Duplicolor Paint Shop System

[Yogi]

I am at the stage where I want to gt my body painted. The problem is that all the shops around here that I've contacted either want WAY to much to paint it or don't have the means to paint an off the frame body.
I have been thinking of using the Duplicolor Paint shop system. Many moons ago I painted a couple of my cars with the old lacquer paint which turned out pretty good after many coats usually black (no metal flake then)and a lot of hand rubbing. The thing I didn't like then was that the lacquer finish seemed so brittle.
Now I am thinking of using it again, and I was wondering if any one here has any experience with it on the fiberglass bodies?

 

[Brucer]

yogi,

alot of painters use the current single stage systems from dupont... forget the name of it, but its relatively cheap and holds up well, and there are many colors...

if i was spending the money on a build, i would use the base coat stuff, its very easy to use, if you can shoot laquer you can shoot a base coat system..

no bigger than a T is, it wont cost much..

 

[blownt]

the cost of automotive paints and supplies nowadays is thru da roof. PPG and Dupont prices are outtasite. The Duplicolor Paint Shop system available at your local auto supply is MUCH cheaper and should give you decent results. I plan one prolly using that when I get around to painting the 29 sedan.

 

[Yogi]

I think I am going to give it a shot this weekend. I'd like to have a little more color choices, but I like the ease of already mixed and ready to spray. I've decided to go with the Dark Blue and I intend to use the Clear Metallic as a mid coat too. I hope to get a high glitter finish, almost like a boat type metallic. We'll see how it turns out and hope to take some pics along the way.

 

[Todd]

Good luck, it has gotten good revues on the Sunday automotive shows.

 

[der Spieler]

I'm curious about this product. I'm restoring a pedal car for my nephew's 4 year old and I'm afraid lacquer wouldn't hold up to the abuse. I phoned POR-15 today and left a voice mail asking if I could put their Glisten PC clear would work over it but they haven't blessed me with a reply yet. The Glisten is supposed to cure to a rock-hard finish. If it could be used as a top coat I would consider the Duplicolor because of the convenience. Someone told me years ago that lacquers never really harden as the solvents continue to evaporate for several years. That, I was told, is why you can't paint enamel over it. I don't know if that is true or not. Anybody have the straight poop? The Duplicolor web site doesn't give a lot of information. Steve

 

[TheAntiBoyd]

Notice that the Duplicolor system is sold READY-TO-PAINT which means half of what youre buying is reducer. When you realize how much youre going to need, its not as cheap as you think.

If you have a few more bucks in your pocket, I would call your local NAPA and find the one that sells the most paint (We have a NAPA paint store in Syracuse, NY). Buy Martin Seynour (Sherwin Williams) "Crossfire" base/clear.

I prefer their 15410 or 15420 clear. It is probably the best clear Ive used aside from SPI (southern polyurethane inc) Universal Clear.

from NAPA you can get enough clear and other consumables for a 55 chevy for around 100 bucks. and the color is just as reasonable.

GMs 8555 Black has been around a long long time and still looks good. A deeper black would be whatever the code is for any GM made in 2005- now.

Ive used M/S 15420 clear over house of kolor (I dont like their clear at all) and honestly Ive had bad luck recently with my PPG dealer

Heres a pic of my dads 55 chevy with Martin Seynour's Tec/Base (higher end paint over the Crossfire) Less binder and full coverage in 2 honest coats. But we still used the cheaper 15410/420 clear which is formulated to air dry and sets up REALLY hard reasonably fast.

**NOTE** whenever you buy clearcoat....WHENEVER...no MATTER what brand (PPG, Dupont, Sikkens, RM Diamont, Kirker) make sure the clearcoat is less than 3 weeks old whe you SPRAY IT. Dont let clear sit around for weeks ad weeks, it becomes brittle and has poor adhesion characteristics - hence find the NAPA that sells the most paint, so you dont get old crap. And make sure the counter-boy shows you the datecode on the label. I had a PPG rep sell me old clear and it cracked like a candy-sugar coating. Hence my boycott of PPG. I now use NAPA and SPI only

 

[Yogi]

I'd had asked at my local NAPA store about Martin Senior and they said they didn't sell it any more. This is the same store I've had the "deer in the headlight look" any time I've asked the to find a part for my bucket. They have no clue how to look something up if they don't have the exact year make and model to look things up in the computer.
They told me since MS/Sherwin-Williams started to sell directly to the jobbers they (NAPA) quit selling it.
Well I shot the T-Bucket this weekend with the Dupli-color system and it looks good as of right now. I ended up using 2 quarts of base (dark Blue) 1 quart of mid-coat (Clear metal flake) and 2 quarts of clear. It's been 30 years since I've shot any paint and its always been laquer. I did go out and by a HVLP gun, but other getting use to the pressure it went great. I did orange peel a little until I found the sweet spot on the pressure. Most of it really doesn't need buffing, just a couple coats of wax.
I took several pics of the process and will post them as soon as I have time.

