Lacquer Paint.

[James S.]

Who on here has experience in lacquer paint? I have some questions about primer sealer on my 70 LT1. And yes I'm going back lacquer. My car is not going to be stripped so I need to know what sealer and primer I need to use in PPG products that will jive with the original lacquer paint. Thanks.

[Page C.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Hi James,
The DP line of PPG paints is an epoxy primer/sealer that requires a catalyst. This is a primer and sealer old school paint line that is bullet proof. The DP paint line has numbers after the DP to indicate the shade of primer/sealer.

[Tom B.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

There is no way that 46 year old lacquer is not checked or cracked someplace on the car. Any imperfections in the base will come back through the new lacquer to ruin the new paint job no matter what you use for primer or sealer. As for your question, you can apply most anything over old lacquer without any problem with incompatibility. What you need are products that won't lift or react to the new lacquer you will be applying over it. Ask the supplier of the lacquer that you are using what they recommend as a primer and sealer. Most brands have a matched system of products designed to work together and you can be fairly assured that staying within the system will give good results. It's when you start mixing brands and products that you have problems.

Back many years ago when I was painting for a living I knew what I could use with what without any problems, even across brands. Unfortunately, most of that stuff is no longer available and what we have now is different formulas. Whenever I paint now I spend time on the paint manufacturer's site and also talk with my automotive paint supplier before I lay down any money for product.

Tom

[Mark E.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

For current product compatibility and recommendations, consult with your retailer or get in touch with a PPG representative.

I last sprayed lacquer in 2001, my 1970 Corvette, using PPG products. Existing paint was stripped, K200 Acrylic Urethane Primer Surfacer was applied over the factory primer (and in areas that were repaired, bare fiberglass matting). K200 was reapplied a couple of times after block and wet sanding. After more surface preparation, K36 Acrylic Urethane Primer Surfacer was applied before spraying the DDL Duracryl Lacquer. K201 hardener was used with the K200 and K36 products.

After 15 years, the paint still looks great: Good color holdout, no swelling, shrinking, fading, crazing or cracking (well, just a little area on the front surround near the hood hinges). Of course, it's a garage queen so it's kept clean, out of the sun, and sees minimal temperature fluctuation.

That was the stack of products PPG recommended to me 15 years ago. It's probably different now.

Be careful with using old paint as a base surface. If the old paint fails underneath, then the new paint fails. Also, the thicker the overall finish, the greater chance for finish failure, and all else equal, the shorter the lifespan.

[James S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Thanks Mark. I was afraid to use any stripper due to the fact the fiberglass could soak it up and come back to haunt me later. Yes the paint is checked but not bad. I'm sanding the car down to the red oxide and almost at that point. I thought a DP urethane would be ok to use to seal the car and I do have a pretty good area on the passenger door where someone had sanded the car years ago that's bare glass. I've found the Daytonia Yellow lacquer in Georgia at a PPG dealer. We have several cars with lacquer paint but never a glass car. I'll give a paint dealer a call to confirm things. Thanks.

[Mark E.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Keep us posted.

Be careful sanding a fiberglass panel to remove paint, especially with power sanders. Remember it's not a steel car. I've seen more than one Corvette (and an Avanti) damaged with gouges in this way.

There are chemical strippers designed for fiberglass. I haven't had problems with residue on the six cars I've done, but it's important to follow the directions.

[Domenic T.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Truthfully,
I liked the OLD straight laquer before it was acrylic laquer. The old 400 black would last till the primer started to show . Tom has a point if he's talking about acrylic laquer. There was a saying about the black laquer that Henry ford used, they said that if you found one in a old barn all you needed to do was rub it out to get the gloss back. Some guys got the ol;d stuff to crack by getting it way to thick. The acrylic seems to have a destructive pattern of cracking. Frankly I am a 2 part modern paint user now.

Dom

[Mark E.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Frankly I am a 2 part modern paint user now.Dom

Agreed. Modern base coat/ clear coat systems are beautiful and durable. The biggest reason I used lacquer in 2001 is because I painted the car in my garage. Lacquer tacks up very quickly, so my dust problems were minimized.

[James S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

I'm blocking it no air tools. I've got more time than money. Only reason I'm going back to lacquer is its what was on it from the factory. We are so picky about bolt heads and other things but paint can pass judging in BCCC or a single stage urethane. I'm trying to keep it like it was as close as I can. Thanks for the help.

[James S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

That's what I thought would be good.

[Alan S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Hi James,
There aren't very many fans of acrylic lacquer left but I'm one of them.
To my eye it gives the car a look no other paint can.
I'm glad you're pursuing this for your 70.
Good Luck!
Regards,
Alan

Original paint and primers coming off.




The jams and hood surround were given some paint the day before. The days the car was painted the doors and hood were left as you see them and a nice amount over overspray blew in on the jambs and on the hood gutter.


6 quarts going on.


Ready for Flight Judging.

[Gene M.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

I'm blocking it no air tools. I've got more time than money. Only reason I'm going back to lacquer is its what was on it from the factory. We are so picky about bolt heads and other things but paint can pass judging in BCCC or a single stage urethane. I'm trying to keep it like it was as close as I can. Thanks for the help.

Great observation. If a Corvette is not painted in lacquer why would I care what bolts and other small things are put on it. Kinda like throw away the big bills and keeping the loose change. The old dp 90 primers with catalyst was the best in the day. And still a safe way of avoiding issues with lacquer top coats today.

[James S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Alan I would be interested in your prep work. Wish I could post pictures on here but on my phone it won't let me. I'd be interested in your primers you used.

[James S.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

I'm definitely looking into DP products.

[Douglas L.]

Re: Lacquer Paint.

Opinions are like belly buttons but I'll go ahead and give you mine(opinion, that is). The safest primer to use over any other kind of old paint is epoxy primer, I don't think the brand really matters(I usually use the house brand of my local vendor). While it wont totally protect you from actual physical movement of the layers under it, it will do better at that than anything else. It can also be thinned and used as sealer. Additionally, its about as good as it gets as a base under just about anything including lacquer.

Regarding BCCC, I also dont like the way they look, look too much like a coating to me. While I do believe BCCC is a great choice for metallics, I prefer single stage urethane for older cars, to me it looks more like the panel is made of the color rather than a coating on the panel(does that make sense?). While its harder to cut and buff and doesn't spray out as good a acrylic much less lacquer, its tough as nails and is totally impervious to nearly all chemicals.

Anyhow, I would recommend talking to you local paint vendor to see what they have to say. Best of luck!

Doug