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Old 11-21-2022, 09:19 PM
bdk1976 bdk1976 is offline
Chief Ponti-yacker
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Olympia, WA
Posts: 715
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I would definitely shop around for paint - the top brands aren't always the way to go for restos, IMO. Napa may be a decent option if you have them local - if not check sites like autobody101 and see where folks are buying their custom basecoats online these days. I painted my Iris Mist '65 15 years ago using 'valspar' which I don't think makes auto paint anymore(?), but it was a fraction of the price of PPG from the local jobber at the time. I paid less for ALL of my paint and reducers as they wanted to charge me for ONE gallon of basecoat - reducer extra - and it matched the factory paint chip and original paint on car almost perfectly. PPG said up front their mix was 'too purple" and for complete paint jobs only! For what my car has seen in the last 15 years, which is probably 10x more than most cars on this site (sans racers) will see in 50+ years, the paint job has held up GREAT in spite of its weather exposure and general use. As I mentioned earlier, I would be sure to buy extra from whatever place you get it so it is all from the same batch for matching/repair purposes in the future. Seems expensive now but could turn out to be some cheap (in $ and headaches) insurance down the road if/when you damage the paint.

Keep in mind that just about any modern paint system you put on your car will probably look great and outlast you - hell even a lacquer job would probably last 150 years the way most of these cars are treated nowadays. This is why color match is #1 aspect in my mind if doing a restoration. You can always put a top tier clearcoat on it if you want - probably not necessary as something like SPI (I cannot personally vouch for, but many can) would probably work out well.

Coverage can also vary due to brand/line (lower lines are generally said to cover less, requiring more base), and your spraying/gun setup (HVLP, LVLP, turbine, etc.) which can affect how much base is put on the car vs how much is sucked out the exhaust of the booth.