Budget paint job (250.00)

[87montecarlomrc]

ok thanks that helps me out

 

[88MONTESS]

Damn, dude! That looks great (and I hate Monte Carlos)!

Camshaft do u really you hate Monte Carlos?

 

[DrRansom442]

No reason to HATE Montes .... it's the proper place for a SBC ... I figure one more Monte gets built up - it's one less Cutlass that gets a SBC. BTW, I am quite impressed with the Flacco paint job there, makes me rethink .... for $250. give or take my car could be ONE color!

 

[Camshaft]

Damn, dude! That looks great (and I hate Monte Carlos)!

Camshaft do u really you hate Monte Carlos?

Yeah man, not a fan at all. 'swhy I drive a Cutlass. Yours is super-nice, you did a great job on the prep and it shows. You should be proud like a new daddy, haha. Plus, the six-speed swap is cooler than a fridge in Siberia.

 

[custom442]

so is urethan paint the best? im thinking bout painting mine. is acrylic enamel glossy without clear coat

Try to think of it this way - any paint can be made as glossy as the next (unless this is a show car, then you'd be narrowing it down to one of a few different paints). The gloss is in the finish, it's not really an issue. You can get just as glossy of a paint job with a paint brush as with a spray gun, its just going to take thousands of finishing hours.

What you have to decide is how much you want to spend now vs. how much you'll get out of the paint over its lifetime. Acrylic enamel is just as 'glossy' with or without clear. I know because I've painted both ways, there is no difference. The good thing about enamel base/clear is the clear blocks UV rays so the paint won't fade as soon as the AE. It's also more scratch resistant (you can fix scratches easier than one base) and the paint is always a little more durable with clear. The worst quality of AE by itself is the scratching bit. If going that route I would use a base/clear system, you should be able to find a cheaper alternative than urethane and get some good years out of it.

Urethane is the best, but then if you're not going to have the car in 5 years why would you spend the money on it, see what I mean? A single stage acrylic urethane might be similar in price to a very good quality (glossy) enamel base/clear, shop around and see what painters are doin in your area

 

[gto78]

Looks awesome for $250. My first car was an 81 Regal. I did all the work in body shop at high school (20 years ago) and then brought it to Maaco and paid them $300. It looked great and didn't fade over the next year before I sold it. However the paint started flaking off in big pieces on the flexible bumpers. They didn't prep it very well and probably didn't add any flex additive for the bumpers, but I expected that and it was still worth the money.

 

[79babyboxchev]

Sold! I'm gonna have to do the same thing you just did!

 

[CamaroAdam73]

sh*t i'm sold to, I've got an 88 Monte SS also. She's got NO RUST, but enough dents to be just as bad, and i need a new lower passenger side quarter, thanks to the city of davidsville. A boulder slid down a hill into the middle of the road coming around a sharp bend, by the time i seen it, WHAM.

I'll be replacing the front clip because it's got a crack in it, and the bumper/ tail lights. Then the rest is just body work, Besides the door skin on the driver side.

 

[79malibu350]

Looks good.

The true test will be what it looks like after a year. I've heard from multiple people that did what you did and said a year later the paint was starting to fade.

You have to go into it realizing it may not last. I mean I just priced the base coat paint for my '87 at the paint store it alone was $300. So for them to do it for $250 you know they're not using quality paint.

the trick is that they use a lower line of dupont or something, like nason or valspar (probably even cheaper than those) and save ALOT of money by mixing in the clear, but it kinda defeats the purpose of clear and thats why it fades out so quick. the paint/clear mix just doesn't provide the same protection, not to mention its not easy to scuff and buff. if you can keep it out of the sun maaco jobs will hold up though.

 

[79malibu350]

You have to know what you are doing. You are not supposed to use urethane on top of laquer unless you use a sealer in between. The original paint on my Cutlass is laquer so I can't just scuff and shoot urethane on top. I'd have to sand, use a primer sealer, primer, then urethane paint. That is costly. Or, I could just sand it down a little and shoot some more laquer on it and it'd be ok.

When you paint, it is just as important to know about the old paint as it is to know about the new paint because they have to be compatible. So, before deciding what you will use, figure out what you have.

yea if its not the original paint that rolled out of the factory, you should really strip the paint off completely. Escpecially if your going to use a base/clear, because the clear will find that nasty old paint and lift. And if you dont strip it you HAVE to use sealer between the primer and paint.