Lacuqer paint

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rmchrgr

rmchrgr

Skate And Destroy
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Has anyone used lacquer lately with success? if so, does it do a comparable job to urethane? And what about clear coats? Can you put clear on top of a few coats of lacquer?

I know that most professional shops use urethane paint nowadays. I'm not even sure if lacquer is available to the general public anymore.

Just curious what the difference is.

Thanks.
 
It's all lacquer. Just wondering if it's a bad thing to have a car painted this way since just about everything these days is painted with urethane paint. Seems curious that someone would use it over urethane.
 
Have not used lacquer lately.
Comparable job in terms of covering the car, yes. Is not as durable or resistant to scratches as urethane.
There are lacquer clear coats. You can get an incredibly "deep" looking finish with multiple coats of lacquer with color sanding in between.

GM used to use lacquer back in the 60s & 70s. Advantage of lacquer is almost non-existent "orange peel".

Urethanes are so much more durable against impact and color fading, I can't imagine doing a street car in lacquer.
 
I don't think you could get a professional shop to paint anything with lacquer these days because of the emissions issue. A hobbiest painter can still get it but like 72 Demon stated why would you when the urethane materials are so much more durable and are as forgiving to use.
 
Another problen with lacquer is when you use multiple coats it is much more likely to chip when hit.
 
rmchrgr said:
It's all lacquer. Just wondering if it's a bad thing to have a car painted this way since just about everything these days is painted with urethane paint. Seems curious that someone would use it over urethane.
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I really see know reason why someone would want to use it over newer urethane's other then someone being stuck in there ways, or because they have a ton of it on the shelf. Unless that it was the car was painted with originally and your doing a concourse restoration. Newer urethane's are much better and your car was likely painted with enamel anyways.
 
My guess is lacquer is what he had laying around. Why several K for a pro paint job if you have the stuff on hand already?

Years ago, customizers like Barris, etc. used lacquer with great success, but those were lavish paint jobs done with extreme care, polished and buffed to the extreme and hardly ever driven. There's many images of those guys spraying show cars OUTDOORS too, so it's clearly easy to work with.

Let's say there's a car for sale and it's a pretty sweet deal. Would you willingly buy a car that you knew was recently painted with lacquer in a guy's garage?
 
Greg, I really dont know a whole lot about lacquer. I know it was the paint of choice mainly because it dried so quick it allowed the painter to do lots of coats quickly. That made it great for custom graphics, flames ect. Its also easy to spray and thin out. I believe the problem is its not the most durable, its dries out (lacquer checking) and to keep it shiny it needs to be buffed out often.

I wouldnt say I wuld pass on a car because it was painted in lacquer or done out side but I think after doing paint for for a little while you start to want to know whats under the shiny stuff. Luvkily when I bought the Dart I got a stack of photos with it or I would be stripping it to bare metal again.


Bu=y the way, I actually sprayed some lacquer at the shop yesterday so its still available in CT. But I was painted a set of chairs and not a car, LOL
 
AdamR said:
Bu=y the way, I actually sprayed some lacquer at the shop yesterday so its still available in CT. But I was painted a set of chairs and not a car, LOL
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Exactly. No one seems to use lacquer unless that's what they have on hand and they're painting things like furniture or a wagon for your kids. Sounds like it's not so great for cars anymore, at least as far as durability goes.

I'll admit now that there is a deal for a project car that I thought might be good for me but it was painted in lacquer in the guy's garage. After thinking it over and taking all the things said here into consideration, I think I'm going to pass on it for now. I was real excited about it at first, but then the more I thought about it, the more the drawbacks began to present themselves as real problems. You know how that goes - you see something and immediately think of the potential but then reality sets in.

There's also the fact of it being far away so I can't look at it up close. Plus, the cost and difficulty of transporting a disassembled car that's on a dolly might outweigh getting a car that's already painted no matter what kind of product was used.