BTW.....GREAT LOOKING 55!

 

[donsrods]

Paint is one of those things where the adage "you can pay me now, or you can pay me later" really holds true. Good quality paint costs more up front, but will give you years and years of good protection and appearance, whereas cheaper paints tend to fade out and go away much sooner.

I painted the frame and running gear on my '27 20 years ago with the Dupont UroPrime system and Centari with hardener in it. The gloss is still very good, after sitting daily in Florida's rain and sun for the 7 years I drove the car as my driver. I wouldn't have to paint the frame and suspension even now, except I am tired of the purple paint and red suspension........too '70's for my taste now. :lol:


Don

 

[Yogi]

Here is some pics of the pre-buff stage. Photos are not that great, but it looks dang good for a rookie painter in a makeshift booth.:razz:

 

[TheAntiBoyd]

Looks great! What brand and model spraygun are you using?
I bought a used Sharpe Platinum that uses 7.5cfm @ 40psi. Its a bit slow, but I get almost NO real overspray and I can run it on anything. How sparkly is the clear you used as an intercoat?

My dad said thanks for your comments on the ol double nickel. Hes had it since 1968, and it has a 327 and 4spd with rams horns and cherrybombs and the interior has bench seats in matching teal and white tuck n roll boat vinyl (boat and hospital vinyl are anti microbial and very UV resistant....great for T Buckets)

nice thing with lacquer is if you scratch it you can use a wool cutting pad and heat up the lacquer and then actually move it around on the car. I wouldnt advise it with a multi-part paintjob like yogi's however

 

[PowerGlide]

Nice job. Tell us more about your spray booth. I'm doing bodywork on mine now and plan on painting it. I'd seen one article where a guy used PCV pipe and plastic sheets

 

[Yogi]

Nice job. Tell us more about your spray booth. I'm doing bodywork on mine now and plan on painting it. I'd seen one article where a guy used PCV pipe and plastic sheets

I basicly did the same thing too, I had some thin 9ft wides plastic I attached to my garage door rails on the 3 sides and for the back attached it to the I beam I have running through the center of my garage. The around the bottom I stapled it to some 2x4's to anchor it. 3 of the corners I just taped them close and the fourth I left a over lap to get in and out. Also I had a box fan on on corner to exhaust the fumes. For the floor I had an old drop cloth that I laid down to keep any overspray off the floor.
I used a Husky HVLP (Home Depot special) and it seemed to work pretty good, minimal overspray, still a lot of fumes. HIGHLY recomend you use a good resperator rated for paint funes. Mine was old and leaked a little, talk about a banging headache.
All in all I am happy that I did it myself, after a little wetsanding and buffing it really shines. The mid-coat clear was more like a pearl coat, I wanted a lager flake, but it still looks good.

 

[Johnny Angel]

I sell Duplicolor at my store, 20 bucks a quart, works out to 80 dollars a gallon, more than enough for a
TBucket paint job, had one customer buy 6 quarts of the blue for his '51 Plymouth, he seemed to think that there was a difference in the shade of blue from one can to the other, until we pointed out that one needs to at the least shake the can before painting because of the matalic flakes, even with that his paint job came out great. We use to sell Duplicolor in the gallons, not pre mixed, and couldnt give the stuff away, but the pre mixed...cant keep it in stock.

Johnny Angel

 

[Yogi]

I took 2 quarts of the deep blue and mixed them together in a clean gallon can, just a good practice. You'll get different shades from different batches, I did and could notice a slight difference between the 2 I got. I purchased them both at the same place and same time, but still had 2 different batch codes on them.

 

[crossingts]

I have been thinking of trying this. I think my students would enjoy it and give them one more thing to be proud of.i think you guys just sold me on it.Thanks

 

[Yogi]

I'd highly recommend it in a learning center. Lacquer is not the most durable finish available, but it's the most forgiving with a inexperienced user like me. It would be a great tool for your students to learn, wish I had a class like that when I was in school!