I was planning on going with PPG, Im not spraying till April so I have time to think about it. ppg bc/cc is my choice right now but its close to $800 without primer so thats pushin' it for me. Its worth it of course. Ive seen some really nice Duponts lately, also whats the story on the economy line or single stage paints? Anyone with pictures of stories, or prices... lay it on me :D

will you be spraying a soid or metalic color? You can save a few bucks on a solid color by going with single stage. On the cheaper lines-Omni vs. Nason- I like the Omni. It doesn't last as long or look as good as the premium lines though. Stay away from the Omni SV clear-junk in my opinion. The 260 clear isn't bad stuff. Valspar has recently been available in my area but I haven't tried it yet. Keystone makes a decent budget clear along with Transtar. Basically with paint you get what you pay for.

I wouldnt want to WASTE my beat up rusted out wheelbarrow by painting it with OMNI. Sorry but OMNI in my eyes is JUNK. The Nason line is probably one of the best VALUE based lines out there.

I dont understand WHY go throu all that work, time and money restoring a car and then only to paint it with a cheap product that WONT LAST AND LOOK AS GOOD just to save two to three hundred bucks???

Here is it in a nutshell. Some "value line" products like NASON and OMNI are junk. Some "value line" products are great. The ODDS are you will find more great products in the top of the offering, not at the bottom.


That in mind, you will have better odds of producing a nice, long lasting paint job with LESS effort with the top of the line product offerings.

You will have people tell you they have had great success with some of these value lines, that doesn't change one thing about what I just said.

The odds are in your favor when using the top of the line products, period.

Now, there is a place for the value lines, that is a choice only you can make. Only you can say whether your project "deserves" the extra cost of the the top of the line.

Personally, most everything I can think of would if you plan on keeping it.

Being the son of a body shop owner I have seen and also sprayed just about every brand and line of paint that exists in this area. In the shop they used to shoot Martin Senour (SP.?) But now that the shop is gone we shoot Dupont Chroma Base. I have shot Omni and like Sevt_Chevelle said I would not even waste my money in gas driving to the store to pick some up for free. I have had good luck with Nason, but it is not nearly as user friendly as the regular Dupont line. I know alot of guys that will only shoot PPG stuff and they all seem to get good results. So I guess in my opinion I would stay away from the cheap lines when doing your restoration, and stick to the name brand lines and there will not be a problem. And to be honest when I did hte bodywork on my Chevelle I spent alot more oney in primer, most of which ended up in block sanding dust on the floor than I did on paint, so why not just break down and spend the extra bucks to get the good stuff. After all what is the frist thing you will see on you car everytime you or someone elsee looks at it. That's right the paintjob. :D

John,

Wow only 2 coats to get coverage with the OMNI blue and silver base colors? Hmmmmmmm you need some professional advice because it should take at least 10 million coats or something like that. What did you do wrong? :confused:

http://www.chevelles.com/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=009781

Seriously some colors are definitely better with a solid color matching substrate to get proper coverage no matter what you are using. The Omni MBC is a bit on the thin side for coverage compared to the top end. OMNI is NOT JUNK!

MartinSr:

"On the OMNI being harder to cover, I personally have never shot it, not even once. So I shouldn't say a thing. But, coverage is the one point people bring up over and over on forums such as this regarding OMNI. """"But as Shannon said, color may be the real issue. The best paint in the world will have colors that cover like crap."""" I was just reporting what I have heard a lot on that subject."
http://www.camaros.net/cgi-bin/forum/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=002552;p=
Some of it is in the colors. Even the good stuff doesn't cover that well with some colors and a tinted sealer is definitely recommended. My suggestion is to use what you feel is the best. I'll tell you this much the Omni will last at least a minimum of 5 years if it applied properly.
Omni MC-161 is a good clear coat for the money and you actually get more then what you paid for.
The Omni Clears has a tin additive in it. If there was No UV protection then it probably wouldn't last a year. That is a bogus claim - no UV protection.

Another thing if we are going to be picky you shouldn't mis-match paint products: PPG DP primer, S&W 2K, and OMNI.

The decision is totally up to you. If you want total assurance then use the Complete Upper End PPG or S&W or DuPont.

If people would only take the time to read the product sheets might learn more about their products. The Paint Manufacturers spent a lot of time and money making that information avaiable.

Neat things are in there for instance:

*K36 MUST be sealed before applying DBC Black

*Prime complete panels or extend K36 surfacer application well beyond the first primer (or exposed substrate) and maintain a minimum dry film of 2.0 mils after sanding. Insufficient K36 films may result in lifting on color applications.

http://www.ppg.com/cr-refinish/phase1/frmFindProduct.asp

As MartinSr would say stick with a COMPLETE System for best results and read the Product Sheets.

Lastly, I've had good luck with OMNI but your results may vary just like gas mileage. The Upper End products are better and there is no doubt but you can have problems with any of them. AGAIN: Use your own judgement and realize it is your time and money for the lasting results.