I will need to be deciding wether or not to use a urethane enamel or a base coat/clear coat paint for the 69 El Camino we are restoring. My friend loves the PPG Concept paints and at the last big car show I went to, I asked the guy who had the most fantastic paint job what he used, and he replied PPG Concept. But most everyone else is steering me towards the base coat/ clear coat paints. I am wanting to use a user friendly(forgiving)paint. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance for your replies.

My vote is for the base coat/ clear coat paint. It's how I had my 79 Elky painted. What a shine it had.

:mrgreen:

With the base coat/ clear coat system it is much easier to buff out imperfections such as dust nubs, runs and other imperfections. Plus it has a super shine and deep gloss

Unless your going for "Authenticity" then a premium Base Coat Clear Coat is my recommendation. I don't care for PPG although it is a good paint for garage / hobbyists. Lots of shops use it because it is what a lot of manufactures use on their cars. It is cheap and works.

We use Dupont finishes. Then there is House of Color, and Sherwin Williams finishes etc... Lots of manufacturers. If you're shooting at home then I'd go with PPG, it is probably the easiest and cheapest in case you have to redo something.

Remember the final finish and surface will only be as good as the prep work you put into it. With paint, everything is in the prep and bodywork.

Just my point of view

Don't know if this is still the case but the PPG Urethane clearcoats always "chalked" on me after 3 or 4 years. For my next project later this summer I will be trying a Sherwin Williams private label paint, black base clear coat system. Sorry I can't remember the name. I did repair job last year and was surprised how well the the basecoat/clearcoat turned out. Excellent match on the metallic finish and easy too, but expensive. $100 to get in the game. Now my wife wants me to paint the rest of the Caprice. :cry:

Found the name: American Finishes SuperTech

Just my .02, but unless you are going to paint it yourself, you will end up using whatever the bodyshop you go to to have it painted uses in their day to day paint jobs. Most shops around here use th base-coat / clear-coat system. I have a friend who owns a body shop and he uses Sikkens paint and it works great. As others have said, it is easy to wet sand out the imperfections and the depth of color is impossible to match with enamel.

My son and I bought a '74 El Camino that was in the process of being restored. The gentleman painted it himself and it had a number of significant runs in the clearcoat. We were able to buff them out and the result is spectacular. I don't think it would have been so easy if it was without the clearcoat. So my two cents worth is the basecoat and clearcoat. Really nice depth look.

Yes that is a really good thing about aftermarket BC/CC paints. Generally they have a heavier coat of clear. So smooth sanding can be less stressful. I wouldn't do that on a factory paint job.

If you take it to a shop, beware the cheap paint jobs; often they'll mix the base and clear and shoot them together.

The clear coat is a tougher finish. I'd add my vote for the base and clear.

I hate to disagree with everyone else, but have these comments. If you're painting at home, fumes are a real problem and you'll have to sand/buff the finished product for certain. You've got a '69. If you are painting a solid color, I'd go with acrylic lacquer, if you can get it. It's easy to work with, dries almost instantly, doesn't cause any overspray problems, and it's original. Don't forget, you can also paint a panel at a time, if it's easier for you with lacquer. You can get a real high shine if you sand and buff it right. Good luck.