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Today’s Paint Products
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I swore I wouldn’t bore you with a bunch of paint
cans, but it’s inevitable in this chapter. This
grouping represents just the color and clear, with
attendant reducers and catalysts, for the paint on
one car. It doesn’t include any primers, sealers,
cleaners, or other “prep” products. These happen
to be all PPG (formerly Ditzler) brand, purchased at
the same place at the same time. The color, mixed
at the paint store, is a Lincoln Mark VIII dark green
metallic with pearl for my ’52 Chevy, which was dark
green metallic originally.
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This is a 2-stage system, with base coat (DBU) and clear coat (2021). While most normal-size
vehicles won’t require more than a gallon of mixed color, or clear, I ordered 1-1/2 gallons of color
(to have plenty for dash, window frames, under hood, etc.) in two gallon cans, so I can mix the two
back and forth to make sure all the color is the same before painting. The two quarts (DAR) are the
same color mixed in a single-stage, which dries very glossy, for use in areas (firewall, under trunk,
etc.) where I don’t need the extra work of 2-stage or rub out. The only problem with buying all these
products now is that the bodywork/prep on the car has taken longer than expected, and the
reducer/catalyst (DRR—“RR” stands for “reactive reducer”) “goes bad” after time. Hopefully it is
okay stored in a cool place, unopened.
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It's hard to write a book about how to paint cars without talking about paint, but that is essentially
what I intend to do. If it weren’t such a cliché (and if it weren’t largely untrue), I would say that the
paint itself is one of the least important parts of this whole process. Yes, the surface preparation—
from the bare metal to the final, sanded undercoats—is the most important element of a good
quality and long-lasting automotive paint job. Secondly, given moderate skill with the spray gun
(and given excellent surface preparation), the final color-sand and rub out are what make any paint
job look professional and ultimately award-winning. Good paint, compatibility of products and,
especially today, proper mixing of the elements of each product, are all very important to a good
paint job. But talking about paint is about as exciting as watching paint dry. And looking at pictures
of paint cans in a book is worse than boring, even in color.
But those aren’t the real reasons why we’re not going to discuss specific paint products here. We
describe paint as solid particles suspended in a liquid “carrier” so that those particles can be
transported, by pressurized air, and deposited on a surface, where they adhere once the liquids all
evaporate away. That’s the way paint had been for decades (centuries if you substitute a brush for
the spray gun), but no longer. The main reason we’re not going to talk about paint in this “How to
Paint” book is that we’re not using paint to paint cars any more. We’re using chemicals. The
process might not seem or look much different. We mix assorted liquids in set proportions and
spray them with a “gun,” using pressurized air, onto the surface of a car in the age-old manner.
Then they “dry” either hard and shiny, or smooth and dull so that we can buff them out to a lustrous
shine. It all seems pretty much the same as before, but it’s not.
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Now, when you mix those liquids together, one of which is the color you want to put on your car, you
are no longer mixing a solids-bearing liquid paint with a highly evaporative thinner to make it
sprayable and so that it dries relatively quickly. Now the colored particles are suspended in a liquid
that is a reactive chemical compound. The other liquid you mix with it—even though it may contain
evaporatives or thinners—primarily contains a catalyst, which is a chemical agent that instigates a
molecular change over a relatively short period of time once the two chemicals are mixed. Today’s
paints don’t just dry, they also chemically bond, which in current auto painting parlance is called
“cross-linking.”
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How do you choose a new paint color for your car? Thousands are available. The auto paint store
should have a large rack (or stack) of “color paint chip” books with small samples of all the colors
used on domestic and foreign cars and trucks, going back several years. You can choose one of
these colors, have the shop mix up a small amount (say, a pint) from the formula, and go home and
spray it on something to see how you like it. Another alternative is to look at cars and trucks on the
highway; if you see a color you like, note the brand and approximate age of the vehicle, and then
look for that color in the books. Plus there are usually pages of “custom colors,” with formulas, and
“fleet colors” (a whole page of different shades of red, or yellow, for example). Or, a good paint
shop can mix (or match) virtually any color you want, though you won’t have a “formula” for ordering
it again, later.
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Chemistry, even though I took plenty of it, was never my favorite subject in school. So I won’t go into
textbook details. But if you remember any of your high school courses, you know that in any
chemical equation only so many atoms or molecules of one substance will combine with so many of
another to produce a set number of molecules of the new substance. Two hydrogen atoms will
combine with one oxygen atom to produce one molecule of water. No less, no more. And if you want
a whole bunch of water, you must combine a lot of hydrogen and oxygen in a ratio of 2-to-1,
exactly. Reactions involving catalysts are a bit different, but the emphasis here is on exact mixing
ratios. To work properly, to chemically bond as designed, today’s paints must be mixed in the exact
proportions specified by the manufacturer.