I think if it were done with modern techniques I'd be more apt to pursue it but there's too many strikes against it right now.

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I've saved myself a headache.
 
A disassembled car is all ways a pain. My Dart was in pieces when I picked it up. I still dont know what Im missing, LOL


Think of it this way. A good paint job from my shop is going to be any were from $6,000 to $12,000 depending on what your starting with and how nice you want it, so lets call $10K average. You can buy a pretty nice car for 10k.
 
Lacquer, used it for years.
Easier to wet sand and polish than urethane.
Can be sprayed over with urethane.
There's still lots of cars at the shows, (mostly old rods)
Painted with lacquer.
Yes you can clear coat it.
Some say it has a finish todays paints can't touch.
REALLY easy to touch up.
Bad news the solvents used to spray lacquer really suck, that's why the industry stopped using it.
 
sprayed it for some time easy to work with a lot of work to finish right use to charge 2to3 thousand yrs ago like in the 70's couple hrs to paint week to finish wet sand buff but they were 3miles deep when done
 
If I ever build a trailer queen I would spray with laquer for sure!
 
beastie340 said:
Lacquer, used it for years.
Easier to wet sand and polish than urethane.
Can be sprayed over with urethane.
There's still lots of cars at the shows, (mostly old rods)
Painted with lacquer.
Yes you can clear coat it.
Some say it has a finish todays paints can't touch.
REALLY easy to touch up.
Bad news the solvents used to spray lacquer really suck, that's why the industry stopped using it.
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Only if you really enjoy buffing and waxing weekly. There is no way I would ever spray BC/CC over an old lacquer job, and if you did, the paint warranty from the manufacturer would be void, assuming you are a certified refinish tech in that paint system and can warranty jobs. Lacquer is good for rattle cans, that's about it.
 
My son painted his now ex-girlfriend's car in the driveway as well as my Dakota R/T's Shaker Hood and also my 1972 Kawasaki and my Honda Blackbird either in the driveway or on the back porch using urethane.

P5189397.jpg


P5169360.jpg


P8261961.jpg


He also did the engine compartment on the Dart as well as his Yamaha R6.

P2072518.jpg



AdamsR-6.jpg


I wonder where he got the Intense Blue from???

P3281244.jpg
 
Well guys, lacquer sounds like more work than it's worth, which is why I've moved on from considering the car in question. I want LOW maintenance. I do like the appearance of a car to be halfway decent and clean but I could care less about a show-type finish. Not saying you can't get a good finish with lacquer but the inherent drawbacks are definitely NOT what I have in mind for my project. I'd rather spend time making it go FASTER, not dealing with the paint job. I realize that guys use lacquer successfully, but it's not for me if I have the choice.

If I actually end up keeping my Valiant, it will get a paint job using modern products done by a professional shop. Not a "show' job now, but a good paint job using BC/CC. Spray it and forget about it.

Thanks again for everyone's input, it's been helpful.
 
The Dupli-Color Paint Shop Series paint is a lacquer based paint. There is no mixing with it and a 10 minute recoat time. I painted my 1973 Dart Sport with it and I am now wet sanding it so that I can buff it out.

DSCF0894a.jpg
 
Yea Summit caries a whole line of Dupli-color lacquer paint pretty cheap I painted a 68 c 10 for a buddy and it came out pretty good.
 
Back in the old days, GM used lacquer, while most of the rest used enamel. The Lacquer looked better in the showroom, but years down the road, the enamel held up better.

I have cars painted in base/clear, and it looks nice, but i think it is a bit brittle compared to acryllic enamel, like DuPont Centari. Most urethanes are way too shiny if your goal is to have an original looking finish. I am painting my current car in Centari, with urethane under the hood. Yes, acryllic enamel needs more maintenance, like cleaning and waxing, to maintain its appearance, but everything is a tradeoff.

If your body work isn't PERFECT, a hyper shiny finish will highlight even the tiniest flaws in your prep work.
 
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