Can someone recommend a good auto paint to use on my truck.
Thanks

 

well that depends on the quality you want and how much you want to pay. ppg, house of kolor,are some of the top of the line but are expensive. im painting mine with tractor and implement paint from the local farm supply store.

 

I'm looking for a show quality paint so thank you for the recomendations. Wouldn't tractor paint be about the same quality as the two you've listed?

 

There are a many factors to consider, first would be; are you painting this yourself? How much experinece you have had painting? Centari enamel, for example is a good quality, but for show some perfer lacquer.. I'd say many more answers to come!

 

Nope, really don't think I'm up to the skill level, so I'm going to have it done

 

I think the painter will have some recomendations. I painted many years ago for a living, the choices of paint type were enamel, lacquer, and imron..each having their good and bad points.

 

packrat, which one would recommend?

 

The type of paint depends a lot on your budget and skill level. I have painted quite a few cars and trucks, professionally and my own and I will spray anything that comes out of a can.

I would not spray laquer, it dries fast but doesn't last under the sun.

Acrylic Urethane is probably the best for finish and durability but it's expensive and you have to have really good respiration protection so if you're a beginner I don't think you should use it. The vapors can kill you if you aren't careful.

Acrylic enamel is second best but you still have to be concerned about the hardeners getting into your lungs. But it's cheaper than urethanes but not as durable.

Straight enamels that you get from the hardware stores are cheapest but again you lose durability. And if you use a hardener, which will add durability, you have to have good respiration protection. You should always use a good respirator when spraying any paint but when you add a hardner you're basically adding super glue to the paint and I guarantee it only takes once to screw up and you'll remember, I know from experience.

I painted my F-2 with acrylic urethane. It sprayed nice, dried fast and held up great. The only problem I see with using expensive paint on an old truck is the old truck underneath. These old trucks are always in a constant state of rusting and the paint will outlast the body underneath. On my F-4 I going with tractor restoration paint from the local supply store. It comes in a kit, a gallon of paint, reducer and hardener for around $75 as apposed to acrylic urethane at around $400 a gallon just for the paint then another $50 for reducer and $45 for hardener. I figure the tractor restoration paint is a lot better than the paint Henry originally sprayed on the truck, The truck is not going to get the same use and abuse it got for the first 50 years of it's life so the paint should last until I no longer care.

 

Welcome to California

Forget Imron, Acrylic Lacquer and/or Enamel, Duco, Nitrocellulose, whatever.

By CA law, you have one choice. Clear Coat 2 stage paint.

That's all CA allows anymore.

Just ask your friendly CA legislatators (yeah right), or one of the 1000's of body and paint shops...you'll be told the exact same thing.

You have one legal option.

Take the vehicle out of state to have it painted with the paint of your choice.

You won't be the first one to do this, either.

 

Base Coat / Clear Coat paint system by Diamont R-M
Apply it with a SATA HVLP paint gun and it should come out good.

 

I'd match the paint to the brand of primer/surfacer used to (hopefully) prevent chemical incompatibility. for example and example only: ppg primer with dupont top coat will be pretty risky. Don't forget the seal coat either.

 

Number dummy, I just noticed something... 8,300 posts since last November!!!!! When do you sleep man???

 

Ditto! Man, that comes to about 3 a minute, I think. I can't even type that fast. Actually, I'm not a slow typist, or a fast typist. I'm kinda a "half fast" typist!
Bike

 

Have the laws changes within the last six months? Because I've been buying and using single stage urethane as well as had my whole truck sprayed with single stage urethane about 12 months ago. The truck was sprayed at a high volume shop in my area that obviously adheres to the laws and I buy my paint from a large chain auto paint supply store. The truck was sprayed in BASF LIMCO series paints and I've been painting alot of miscellaneous items in the DuPont Nason series paints. Both are a single stage catalyzed urethane with the low VOC (3.5 lbs/gal) rating. I am also in the Bay Area, which is usually on of the strictist areas for stuff like this.

If they are still available, I would highlly recommend them for what they claim to be. I have never personally sprayed LIMCO since no store supplied the paint near me, but it has held up wonderfully for the first year. I sprayed the Nason myself and am very pleased with it as well (when I could lay it flat). The Nason was also extremely affordable, at $26 bucks a quart and about $20 worth of catalyst for the whole quart. The paint came out with no chemical related defects and I'm no professional by any means. About 80% of the paint layed by the professional came out pretty flat, and the rest only had a little orange peel, which could be cut and buffed. You can see pictures of it in my gallery.

I was told by the shop to expect about 10 years from it if I took good care of it. The truck has stayed in the garage at night, but I drove it to school or work or at least took it out every day, so it was not 'garage kept' by any standards. I wash it about every 2 weeks and wax it about every month. Its not a 'show finish' since it doesn't look 10 feet deep, but I also wasn't looking for one. I actually haul stuff in it and have the scratched on the bedstrips to prove it. In about 2 weeks I drove it 4000 miles up and down the coast in the summer california sun and the paint still looks great.

 

Just looking at the current rule in my air quality district (http://www.arb.ca.gov/drdb/ba/curhtml/r8-45.htm), it doesn't look like they make a distinction between a single stage and multi stage system, so long as they do not exceed the allowable VOC ratings. So, I guess I'd go talk to a paint supply store. I'm sure they know, because if they don't it'll cost them money.