Starting to move forward on my rebuild of a 52 F1. Question is what paint should I use. Or does it matter? I.E. enamel, polyurethane etc. does it effect the value of the truck? Is there a paint manufacturer that produces a better quality paint? Or a paint true to the Vermilion Red that the truck will be painted?

 

It all depends...if you are building a 100 point concours truck then keeping true to the original paint type MAY be relevant. Based on my experience there are few people who can tell a lacquer job from an enamel job or an acrylic from a polyurethane. That said, those who can tell the difference are usually very opinionated about the merits and shortcomings of each. Since modern vehicles are painted in a basecoat/clearcoat scheme, most people have come to see that high-gloss paint as optimal. It's like having a pair of patent leather shoes...always shiny but without the depth of a pair that has been polished with "spit shine". BC/CC is what shops do these days, it is durable and gives you the widest choices of colors and FX. If you deviate from this then you may find it difficult to find a quality shop and will certainly find it more difficult to find the paint/thinner/etc. As with most decisions about these old trucks, the bottom line is knowing what YOU want and going from there. Good luck.

 

I agree with the above points and your desired outcome is the biggest part of the decision . If you are getting it painted then the painter is going to prefer what he is used to and has materials for . If this is a diy then skill level and desired outcome quality is big . Single stage paints are much more forgiving and repairable in solid colors ( non metalic ) than metalic , base coat - clear coat is the easiest to use for novices but requires more coats which adds to the wet time and possibilities of dust etc . More info on your plans would be helpful . PS low quality red paints do not use quality pigments ( the most expensive ) and tend to prematurely fade .

 

I like any of the single stage paints, just seems to go on an antique vehicle better. You can always wet sand and get the paint to polish out to a high shine if you want to. But these trucks never had too much of that. Any benefits of BC/CC are very little, if any, when factoring in the likelihood of it being stored inside, driven occasionally and more or less taken care of. The Sun is what's going to destroy any of these paints over time, turns into dust eventually thats why you see the tops of roofs and fenders all rusty and the paint almost still alive on the vertical sections of old survivors, those patterns tell you a lot.

 

Gotta love that Vermillion Red....beautiful red!! I used that in the Spies Hecker brand ($$$).
You didn't state if you were going to do it yourself....or have a shop to do it. I assume you want to do it yourself. If you have a local paint store, the guy behind the counter might be able to help too. Some are not too friendly and may not want to "teach" you. But I hit it off pretty good with this one guy behind the counter. He took the time to walk me thru the products and process. I haven't painted in 20 years but my last builds were base/clear.....both still look new. More work, but my preference.
I have used acrylic enamel on some builds (prior to base/clear) and it seemed to fade in a couple of years.
Don't forget the key to a great paint job is the prep. I talked with a couple of paint shops...told them I am a do-it-yourselfer...and they showed me some prep work pointers for a show quality paint job. Even when it came to cut, buff, and polish....i took a painted panel in which i could not quite get the deep glossy look. They said i was just about there, showed me what I was doing wrong, and gave me instructions what else I needed to do to get the mirror gloss finish.
good luck with your project!

 

I would like to be DIY, but the time to set up a space, buy equipment, shoot, re-shoot is going to be offset by getting the prep down, and let a professional shoot it, and in the long rum will save you time, getting the painting done, and the truck back together and on the road.

 

Depending on availability in your area Enamel or lacquer may not be available.it isn't in my paint shop.
Base/Clear is easy as primer if you have a hood gun and take your time.
Prep is everything in paint.

 

Enamels and lacquers are definitely difficult if not impossible to find . Most single stage paints will be a urethane . But as I mentioned if you are getting it painted the painter will prefer to use what he stocks and financially it will likely be cheaper for you . I you pick a paint he doesn't carry then you will need to purchase full cans of hardener and reducer of which there will most certainly be leftovers . Every paint including clears have their own tendencies and spray somewhat different so giving even the best painter a product he's not familiar with may cause some issues .

 

All vary good information given here.
If you are going to have someone paint it for you they will want to use what they are use to using.
Also depending on the color there may not be a code for your paint in BC/CC and they may also not have it for acrylic enamel either.

I knew how to do body work & paint before I started the rebuild of my 81 F100 flare side but had not done it in like 30 years.
I can tell you a lot has changed in that time but also the newbies dont know it all either.

In my case my truck was single stage from the factory and being I was building a nice driver not a show truck a BC/CC was just way more work (2 tone and cab & bed done in stages) than I wanted to put into the paint job.

I went with acrylic enamel from NAPA, their bottom line and was vary happy how it sprayed and flowed out on the panels.
Now the part they did not know was the reducer for thinning has a temp range, they only had 1 temp (med temp) and did not know there was any others. I wanted high temp as I was painting when it was hot and in my garage, read no temp control like is a spray booth.
With the high temp reducer it slows down the time the paint stays wet to let it flow and less dry areas if over lap is not 100% good.
Also my last coat was thinned a little more for more flow out, less orange peel, before it dries.
I also used hardener in the paint.

I did not "cut & buff" as that was way more work than I wanted to put into the paint job for a driver truck.
People have asked who painted my truck and are shocked when I say me and show them pictures.
The paint is flat like it was cut & buffed on 95% of the truck but you can see a little sand marks from body work as I did not spend the time needed to make sure they were out. I can see them but for most un-trained eye they dont and that is ok with me, remember its a driver.
Truck has been on the road for 3 years now and has many miles and a few stone chips.
It is a driver a still looks pretty good for the shows I go to in the summer, only been waxed 1 time so far.

When I took the truck back to NAPA so they could see how it came out they were shocked that the lowest level paint they had, looked that good and no cut / buff.
BTW I used DeVelvis (sp?) starting line HVLP 3 gun kit I bough from Eastwood when on sale years ago.
First time using a HVPL gun and liked it and think it sprayed as good as the old school Binks #7 guns I have used in the past and still do for primer. I do have a big air compressor that supplied a 5 bay truck shop so running out of air was not going to happen. Have 5 air drops in my 2.5 bay garage.

Yes a lot has to do with skill but I have seen less skilled do great jobs just takes more time to get there.
You have started down the right path by asking here, make friends with the local body supply store if going with a DIY or they can even tell you a shop who to go to.
Good luck
Dave ----