Acrylic Lacquer Paint

[Frank B.]

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

My 71 LS5 is ready for it's Nevada Silver paint. The majority of Paint Shops that I have spoken too do not want to spray Lacquer. The reasons vary from enviormental and personel safety concerns, to lecturing me on the duribility of Base/Clear over Lacquer.I intend to show this car and also drive it. I presently own two other classic autos which I am proud to say are National first place cars and I drive them to each event, up to 3K miles round trip.I am a believer that Classics are meant to be driven. One of my cars was painted 15 years ago and the other 10 years ago with acrylic emamel and I have no complaints.
I know that Lacquer requires alot of manual labor and often wonder if this is not the reason that I am having difficulity with the shops.
I need some input from those of you that drive your cars, as well as show them at NCRS events.I would like very much to earn a Top Flight with this Car. Any
advise wouid be appreciated.

[John M.]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Frank, this is fairly common today, most of the painters out there just have never shot lacquer and they don't want to learn. If you are flight judging the car then I would reccomend that you find someone who specializes in corvettes and knows how to shoot lacquer. It is in my humble opinion still the paint of choice when having a car judged. The nice thing about lacquer for those of us who like to paint our own cars, is that it is also about the only paint that can be shot without a paint booth and still achieve professional results. Regards, John McGraw

[Dale Pearman]

Do It The Right Way

LACQUER!

Dale.

[Loren L.]

My BS Detector just went off

when I read that shops were using "personal safety" as an excuse for NOT shooting lacquer. The reality is that silver metallic lacquer is downright dangerous for exposing a painter's lack of skill and extending his hours for buffing, retouching, redoing blotches, etc. If you're going to have it judged, there's only one choice. As to durability, aren't you going to take better care of it when its done than it had during its first 30 years? The added benefit of not having to rehearse stories to explain why "it's not really clear lacquer" is another factor - even though a considerable portion of silver metallic really is clear. Do it right.

[Mark Malone]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Do it the way that you want it done.

I have just about finished my 59 which I eventually had painted by a professional painter as apart from the fact that I was at a low point as far as enthusiasim is concerned, I had also been advised by MANY painters and fellow enthusiasts to go with 2 part paints and as they are VERY dangerous to use without the proper facilities and that the modern lacqures were not durable nor have longevity of the old paints so I opted to use the professional.

I recently saw one of my resto's which I painted in acrylic lacquer several years ago and this car has been used as a daily driver by several owners and it showed no signs of paint failure.

I now very much regret having not used lacquer as this is the first of many resto's that I have done that I have not painted myself and I have done what many restorers do in the assembly process and have damaged some small areas on the paintwork.

Now this would normally only mean a few hours touching up and repolishing the affected areas but now I have to take it back to the painter, hope that he mixes the colour correctly and then wait for in indefinate time for him to "fit me in". Now If I had gone the route that I wanted to then I would still have some mixed colour in the garage and would have done the repairs weeks ago.

If asked my advise is to use lacquer if thats your preference and don't be swayed by all of the experts!!!!

Good Luck, Mark.

[Larry Allen]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Ten years ago I painted my C-1 using acrylic lacquer. I did it myself and it was sprayed in my driveway. I had never painted a car before, but using info from other owners and a lot of books it was easy. Total expense was less than $1,000 including compressor, gun, paint and a lot of sandpaper. Was runner-up to best paint of show the first time out. After ten years still no signs of paint failure and is still show ready. The reasons to do it myself were about the same as the problems you have run into, professionals were reluctant to spray lacquer and the ones who would do it wanted more than I paid for the car in the first place. Plus, it's a great feeling to restore the car yourself.
A lot more fun than writing checks to the other guy.

The beauty of lacquer is the ablility to cover up mistakes, just sand it down and do it over. When you get it the way you like it, let it dry and buff it out. Metallic is a little tougher to spray, but it can be mastered with a little practice and the right gun.

[Walt McGaw]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

I too would go with lacquer, but I thought I had read on this board that it's use has been outlawed in many states. My other issue here, is there is a law in the city that prohibits spraying cars without a spray booth...

Walt

[John H.]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

The current EPA regulations specifically exempt shops from reporting VOC's when lacquer is used on "classic cars and restorations"; however, each state has added their own regulations, which may differ (and be more restrictive than) the published EPA regs. The Federal EPA isn't the issue - whatever your state regulations say governs lacquer usage. Other than professional restorers, most long-time painters with lacquer knowledge and experience are using walkers these days, and production body shops don't want to be bothered with materials, techniques, and the time and labor involved in a lacquer job. Collision jobs pay the bills, and those are all done with BC/CC.

[Chas Kingston]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Another major factor is the availability of the lacquer in the color that you want. I know that I bought the last pint of duPont in bright Mulsanne Blue in the Chicago-land area for touch-up on my '70 350/370.

Geezer


'70-350/370

[Henry 36130]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

I have a black convertible 65 that had been repainted with lacquer before I purchased the car 2 years ago. The finish is outstanding and people comment on how great the paint job is. However, I have noticed "spider" cracks starting and have been told, by a reputable judge and corvette restorer, that this can be more common with lacquer paint as opposed to the newer, more durable paints. I'm unsure, now, what to choose when I have to repaint this car. I like to drive! Is there truth to this durability issue?

[Craig S.]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Henry - there is no doubt the modern finish technology is superior in durability and elasticity compared to acrylic lacquer. The finish is more resistant to road chips etc. However, lacquer is not a bad finish either, and should not be showing crazing in 2 years. My guess is there is some surface issues in the fiberglass under the lacquer where you are experiencing crazing, or, the previous application did not entirely strip the original finish and there are expansion differences between the underlying finish and the newer topcoat. My 74 was "repaired" once this way, and virtually every area with new lacquer over old exhibited the spider like cracks. Upon stripping, there were no issues in the glass itself. However, stress fractured glass can cause the same symptoms to crop up quickly in a newly applied finish. For show, nothing beats a real mccoy lacquer job. If you want your car to remain looking it's best and plan to drive it frequently, two stage automotive finishes will stay looking sharp longer under use. They also achieve that deeper look, but, again, that doesn't look original. It all depends on your goals.....and ultimately, your choice depends upon your use and what you want to accomplish...Craig

[Duke W.]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Lacquer remains soluble throughout it's life, and as it gradually loses solvents, it shrinks, builds up stresses and eventually cracks, but on a collector car this could take at least 25 years. Shooting new lacquer over very old lacquer is a non-no because the thinner will attack the old stressed lacquer, which can cause problems down the road if not immediately.

Old lacquer should be removed or sprayed with a sealer before new lacquer is applied. On a complete repaint, the old lacquer should be stripped down to the synthetic primer coat, and if a partial or complete lacquer repaint is done correctly on a collector car it should last and it will always look original.

Duke

[Grant M.]

Re: Acrylic Lacquer Paint

Henry,

The acrylic lacquer on my '65 convertible is just over 15 years old and I have yet to see any signs of detrioration (the car is a fair weather 'driver' not a trailer queen). I believe that the newer paints are more durable in day-to-day use, but to me, nothing beats lacquer for ease of use by a 'hobbyist'. My car was painted in essentially a domestic garage (with some extra lights and an air exhaust/filtration system), and after some overly ambitious colour sanding help from a friend (who hit primer!), I had to touch-up the top of one front fender, which I did with several custom-mixed spray bombs. I defy anyone to tell me which fender was painted that way. All that said, if you want it 'easy' go with the durable modern stuff (at a price, of course).

grant