Clear Coat Paint

[rossgn]

I'm I the only one growiing disenchanted with old cars painted with mega gloss clear coat paint?

 

[topknot]

I assume the paint was shiny back in the day. I was not alive to see it, but it had to be better than all the photos I see. But yes you are a minority in this discussion. Theres also people that pay stupid money for total restorations with new shiny patina paint. I find that weird, but it still looks cool.

 

[terrywalker]

Back in the 60s when I was in high school, the old cars then, from the 1930 through the 1950s, for the most part, had a dull paint by that time. I owned a 36 Chevy that looked better in primer than the original paint. My parents had cars from the 1950s, fords and Chevies and a Chrysler. The paints were getting pretty dull by then. The enamel paints held up for a few years and each wash and wax removed some of the paint. Want it to shine, then use a polishing compound first. The road salts in winter and the oils from the roads took their toll on the paint. In 1972 when I bought my 71 Challenger, it still had a pretty good shine to it, but I noticed that the B5 blue started getting lighter. Each time I used a self cleaning wax and it removed a little paint, but I could get it to shine, but not like the mirror like finish the clear coat provides. I noticed the metallic flakes was getting exposed giving a slightly lighter color. Along came acrylic enamel and I had the car repainted. It was better and lasted longer. Then came the paints we have now which has the clear coats protecting the color coats. A glass like finish. Looks great. I didn't mention the lacquer/clear paint jobs of 50+ years ago. Very beautiful but tough to repair and they could get spider web cracks. The new factory finishes used in the last 20 years get thin over the years and the clear coat separates and peels after a few years. We see cars every day with lifting clear coat. Like everything on our cars, it seems nothing lasts forever. BTW, want to see what enamel does, use Rustoleum enamel paint to spray a car. Put on 3 coats and see what it looks like in a few years. I did a Jeep that way in 2007. By 2015, the paint was coming off every time I waxed it. Enjoy them while they shine and enjoy the survivor cars when you see them. This is a long post for me.
Terry W.

 

[torredcuda]

I don`t mind a paint that is somewhat more shiny than OE but I think some go way overboard with making perfect gaps and mirror flat panels, I prefer seeing them more how they were with varying gaps and not so perfect. My one big pet peeve is fully body color painted undercarriages! Most cars are over-restored nowadays and very few done to pure stock quality.

 

[HPP]

I don't mind shiny paint and super glossy finishes. Also don't mind suede finishes either.

 

[Challenger RTA]

My one big pet peeve is fully body color painted undercarriages!

Well all I can say. Some of us just know when to stop! As I did. My thoughts were just to be in a preservation mode. At least until I had more time. Removed interior, cleaned and freshened inside with a coat of primer and paint. Same for underneath. Just had to remove the undercoating. Did so and found bright shiny metal underneath. I was like a deer in the headlights. I was not going throw undercoating on it again. So now what! Ok I'll prime it with a 2K primer. Ok again Now what. A coat of paint. Then another. At $100 gallon then, Then an other coat. In for a penny in for a pound. So I ended up with this. I used no hardener or gloss additive with the single stage. Just incase I had to drop what I was doing for a day or two. It wasn't planed. Ended up being my personal preference.

 

[73Machine]

I for some reason had my mind made up that I wanted to paint it like it was done in the 70's. I used Single Stage but took it slightly a step more and color sanded it just to remove any orange peel that may have been there.

 

[Xcudame]

The original lead based paint on my 70 Challenger shines up pretty good with some buffing compound! Of course, you can't get lead based paint anymore. I think to each's own on how shiny they want their car.

 

[terrywalker]

So here's the best photo taken in 1972 I can find of my car showing the gloss of the paint. You can clearly see the amount of reflection in it. It just didn't have the deepness the new multi-stage/clear coats paints have. Of course, the cameras and film were not great back then either. The second photo was taken in 1973 after the drivers fender had been hit a second time. A new fender and the paint later did not match the original paint in gloss on the rest of the car.
Terry W.