifes car doesn't have a top on it anyway. Less metal to cover means less paint right
I've done this before when we were tight on paint but used up some leftover colors that were close... good suggestion. I love DBC- for one because you can always pour the uncatalized product back in the can. Tuck
I use Omni fairly often when the job requires it. It doesnt cover too good, and it always makes the clear die back because it holds the solvent for a long *** time. I usually wait several hours to clear it, and the clear will still usually need a light cut and buff. Oh, and it does not match factory colors so its for completes only. But if you are careful and make sure its laid out and covered all the way, it will work fine. I use Nason clear alot and it works great at about $60 a gallon sprayable. give it a buff and its a cheap *****in garage combo. Some people trip when you tell them you spray omni until they see it. Dont tell em and theyll never know. Oh and PS: I spray every day and I have used it all, so Im not tellin you what I have heard. I have sprayed every expensive clear there is too, and alot of the price is durability I would say. Some expensive *** PPG will spray just like omni, but look at it in 3 years and??? For the record the clear on my car is not nason or omni..........
Nason[Duponts cheapy] and Omni[ppg'scheapy] are OK if you just want it painted and it never sets out much.......the both of them will FADE like a ******* if exposed to the sun very much. If I was wanting a bargain finish with excellent quality- I would recommend the "old line" products of both companies,,,PPG's Delstar acrylic enamel with a gloss hardener OR Dupont Centari-Acrylic enamel with hardener. these are both still available and at a VERY reasonable price and are both very durable- even with the exposure to sunlight.......a plus to these lower cost choices is that they both are able to be color sanded and buffed to a "hand rubbed laquer" appearance easily.....and the amazing part is they can be rubbed at ANY time after the topcoat is applied..... TRY THAT WITH THE FANCY URETHANES-you wait more than 48 hours and those finishes are like color sanding a porcelain sink!
The clear coat (over base) is what keeps paint from fading, by cutting the UV. Any single stage paint will fade. I aggree (& it seems like we all do) that if you want it to last you need to use the top quality paint. Use the DBU, & either PPG's best clear (isn't that the 2002 now?) or Sikkens clear. As I stated earlier, the Nason clear is very cheap if you absolutely cannot afford the good stuff. I used it on my ZX (it's a car I just patched together out of two on a tight budget), & strangely enough ran out halfway on the last coat - & finished the back half with Sikkens without even letting the Nason tack over. It still looks good (on both ends ) after about 4 years sitting out in the weather & never being waxed. In fact, I've rarely washed it in the past three years - I don't even have a well to do so right now... BTW the clears can be sanded at any time just like the enamels - but look better. You just have to use the right compound/foam pad. ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" Giggle Cream - it makes dessert funny!
Thanks for all the great answers and opinions. FWIW, I went with DBU. For those curious about paint cost, I was quoted $70/qt for DBU and $22/qt for Omni. DBU turned out to be $66/qt. $41/gal for reducer. This was a 2002 GM color.
As a comparison ,Hellfish- I just bought a GALLON of PPG "Delstar"acrylic enamel single stage in Bright Safari Red[chrysler]...169.00 one pint of hardener 42 dollars gal of reducer 19.00 gal of high build laquer type primer 29.00 By the way it should do you fine in Chicago area in reguards to suns effects. ............ A lot of folks are convinced the newer product with their 10 steps and 10 products instead of two are a lot better.thats Marketing success! I contend that the old line is just fine -especially for a car that is not used every day and is taken care of usually a little better than an everyday driver . I saw an old car [I painted in 1981] the other day- it was painted in Delstar in a pale yellow...looks dandy! How much longer can any paint last than that?
Oohhh; stay away from laquer primer - there is just too much better shtuff out there today to use it. Stick with catalyst-hardened primer (epoxy! ) & prep right & it'll last forever. Annie - the yellow baja bug, was painted with laquer (& yes laquer primer - before anything else was available) & cleared with acylic enamel. In 1978 (I think). Still looks good except on the hood, (where I last washed it with ajax to get tree **** off of if - sometime in the late 80's), & where the rear suspension broke & ripped off the fender, & where sticks & rocks have hit it... It IS an off-road car 'ya know. http://AngelOnEarth.net/photo.html ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver" Easy on the Giggle Cream!
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