Projects Single Stage White Paint ?

Got an auto body supply store around? Go talk to them, that is my best advice. I used an Omni product on my car and it worked well, needed to use a respirator with it.

 

I painted my A with tractor paint with the hardener, Rustoleum rusty metal primer and all. Treated the prep and application like real paint, bare metal quality filler…. Mixed my own colors, I’m happy. Getting reducer and hardener ratio was key and took some trial. Been on the road about a year. It might age quicker, I won’t argue that but aged paint on an A isn’t a bad thing I think. It’s a driver anyway.

 

I have sprayed numerous cars and vintage travel trailers with Rust-Oleum and Tractor Supply Majic brand paints and have had great results. I use acetone for the thinner and I use the Majic brand hardener. I only use enough acetone to get the paint to spray correctly through the gun (I use the super cheap harbor freight spray gun and I have no idea what size tip it came with) and I have had great luck with both paints and that "junk" gun.
I would say both brands are driver quality paints. You're not going to win America's most beautiful roadster with them but you can easily and cheaply fix fender bender type damage which is perfect for a daily driver and they hold up will to look presentable long enough that you will get bored of the color before it will ever need painting again. The paint holds up just fine with a a little bit of care. Make sure the paint is completely cured (it takes a few weeks before it's truly hard with no vapor smell emitting when you stick your nose to it) and then hit it with a quality wax (I use mothers carnauba wax). The wax from my experience will prevent Sun fade for the most part and that nasty chalkiness but even without wax the paint will last probably 5 years before it starts looking pretty bad and that's here in Southern California in the IE with killer sun and heat and with a little bit of buffing and effort you can bring back chalky enamel paint pretty easily it's just messy.

 

this paint had a very short life used hardner & did proper prep it was on an older daily driver. it laid down great probably one of my best spray jobs I ever did. less than 2 years later it was dull dry & dead it would soak up any thing that got on it. stripped it off MACCO was running a $125 paint any car special it lasted way better than the kirker paint.I would not use Kirker paint if it was free

 

painted this over 25 years ago with Centari looks better today than when sprayed

 

I do like the Omni, I get it at Fisher Auto for around 260~ with the Reducer. I think single stage Base is around the same cost 220-ish and whatever hardener, etc runs.

 

The thing I would look at first is whether the paint you want to use is available locally where you live. The reason I say this is because you may need some compatible reducer or even more paint if you screw up......and while you are waiting for shipped stuff, the paint is drying. Nothing like being able to drive to the paint store and get what you need.....right now.

I have used Kirker paint in the past and I liked it. The local store that sold it now only has old old old stock in a few undesirable colors. If I want to use Kirker, I now have to order it.......not gonna do that.
I tried some Shopline paint which is a blue collar product from PPG. Its available locally and color selection is pretty good. I painted my son's extended cab Chevy truck a white that was from an Envoy. Liked the results and paint costs were reasonable. You can select from many variations of white instead of "just white". If you look at many of todays OEM white paint colors you will notice that there are lots of variations, so best to use a paint that you can see what to expect when yours is done........rather than just a chip or a standard white.

ppgrefinish-na.uberflip.com/i/1415318-shop-line-product-catalog-usa/1?

I'm sure there are lots of other good paints, just saying that I had good luck with this and buffed it out to a nice gloss. No clearcoat ........I'm beginning to think too much gloss isn't always desirable on many vehicles. Also, I'm an amatuer when it comes to painting. My one suggestion is to get an old hood that you can test your paint on while its standing vertically to check your viscosity. If its gonna run, its best to see it happen on a hood and correct it. I only had one or two minor runs on a big truck and they were easily removed afterward and buffed out.

 

I bought TCP Global Restoration Shop urethane single stage white for my '39 Chev, and this was the first complete paint job I've shot. I found it laid down really well and a gallon gave me 5 coats on my car. Kit was complete with everything I needed for $211 back in 2021 when I painted my car.

 

I still have the paint cans here from the coupe, so I thought I could get the paint brand off the label, nope, all it gives on the label is the paint code and the store number it came from on a generic no label can.

I do have a picture of the tractor paint (Farm & Fleet Anti Rust) that is just over 5 years old. The car lived outside year around, and had about 60,000 road miles. The white was about 3 years old, the blue was between 5 and 6 years old. It was regularly waxed the first few years, after that, maybe a couple times a year. The car was driven between April and Oct most years.

 

And expensive may not be that much better ..

 

Anthony no truer words can be passed on follow the directions exactly , use the same brand of materials and it’s like welding . You can’t be a welder by reading about it , painting is the same practice will make you a painter . ALWAYS wear your PPE , this crap is bad it will absorb through your eyes . It’s not rattle bomb lacquer

 

Single stage urethane would be my choice, I’ve sprayed countless gallons on the heavy equipment Ive had to rehabilitate. lol
It can be reduced with urethane reducer and the results can be color sanded and buffed like any automotive clear coat..
One thing that is handy is there is hardners that will cure your fresh paint before you get your paint gun cleaned up!

 

True, true. Won't disagree with you there. But there is a reason for it. It's like anything. Oils, filters, whatever. Everyone has their preferences.

 

Makes you kind of wonder though, with the recent threads on the GNRS, etc. What paint and brands they use? I've seen good quality out of cheap brands and I've seen poor quality out of high quality brands. At one point is the the brand or the user, or is it just skill and luck how something comes out?

 

I had to paint my '55 Cameo "Bombay Ivory". I bought paint from TCP Global on a tip from a buddy. I bought white paint and was able to get the correct tint I needed by adding some yellow to it. It is a perfect match to OEM. In Calif enamel is hard to come by. I think the paint was about 200 bucks. I was buying a lot of Centari from Fresh Warehouse in Washington State but the finally quit Centari. I did buy 8 gallons of 99L and 8 gallons of '34 Ford Cordoba Grey before they sold the remaining inventory at cheap prices.

 

With any paint prep is the most important part. Cheapo paint can look great if properly sanded, primed, sanded again, sealed, cleaned and painted with properly mixed paint. So yes a lot of it can be used error

 

I agree with prep. But if you're going to take the time to prime, sand, prime again and sand, spend money on sealer, possibly clear (With hardeners, reducers, etc.). Whatever on sandpaper, wax & grease remover, tack clothe, etc. My opinion you'd be stupid to spend less money on your base coat paint over spending more on every other expense including expendables and other materials to do it right. It kind of gets back to the point of what do you use? Is it the experience of someone, is it the sandpaper or prep materials or is it in the paint, etc. that you bought. What makes or breaks something...

To each their own, if you're going to cheap out in one aspect though, it typically catches you in another. Like I said I like to stick to middle of the road. Never had a issue. Some swear by the highest quality materials others by the cheapest. And in the end, we all judge each other on what we perceive as quality.

 

I painted for over 45 years and I would rather spray color on a sanded surface anytime.

 

This place sold me the works, I had it all. It went on nicely too.

 

The thing is, with different quality paint, is longevity, NOT how good it looks when you spray it. Just about any paint can look good, if the bodywork is straight, and prepped correctly. But how will it look in 5 years? Most discount brands don't hold up well on the long run. "Used car lot" paint we call them.
The other issue, is quality and amount of pigment, in the base coats. If you can get good coverage in 2-3 coats with a quality base, you might have to shoot 4, 5, or 6 with a discount paint to get the same coverage. False economy!