I am trying to research the different types of paint available and am having trouble getting the information I need.

I understand there are three basic types - lacquer, enamel, and urethane.

I know that urethane uses isocyanates, which could kill me unless I use a special breathing system. I will be painting in my garage and I don't want to die, so this one is off my list.

I know that lacquer is inexpensive, bad for the envionment, and has low durability. It is easy to spray, but I would prefer something more durable.

I don't know anything about enamel, specifically acrylic enamel. How dangerous is this stuff? I would definately be going for base coat/clear coat, as I painted my MGB and it turned out great.

None of them will do you any good, and if you are thinking about painting a whole car in a garage, that might not be a good idea. After the first coat, you will be lucky to even be able to see the car. Best thing would be to do all of the prep work you can, and let a pro shop do the actual painting. Shop around and you will probably get a wide range of prices.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Pete,

Just curious where you came up with "none of them will do you any good" ? Is there another paint you recommend?

I painted my 23 foot long work truck in my garage this summer. A row of filtered box fans at the bottom of the garage door was my exhaust, and I had a pretty trick filtered air intake too. The before and after pictures are below - this was with a $40 HVLP gun and 4 quarts of Rustoleum. Although the results were decent, I am looking for something more, uh, durable.

I know I could let a shop do the painting - I could also let them do the rust repair, rebuild the carbs, fix the wiring, etc. That would kind of defeat the purpose of my project though.

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Don't mean to demean your abilities, but you seem to be answering your own questions. If the enamel worked for you on the MG, then by all means go for it. My comments about the hazards remain the same though.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

If you want the paint to last, scratch laquer off the list. Urethane paint + clear (for me at least) is much much easier to work with. Wear a good respirator, use a HVLP, set up a good exhaust fan system and you'll be fine.

There is always waterbased, which isn't nearly as bad as people make it out to be. You still use the 2k urethane clear, so it's very durable. Just not easy to work with compared to all urethane bc/cc.

The paint is flaking off the valve cover on my 88 300E. It is currently painted black, can anyone tell me if this is the original color of the valve cover? Aziz

Pete, what per centage of the total cost of repainting would you say the preparation is in a "back to bare metal" paint job? I'm guessing the preparation is the most expensive part. Also, it probably is more critical to the final appearance of the paint job.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I would say in the 70% range. As you said, preparation is most critical towards what the car will look like when it is done. I have people who can straighten a mashed potato,, but it won't be cheap.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Oh, you guys work on wrecked vegetables, too? I had no idea!

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

You should see what they can do with a bowl of linguini.

__________________
95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

My God! You guys are GOOD!

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

I was on a body shop forum researching my paint setup and there is some really scary stuff about iso's. Ordinary respirators "might" be OK for a while. The problem is, they become ineffective without warning, and before they become clogged. When I was young, and immortal, I would paint lacquer in a garage by taking a deep breath, painting, and running out of the garage. Now I have a full separate air source mask. Some people can paint with iso's for years without the slightest effect; a few people have painted once and now have more or less permanent asthma. So, I bought a $400 insurance policy, my air/mask setup, which I think is cheap.

But I agree, anything short of bc/cc is a waste of time and money nowdays. There is no question that it looks better and if properly applied, more durable.

__________________
86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

Strife,

Thanks for your post - it really helped me put things in perspective. I coughed up the $$$ for a supplied air system, it's really the best way to go (IMO).