You may also remember that heat (temperature) has a bearing on all chemical processes. Heat is
energy, and most chemical reactions require some energy to occur. In an article I did for Rod &
Custom magazine in 1991 called “New Age Painting,” I quoted a PPG paint expert as saying, “With
all catalyzed urethanes (clear or color), room temperature must be maintained above 50 degrees F
for 24 hours for the paint to fully crosslink (harden). If not, it never fully crosslinks, and can break
down with age. This is critical.” This is something I have not heard mentioned much, before or
since. Good, modern paint booths are heated, and most professional painters leave a freshly
painted car in the heated booth overnight to “dry” (or chemically harden). But this is pretty hard to
do, even in warm climates, if you’re painting in your garage.
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The worst problem is that, in most cases these days, none of this information is on the paint can.
Even the type of catalyst to use, and the mixing proportions (which used to be printed in plain
diagrams on the label), are often left off. Instead, you need to get a special “information leaflet” for
the given type of paint, at the specific time you’re going to use it, which is filled with more
precautions and legalese jargon than actual instructions on how to mix and use the product. You
need help.
Then, when and if you do figure out how to use the paint product properly, the next time you go
back to get some more, you are told bluntly, “Sorry, that product is no longer legal. We can’t sell it
to you. You have to use such-and-such instead.” Which means, of course, that you have to learn
how to use the new product. Not only that, but whatever mixing agents you had for the old product
(if they had a shelf-life of more than a few days anyway) are now obsolete, and must be replaced
with new, different ones. This is not only annoying, it also gets expensive quickly.
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It’s obviously better to buy your paint when you’
re ready to use it. This is the pearl base coat
and clear we used for the “scuff and squirt” job
you see in Chapter 8. Again, all products are
the same brand, and represent just the pearl
and clear, with catalyst/reducer (the white base
coat already being on the car). The bad news
is that this amount of paint cost nearly $500;
the good news is that we only used half of it for
the job. Further, if you spray it yourself, $500
is a whole lot less than a $2,000 to $3,000 (or
much more) pearl-and-clear custom paint job.
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The simplest and easiest color to repaint any
car is its original color. Even for decades-old
cars, the original color(s) should be listed as a
“color code” on an I.D. tag somewhere on the
body, such as this one in a doorjamb.
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Previous | Next
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This has been a sample page from
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How to Paint Your Car on a Budget
by Pat Ganahl
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If your car needs new paint, or even just a touch-up, the cost
involved in getting a professional job can be more than you
bargained for. Fortunately, there are less expensive
alternatives-—you can even paint your own car at home!
In How to Paint Your Car On A Budget, author Pat Ganahl unveils
dozens of secrets that will help anyone paint their own car. From
simple scuff-and-squirt jobs to full-on, door-jambs-and-everything
paint jobs, Ganahl covers everything you need to know to get a
great-looking coat of paint on your car and save lots of money in
the process. This book covers painting equipment, the ins and
outs of prep, masking, painting and sanding products and
techniques, and real-world advice on how to budget wisely when
painting your own car. It’s the most practical automotive painting
book ever written!
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Click below to view sample
pages from each chapter!
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Introduction - Budget Painting
Chap. 1 - Automotive Painting
Chap. 2 - Paint Stripping
Chap. 3 - Bodywork
Chap. 4 - Painting at Home
Chap. 5 - Paint Products
Chap. 6 - Paint Preparation
Chap. 7 - One-Day Paint Job
Chap. 8 - Sand and Paint
Chap. 9 - Full Paint Jobs
Chap. 10 - Restorations
Chap. 11 - Sand & Buff
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8-1/2 x 11"
Softbound
128 pages
Approximately 400 color photos
Item: SA117
Price: $22.95
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Click here to buy now!
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This is a great book that any enthusiast will love,
whether it's your first paint job or your 50th.
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Auto Upholstery & Interiors
Auto Upholstery and Interiors is a user friendly guide
that gives you the knowledge to make your interior
looking like new and by doing the installation work
yourself, you save money and have the satisfaction of
learning a new skill. Detailed sections include painting
interior parts, headliner replacement, carpet kits, door
panels, dashboard restoration, seat kit installation, kick
panels, trunk detailing, steering wheel repairs and
swaps, custom seat installation, using dyes, simple
upholstery repairs, and cleaning and detailing tips
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Price:
$
18.95
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Fiberglass and Other Composite Materials
For many years race cars of all types have been constructed
with lightweight materials in addition to aluminum and steel.
These include fiberglass, kevlar and carbon fiber. This space
age technology is also being applied to many street cars,
street rods, boats, and light aircraft. Carbon fiber is now used
in everything from tennis rackets and golf clubs to bicycles,
telescopes, camera tripods, and hundreds of other products.
This book offers the latest technology and equipment to help
you construct and repair your own lightweight body panels
and components
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Price:
$
18.95
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Payment, Shipping & Sales
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residents must pay 7% sales tax. Items usually ship
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