The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Base/Clear vs Single Stage

The guy that is painting my truck was mentioning doing my truck (55.2 Chevy) in single stage rather than base/clear. The color is Corvette Yellow.

I was wondering what the pros and cons are?

I used Nason Ful Thane single stage and it's as close to an original enamel job as you will find today. Base/clear is great if you're going for a glass-smooth wet look.

I paint everything I do anymore with base clear just because it's easier, actually more forgiving, and I'm not a pro. I have used a lot of acrylic enamel and had some good paint jobs with it. The base coat dries much quicker so if you're painting metallic, it's not as easy to get mottling. It's also easier to fix a mistake in the base before you put the clear on. If you screw up the clear, it's also fixable. The guy who's painting your truck probably knows what he's doing and won't have the typical problems I do. He may also be looking at the fact that acrylic enamel is cheaper. Don't let him talk you into synthetic enamel, it's still cheaper but I did a pickup with it once for a guy and his horses ate it off.

The single stage will have some texture to the paint and will be more difficult than base/clear to buff the texture out. The single stage will be a softer paint and more susceptible to chemical damage (leaking gas). Single stage is cheaper. If you want a finish that more closely resembles factory a single stage paint will get you there IF the painter knows how to shoot without a lot of orange peel.

About 10 years ago, I repainted my 80 K15 pickup Yellow using a base coat clear coat system. Two years later, we moved to Southern California and the truck sat out in the sun. About 2 years ago, I began to notice that the side that faced the sun, the hood and roof was lightening in color. Six months later the clear coat began to peel and I've now got an ugly mess. The only way to fix it is to sand it down at least to the color coat and start over. I'll damned sure not use a clear coat again. I remember the guy that did it warned me, but I didn't listen. The paint was Sherwin Williams.

GM had that exact problem when they first introduced base/clear on their production vehicles. There was a sizable recall, especially on blue vehicles, due to the clear blistering and flaking off. I've also seen my fair share of aftermarket base/clear paint jobs, done by both ameture apinters and professional body shops, with that problem. Prepwork is vital on any base/clear (well, any paint system really), as the clear will only be as good as what's under it.

I think your painter made a decent suggestion because its a solid color. It will save him work, cost of paint will be less, and he should be able to do the whole job for slightly less money.
A well done single stage can look as good as you would like and the wet look that clear over it gives is hard to see until you get close to it anyway.
Clear over darker colors is easier to see.

I did a single stage burgundy on a car in the 80's. Color sanded it, buffed it,and it still looks great.

If I was doing a solid yellow my choice would be single stage.

Dan

I had one of those blue trucks that shed the clearcoat.

I have used PPG single-stage acrylic enamel (Delstar)with hardener and a more expensive PPG two-part single-stage urethane enamel (DCC Concept).

Leaking gas is not a problem with either paint.

After selecting the right gun/tip and determining the right shooting distance (we used a turbine HVLP unit), there was less orange peel than seen on most modern factory paint jobs. You can get a a "mirror" finish after hand "color sanding" with 2,000 grit paper and then buffing.

Both types of single-stage paints buff out very well. The urethane sets hard, so it is best to buff it a day or two after it is applied.

Great responses. My paint guy said that the single stage is actually mixed with clear and it provides a deeper look to solid colors and it is more durable. I think he said urethane enamel? He also noted that if it were a metallic color he would only do base/clear. Does that make sense?

Forgot to mention that he already did the bed sides and tail gate in base/clear. I told him as long as the single stage looks great, is durable, and matches the bed sides, I'm game. Not sure if he is "experimenting" on my truck? He is a good guy and believes that any vehicle coming out of his shop is a driving billboard for his work so he wants it perfect. I've seen his base/clear jobs and they are mirror perfect! Even a black Nova with metallic flake, it is perfect.

ON my '60 which we start painting the cab on Sunday, we are using both, The dash on the GMC is semi-gloss charcoal. SO it will need to be a single stage, the reast of the cab is base coat clear coat.

Yes,the B/C makes perfect sense if it's a metallic color.
Reason being, it's near impossible to to color sand and buff a single stage metallic paint job without screwing it up.

I would have said impossible, but I feel someone will come in and say they did it with good results.

I would not attempt it, because it's too easy to go too deep in some areas and end up with a blotchy looking result.

Dan