Another BC/CC paint question

[Mike G.]

I can understand the advantages of urethane. Personally, I like the over-restored look and painted my never-to-be-judged '58 with BC/CC urethane.

But urethane doesn't have to be base coat / clear coat. There are single stage urethanes that, while they're shinier than laquer, they don't have that tell-tale clear coat depth that screams BC/CC.

So why do some guys who plan on having their cars judged use a 2-stage (BC/CC) urethane instead of single stage (no clear coat) urethane? Seems the single stage urethane would be easier to make look original. Or would it?

- Mike Greene

[Wayne W.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

It is easier and probably is done quite often. I do almost all of my solid colors that way. If you shoot it like lacquer without the heavy orange peel, lightly sand and buff, it is hard to tell the difference.

[Shannon Burgess]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

Mike, you are correct in that the single stage urethanes will appear closer to lacquer than the base/clear. The problem comes when attempting to use a single stage urethane in a metallic color. Base/clear is much easier to shoot when using metallics, and will deliver a more uniform result. Single stage metallics are a big headache, from what I've been told.

Shannon

[Ed Jennings]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

If you can do a perfect job of shooting the top coats with a metallic single stage, you're fine. If you have to cut and buff, which is almost always the case, you will likely get splotches in the metallic when you try to sand and buff. If you only have to nib out a few specks, you may get away with it. When you do this process on a base clear, you are working only on the clear coat. On a solid color, you can get real good results. You have to be suire the urethane has dried sufficiently to cure underneath and not just teh "skin" before you start the sand and buff routine. BC/CC can be sanded and buffed in a few hours.

[John H.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

Tom Ames and Paul Schuster will be presenting a "Restoration Paint" Tech Session at the National Convention in July, which includes tips, techniques and materials for making modern paints "appear" to be lacquer, including single-stage urethanes. This is a VERY popular session!

[Mike G.]

That makes sense

I hadn't thought about the special considerations for metallic. That clears that up!

- Mike Greene

[Ed Jennings]

Re: That makes sense

Mike, keep in mind that I'm not saying you can't buff a urethane metallic. What CAN be a problem is if you're trying to really cut down into the paint to take out orange peel, dust particles, etc. You can certainly buff urethanes and even enameles (metallic) if you do so gently and don't remove much paint. Gotta be carefull though.

[Bill W.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

You can make urethane the right color,you can sand it smooth,you can make it dull, but you can NEVER make it look like FACTORY lacquer. lacquer primer & paint penetrated into the fiberglass and had very little film build ( about 3 to 4 mils) .Urethane primers,selers & paint all lay on top of each other .No penetration. ( 4 to12 mils). you loose all your original body line and edge sharpness.not correct orange peel. Great paint but it can never be made undectable. Bill

[Patrick H.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

Bill,

I would think that the same happens with BC/CC?

Patrick

[george romano]

Base/clear is urethane. *NM*

[Chuck S.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

Bill, it seems like HVLP guns typically give a large orange peel if set up as recommended. But then most finishes I have seen recently have been urethanes, so this may be a function of the material being sprayed rather than the gun.

Is it possible to get the fine orange peel typical of acrylic lacquer when spraying acrylic urethane with HVLP guns? What adjustment is likely to alter orange peel appearance, gun pressure or material volume?

[Bill W.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

There are many things that can change orange peel.Type of gun used,paint thickness,air pressure,temp range of reducers or hardners.Yes you could get a tight orange peel buy using a fast dry or clear designed for painting panels instead of whole cars.The thing you never get away from is the film build.Bill

[Dick G.]

Re: Another BC/CC paint question

John: Do you, or anyone else, know if anyone going to the NCRS convention in July could get me the information on the Restoration Paint tech. session? I can't make it to the convention. I would gladly pay for any shipping charges. Thanks Dick Gutman