Single Stage vs. Clear Coat

[BlueTooth]

Single Stage vs. Clear Coat

I m not sure if this is the right place, but I was wondering which paint you guys rather have on a car, and if you dont mind stating why you like that type of paint.

[sneek]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

SS, because it is cooler and looks a little better if you take care of it. The only problem it kills your pads and towels.

[BlueTooth]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

how about durability? which tends to last longer? my guess would be clear...

[98blackbird]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

basecoat/clearcoat will last a lot longer than a single stage paint. one plus of a single stage is that it will buff out and look brand new, however it doesnt last nearly as long as bc/cc. it also depends on who you ask. I'm in school for automotive body repair and my older professor likes SS because thats what he has used his whole life, but my younger professor lives and dies by bc/cc

[Overtaker]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Single Stage. Looks good and is lighter

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Depends upon what you want...

If you're a painter in a body shop you want to apply a paint job that's going to look good and last a long time because you want your customer to be happy and most people want a paint job that looks good and lasts a long time.

If you're a paint polishing fool, and you know a little bit about paint, you might want a single stage for the look and the polishability.

The guy who owns this truck wanted the blackest black "Look" he could get and for this reason his painter recommended a single stage paint, it was still a catalyzed urethane and not a traditional lacquer or enamel, so it was new technology, just not with a clear coating of clear resin over the top of it.






Clear coat finishes are generally very durable in that even with just basic car care they will last a long time, don't confuse this to mean they'll look good for a long time because you can have a clear coated car completely filled with swirls and it will still last a long time, but it isn't going to look good over this this period of time.

Does that make sense?


Clear coats are scratch-sensitive, most the chatter on other forums for years was always about how soft clear coats paints are and this is why they scratch so easily, but the reality is most clear coat paints are very hard and yet they still scratch very easily.

The practical real-world effect of this characteristic of clear coat paints is that for those of us who like to work on our cars, that is wash, clean, polish and protect the paint, it's harder for us to remove below surface defects because the paint is generally harder than traditional paints and therefore more difficult to remove small particles of paint in an effort to remove the defects and all the while doing so in a manner that we don't put more defects into the paint at the same time.

This is where polishing paint becomes an art form and this is where it becomes very important to choose the right products and use the proper techniques whenever you're working you your car or a customer's car.

[Arne]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

That black Ford F-100,is my dream car no.1

[Five Star]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Actually I prefer tinted clear.

Gives you the durability of CC, but a closer look to SS

Some automakers use it, and i imagine more will

[Accumulator]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Depends upon what you want....

Yep, I can't even cast a vote on this because it depends entirely upon the car. I'm moving heaven and earth to get the proper ss lacquer (metallic gray, ~silver) mixed up for some spotting in on my Jag, but I want b/c on the Audis.

It's not the durability/etc. for me, but rather the sometimes subtle difference in appearance (like they were thinking with that F-100). When I see older cars repainted with "too modern" paints they just look wrong to me, but hey, that's just me...

[Superior Shine]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Can you get Lacquer???? We can't here in Cali!!!!!

I need to do some spot work on my lacquer red 57.

[Accumulator]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Can you get Lacquer???? We can't here in Cali!!!!!

I need to do some spot work on my lacquer red 57.

Lacquer's still available, but getting it into CA might be tricky what with your states stringent regulations. With most colors requiring a bit of tweaking/tinting to match properly (using *more* products that are Verboten out there) it might be tough to do. But some of the big restoration shops in CA *are* doing work in lacquer, no idea how they're getting around the rules.

Well, I should say that *some* lacquers are still available...apparently not the specific stuff they need to match what's on my Jag

CA-specific issues aside, there are guys who blend lacquers for jobs like yours, but sometimes the stuff the mix up isn't even close (gee, ask how I know). If I knew of anybody reliable I'd pass it on, but I'm still struggling with this.

[rascal]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

I prefer CC since I owned a SS paint job before. Yes, the SS was easier to get clean and shine, but the shine needed to be kept up more than what my CC paint needs now.

[supercharged]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

Voted for Clear Coat. I hate the way single stage kiils you pads and towels.
Alothough I really want Scratch resistant clearcoat, like on Mayback. Wash it gently and never have to worry about swirls. I'd rather wax, then remove imprerfections.

[gorin002]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

only i know i have a silver metalic paint
how manny layers i fergot
mi dream is iroc and trans am gta gotta be black

[jfelbab]

Re: Single Stage vs. Clear

From an appearance standpoint, I prefer single stage paint on all solid colors.

If I could have my choice when purchasing a new car it would be a SS red or black.

SS is also much easier to polish out and keep swirls free. scratches don't show as much on ss as on CC. A scratch on a black with cc looks white. The light can get in back of the scratch and make it much more obvious.

So for better looks and easier maintenance on solid colors I'd choose SS over CC.

I'd choose CC on metallics.