Hi, Rich. I finished a lacquer paint job on my Midget last October, so I
have some fairly recent experience. First of all, lacquer is one of those
evil substances on the EPA hitlist, so it is getting scarce everywhere.
My local bodyshop supply store was able to special order it for me. I
painted the car on my driveway, so I couldn't use anything but lacquer. I
used a PPG system, and followed the directions on the can. It required
one coat of sealer/adhesion promoter (over the existing paint), four coats
of primer, six coats of color topcoat, and four coats of clear (no sanding
between coats, just a quick rub with a tack cloth just before spraying the
next coat). I had never painted a car before, and was amazed at how easy
it was to spray. Lacquer dries so fast that you don't have to worry about
trash and bugs getting into it, and even if they do you can wet sand it in
half an hour and do it over. Another surprise was how much paint was
required, at $125 a gallon + thinner. After thinning, I think I used
something like fifteen or sixteen quarts of finished spray , but then I
painted the car as a bare shell, including interior, engine bay, and trunk.
There was only one occasion where I had to sand and repaint. Spraying
the paint was fun, rubbing it out to a high gloss wasn't too bad, but the
prep work to ensure a good final finish was very tedious. I was very
pleased with the result, but I don't think I'll paint another car.
Steve Byers
Havelock, NC
'73 Midget GAN5UD126009G "OO NINE"
"It is better to remain silent, and be thought a fool,
than to speak, and remove all doubt" -- Mark Twain
> From: Rich Mason <rmason@ro.com>
> To: Art Pfenninger <ch155@FreeNet.Buffalo.EDU>
> Cc: mgs@autox.team.net
> Subject: Paint
> Date: Monday, November 24, 1997 10:20 AM
>
> At 08:30 AM 11/23/97 -0500, Art wrote:
> > Using the HVLP gun you need no more than 2 quarts of paint. I
> >recommend lacquer. Depending on the color it should be $40 or less a
> >quart. Next you will need 1 quart of surfacer primer, about $25. You
will
> >also need 2 gallons of lacquer thinner about $18 per gallon. A quart of
> >Prep-Sol and 5 sheets of 400 grit and 5 sheets 600 grit wet& dry sand
> >paper as well as a few sheets of regular paper to lightly sand the car
> >before painting. If you are dealing with the original finish and it is
in
> >decent condition you shouldn't have to remove it. If it has been
repainted
> >then you will need to determine what type of finish it has and get
advice
> >from the paint dealer on what to do with it. One last item will be a can
> >of rubbing compound to rub the lacguer out.This will cost about $7.00.
> >Paint- $80
> >Primer $40
> >Thinner $36
> >Prep-Sol $15
> >Sandpaper $10
> >Rubbing compound $7
> > ------
> > $188
> >
> >I was a little off from the $150 I for got to add in stuff (Prep-Sol and
> >sand paper) that I have laying around and therefore don't have to
> >purchase.
> >...Art
>
>
> Art-
>
> Thanks for the info...the body shop supply folks here are recommending an
> acrylic enamel with a hardener system (they don't even sell lacquer any
> more). I guess that's part of the higher cost I'm seeing. I'm not sure
> what I'm going to do now. I hope you don't mind a few more questions...
:)
>
> 1) What is Prep-Sol?
>
> 2) I too, was thinking that lacquer was the way to go, but everyone is
> trying to talk me out of it. The only negative that I hear is that you
have
> a lot more labor to rub out the finish initially, and you have to
> periodically buff it out. Is there a way to clear-coat the lacquer to
keep
> it shiny and new-looking?
>
> 3) Will a good waxing keep lacquer from needing the rubbing out (after
the
> initial work)?
>
> 4) How many coats of lacquer do you recomend?
>
> 5) Is wet sanding w/ 600 grit between coats just for defect removal, or
is
> it required for adhesion?
>
> If anyone else with experience wants to jump in here - I'd appreciate all
> the help I can get!
>
> Thanks again for your help.
>
> Regards,
>
> Rich Mason
> '73 MGB
> Huntsville, AL
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