In reply to CJ :
They really did paint them back then with a brush.
I stripped down a 27 Model A, and the inside of the windshield frame still had brush marks on it under the hinge.
I tried (and failed) to find a thread where a guy rolled paint on a Jag with Kirker Black Diamond urethane.
After color sanding it looked amazing. Especially knowing how it was applied.
In reply to CJ :
I’m an old guy who started out with Lacquer but by the early 70’s I was into catalyzed paints like Imron even before the warnings about them came out. That darn near killed me. And for a decade I had to stay away from paint fumes.
My trouble is with young guys who listened to all the “ bad” things about Lacquer without knowing the real facts. To them new is best, period.
I can’t paint the new paints without getting in a suit and helmet with a fresh air supply. I can paint Lacquer with nothing more than a suitable mask and some old clothes I’m willing to throw away.
Yes New has advantages but it also has weakness as well. I just wanna suggest some experience with something might not be amiss before judgement is made.
Pretty good article. I would have liked a little discussion on the relative toxicity of new paint to older paints. But what the heck, paint of any stripe is nasty stuff and not exactly healthy.
Does it matter that one will kill you faster?
I was painting quite a bit when the warnings came out regarding isocyanates. If you are of an age, you will remember the Union Carbide release of isocyanates in Bhopal, India that killed over 1,200 outright and over 500,000 injured.
I held a journeyman's card for a bit and noticed that there did not seem to be any old painters - got out of painting in the early 1980s.
In reply to CJ :
Good point.
I'm an old guy and been painting since the late 60's when the use of red lead and acrylic lacquers were the standard. I still paint regularly using Acrylic Lacquer, Acrylic Enamel, single stage Urethane, and base coat/clear coat urethane.
I'll touch on some topics that have been mentioned and some that have not.
I too painted cars with Acrylic Lacquer that stood up well over the test of time. The paint was fairly high quality to start with (the Ditzler Frenchy mentioned), fair weather seldom used cars stored inside, and maintained regularly using Carnauba wax to help prevent the finish from drying out. Other cars that lived outside with less maintenance got dull and eventually the paint checked.
As time went by and more strict regulations were put into effect to help save the planet and so body shop guys might live longer, the chemical formulations used to make automotive paint changed. The old Acrylic Lacquers and Acrylic Enamels weren't the same and it was noticeable. Coverage sucked requiring additional coat(s) and therefore time, durability seemed to drop off, and the enamels didn't have the same gloss, or depth.
I have painted things like roll cages with solid color single stage Urethanes using a brush, sand, brush technique and you'd have a hard time trying to find a brush mark.
I really like the idea mentioned of painting a race car with race tape colors! Brilliant!
My dad painted full cars with a brush in the late 40's early 50's at my grandfathers GM dealership.
Be extremely cautious if you use any lacquer based product over modern primers/paints (post 70's) as it may not be compatible.
No matter what type of paint INCLUDING primers you're spraying, you need proper breathing equipment. A lot of body shop guys had short lives in the past, just like exterminators. Don't be that guy.
I only use Lacquer now for very specific reasons to get a certain "look". I wouldn't use it for the OP's application.
Crackers is spot on.
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