[JoePapa]

I'm curious to hear from folks that paint cars for a living on the pros and cons of doing a few light coats of paint versus several coats of paint. Assume typical base coat / clear coat type paint system. I would think the advantage of a few light coats (assuming even coverage) is you wouldn't need to color sand it and the con would be that it's easier to scratch through the color for door dings and what not.

Any professional experience on this topic?

[Cammer-6]

You dont color sand BC/CC.
For base coat you want enough to cover evenly,thats all.
You can add more clear and rub it out,but be careful you dont
pile it on.

[JoePapa]

I just learned something new.

Thank you very much for some much needed piece of mind.

[paint guy]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

You dont color sand BC/CC.
For base coat you want enough to cover evenly,thats all.
You can add more clear and rub it out,but be careful you dont
pile it on.

What he said.

No need to sand basecoat,unless you eclipse the paint mfr's recoat window to apply topcoat(usually 24 hrs).Even color coverage,thats all,and typically base coats are low in solids so they don't build a lot of film(and you don't want a lot of film)the only thing I'll add to the above is when you wet sand and buff your clear,keep wet-sanding to a minimum at the edges and body lines,as it is easier to break thru to the color there,because there won't be as much film build there.

[Cammer-6]

If you will let it dry(wet sanding) before buffing you can see if all the orange peel has been knocked off.
Only remove enough to do that(or less),then buff.Progress up to 1500 or 2000 before buffing.

[66 tempest]

how many coats bc/cc will depend on the color and paint line you are using.. I always use atleast 3 coats of clear. the clear I use recommends 1.5 coats.. you can see in the pic how deep the gloss is..

[PaulatFast]

One thing to add... the number of coats of base coat is dictated by the coverage of the color. I just sprayed a Matador red 69 GTO last week. That color is terrible covering! It took six coats of base to achieve full coverage and a uniform color, i applied a seventh coat for piece of mind. The week before, i sprayed an Aluetian blue 68 GTO, much better covering color. full coverage achieved in three coats, added a "dry" fourth coat to insure uniform metallic coverage. Quality of base matters as well when it comes to coverage. Both of those cars were sprayed with PPG's budget line OMNI.

[Cammer-6]

Paul,I think(and Paint guy may confirm this)that metallics cover better because the metallic is a solid.Maroons and reds dont cover well(in my experience)

[wytnyt]

color coverage is also highly dependent on the overall color of the sealer

[Jeff Walker]

Also color coverage will depend on the quality of the paint. It's not uncommon at all for a lower priced paint to take more coats for good coverage as compared to a higher quality paint.

[gtome]

Originally Posted by Cammer-6

Paul,I think(and Paint guy may confirm this)that metallics cover better because the metallic is a solid.Maroons and reds dont cover well(in my experience)

I always thought it was just the opposit. That metallics covered worse beacuse they use a clear base.

[gtome]

Originally Posted by Jeff Walker

Also color coverage will depend on the quality of the paint. It's not uncommon at all for a lower priced paint to take more coats for good coverage as compared to a higher quality paint.

And i can attest to that!
This took 5 coats of base, but 4 may have done it, (Sherwin Williams Dimention) and 2 coats of clear, just did it today!

[66 tempest]

I mostly paint bikes now, and ALMOST EVEY BIKE I have done, I never used more than, 3 coats of bc. here if you look at the vette it only took 2 coats of cheap paint for complete coverage..