paint: clear coat versus single stage

My 57 CJ5 is nearing paint. I have to decide between single stage or clear coat. I plan on having it painted Viper red. I have been doing some reading as to the differences and such of each paint. I will be using my jeep for some off road and mostly street driving. Will be outside uncovered most of the time (or under car cover). I was hoping to get some advice before I have the trigger pulled next week. Thanks ahead of time.
Paul

 

I think Basecoat/Clearcoat is your best option. The clear protects the color. You have a few layers of clear to wear off before you get to the color. You can sand/buff out scratches and imperfections easier then a single stage paint. I think the old single stage paints might have been a harder surface, but I don't think you can get much of that stuff anymore due to EPA laws.

Being viper red, it doesn't seem like it will be an off road rig or put back to original? If this is the case, then BC/CC is the way almost all restorations are done these days. The only ones I know that are using single stage are those looking to recreate the 50-60s paint look on otherwise original cars.

 

It is definitely not original. Has a 283 in it with 32x11.5x15 tires. Some of road, but not built just for off road. The painter can do whichever I want. I didn't know enough about the differences to decide today. I was hoping to get a few opinions before next week.

 

If your paying someone else to paint it, you might as well go with clear coat too.

I planned on scratching mine up a bit off road, and since I was doing it myself, I went with single stage white. Easier for a beginner to do it.

But if you mostly plan on driving on streets and occasionally off road, then I would go for the best and shiniest paint job and then be careful off road.

Im not totally sure, but I think modern clear coats resist UV better. My single stage is starting to oxidize and needs redone... at 7 years under the sun with about yearly waxing.

 

I had my Jeep painted "Safety Red" with Rustoleum, since then I've touched up places with whatever brand of Safety Red "It's tint, color, and hue are specified by OSHA so matching's kinda easy.

In a couple of years I'll pay someone to rub it out to deal witrh the oxidation and allow me to touch it up with rattle-cans and a brush. Of course neither the Jeep nor I will ever win an beauty contests, that is unless they open a fat, balding, gimpy, middle aged- white guy category.

 

Clear coat/base coat is the way to go. I used it on my jeep and love it. Get a scratch, buff it out. I had the paint chip in a couple spots, touched it with a small brush, and you can't even tell. I used single stage on the frame and WS, and when the stuff gets scratch, you can't do anything about it, except touch it up. Hate that stuff.

 

From my armchair perspective ...

For an amateur painter, I'd say single stage.

BC-CC is better for the car manufacturers because it requires less of the expensive color base. It's also easier to get an even metallic color with BC - you need to get just the right 'wetness' for a SS metallic to look even.

Red is a bad color for oxidation - yellow and orange are too.

Re hardness, if you use a catalyzed paint (with isocyanates) it will be very hard, with either system.

If you want shiny, shoot a SS catalyzed urethane and rub it out. You can rub out SS paint many times to remove scratches, all the way down to the primer. Should be easier to touch up too, should you have some body damage.

 

yep
farm implement paint and a roller....
they had john deere green in stock!

 

Eastwood makes a nice single stage line of paint now that's got pretty good reviews. Single is nice for cutting and buffing whenever you need to...red oxidizes but is pulled out quickly with just a bit of wheeling.

BC/CC is fine too...in fact, I kinda dig the satin look of base color and a flattening agent in the clear...lots of hot rod guys going that route now.

 

single stage urethane in a fleet color will be easily matched later....base clear is more money BUT....you get what you pay for with paint cheap paint less lifespan...

 

ive had three vech have the clear coat separate, each painted by different shop. ill never have a two stage again. my old 55 willys has single stage and it still shines up. advantage of single stage is theres not going to be any separation between the clear and paint.

 

I assume they are about the same to keep up? My understanding is Clear still needs to be maintained with wax. Lots of useful opinions here. I have to mull it over this weekend. I probably need to decide by mid next week.

 

Where are you going to take this to be painted, a one-day shop, a regular body shop, or is someone going to do it for you?

If you take it to a production (one-day) shop, I expect their materials will be tailored to their guarantee. BC-CC will be more expensive, but I think the quality of the materials will be about the same if the guarantee is the same.

If a body shop or painter does your car, they have a wide range in quality to choose from. The price will depend on the quality of the materials and the color. If you really want red, that's fine, but realize that red pigments are very expensive compared to white, black, tan, gray, and so forth. Plus (for some reason I don't understand) reds do not cover as well as other, cheaper colors, and thus more material and time is needed.

If you have a painter rather than plan to go to a production shop, ask the painter what the cost difference is between the highest quality BC-CC and SS (without getting anything exotic).

 

There is one other option. My windshield frame was really awful so I had it sand blasted and powder coated. Although rare, there are vehicles out there that are powder coated. Yes you'd need to find someone with a big oven, or, a smaller shop that whould shoot it and take the tub to a place that does gates and fences.

Or, there's marine paint, it's epoxy based and takes some pretty brutal abuse.

 

I'm definitely an amateur painter, this being my second jeep & the first that's not military (semigloss is almost too easy). I'm using a single stage that has a thinner/hardener as well as a 'wet look' additive that is really turning out well. The tailgate has been curing for a week & still looks wet, but is completely dry. Planning on putting a good Mother's wax job on it to protect the paint. I've got about $70 in the paint kit I bought, & about that in the spray gun & supplies to convert my shop to a paint booth - painting it for less than $200.

 

any paint needs waxing the prep is waaay important good prep good paint =long life bad prep good paint = short life good prep cheap paint = middle lifespan

 

Dont ask me I painted mine with six cans o camo from true value and a 12 pack, took me most of the day too.