JONS999

Doing a factory original resto on a 1970 442. Will be painted with base/clear but would like to have it look close to factory. Were the factory paint jobs mostly perfect? Or should we leave with some overspray/orange peel etc? Have seen some restored fords that it was important to have body color overspray on the primered underbody.

Bfg

Paint it with Lacquer to be original, and leave all the Imperfections

BangScreech4-4-2

Isn't lacquer illegal in most places now?

69HO43

Only if you get caught.

no1oldsfan

Amen to all these posts. I was fortunate enough to have owned a one owner original paint factory W-25 hood 70 442. To me the paint was so clean. Just my opinion but the factory paint was smooth and nice. Go talk to the Mopar guys about not perfect. Mopar quality was crazy not there. Honestly to me that is what lacks in their full restoration cars. Mopar were so not that. Now everything is perfect. You all didn't live when we did.

Oldsmaniac

In the USA you can mailorder Lacquer. Last 5 cars I painted were Lacquer. Gives the look I wanted. Factory paint on these cars was generally very nice. Certain areas under the hood and in trunk had overspray but I am not a crayon mark/overspray fanatic to worry about either one.

Funkwagon455

Finally, someone with some gumption and a sense of practicality. Same approach to R12…🥰

Andy

You can buy lacquer from TCP GLOBAL out of California. You cannot use it in California but they make it and sell it online..I don’t know certain states may not let you but if you or a friend are spraying who knows any different..Lacquer doesn’t have the hardeners like new 2 stage paints ..I ordered mine for my car and I do the painting myself.. spot painting panels that I cut out rust and repaired..Its easy to paint with…yea base clear looks better but these cars didn’t leave the factory with the high gloss plastic look of two part poly paints of today.

joe_padavano

No, not really. Commercial entities are restricted from using it in some locations. The SALE of lacquer is restricted to quarts or smaller containers, so it can get pricey. TCP Global sells lacquer to the factory paint codes.

Andy

Joe I bought mine by the gallon at tcp global 6 months back..maybe its changed?

joe_padavano

Kewl. I was under the impression they were only selling it in quarts. I know retail sales locally are limited to a quart or less - primarily in aerosol cans.

Charlie Jones

I just checked TCP Global.
The red metallic acrylic lacquer I want for my Olds is priced at $ 417.99 per gallon.
One quart is $ 202.99 , go figure?

joe_padavano

The labor to mix the color, package it, print the label, and prepare it for shipment is virtually the same whether you buy a quart or a gallon.

Andy

Thats why I bought a gallon..plus you need to buy the correct top quality lacquer thinner. As long as its stored correctly it doesn’t go bad.

Oldsmaniac

For some reason red paint is more expensive, guess the pigment costs more.

Don R.

Original GM lacquer paint jobs were usually nicer looking than Ford or Mopar because they used baked enamel which was not buffed like the lacquer was. The lacquer was more likely to chip or crack with age. If you want to duplicate a factory finish just use lacquer with no clearcoat.

Andy

Why not clear lacquer over it?

joe_padavano

Because the original question was about duplicating the 1970 factory paint, which did not have clear over it.

Andy

Putting clear lacquer over the top of lacquer paint does not change the appearance, only ads a little protection..as far as duplicating it exactly I doubt the chemical makeup of TCP acrylic lacquer is identical to gm lacquer of 1970..so duplication down to a T is problematic at best

joe_padavano

Clear over lacquer will look shinier than the original paint. That's how custom-painted cars in the 1960s got that "mile deep" paint look.

Andy

interesting everything I have read about mile deep lacquer paints was due to 50 - 60 coats sanded between coats and hand rubbed to depth..but none the less the op got the answer

no1oldsfan

This is one hundred percent original if that helps

vintagepne

That is a great looking car, great color

OLE442

I'm painting my 72 Cutlass 442 with PPG Duracryl Viking Blue lacquer and will top it with their High Performance clear. Clear does change the look of lacquer and as Joe said, it makes it look really deep and a "wet" finish. All but a could cars I have painted with lacquer had a few coats of clear to finish up. Most have needed wet sand and buffing. One MGB/GT I did I didn't need to buff and it looked great (don't know what I did for it to come out that way....LOL!).

My problem with my current and last car I'll ever paint is that I've not painted one in 20 years and my confidence isn't what it used to be. Also, I sold off most of my original siphon feed guns and bought HVLP guns to paint this last one but a lot of commentors have stated that you don't get the metallic to lay right with an HTLV gun? Never used one but I do still have a Bink's Model 2001 with an agitator cup I may still use! It's a new one I got when my Dad passed away but I've never sprayed with it!

To OP, if you do BC?CC your car will look quite a bit more shiny than factory lacquer or even non-factory lacquer color with clear over it IMO! Also, I had a new 72 Vega GT that actually had a 3 inch hair painted into iot....LOL! So factory looked nice but they were not perfect as I remember!

Oldsmaniac

Agree totally with this post, but its like riding a bike ya never forget... just make sure it goes on wet/choose the right thinner vs temperature. I am not a clear coat over lacquer, I like it plain like factory. Clear gives the job another failure point.

VC455

The virtuoso who painted my car told me he adds a touch of flattener to the clear coat when someone wants clear coat protection without the tell-tale gloss.

briane

A friend of mine cut and puffed an original paint '70 Chevelle SS in preparation for the MCACN Vintage Certification. In the black hood stripes there was a nice original handprint.
My first car was a '70 Challenger that had original paint (red). You could see primer right through the hardly applied topcoat on the lower portion of the doors and the rockers. GM products, as poor as they may have been in some quality measures, were definitely better than the Mopars.

08-141 K43727

This pic of my '69 at an indoor show with the lighting gives a decent look at how nice this 54 year old paint shines up! The stripes (including the ones my father painted on in 1969) show the most age. Otherwise, the original paint has held up very well and looks nearly as good as a new car today. Cars that have been restored and painted with clear just look completely different... almost too good. That clear shine is just so much more than an original paint car ever had

Here is another pic I like with a little depth:



I am pretty proud of how it looks for a car that will turn 55 the day after Christmas!