Painting a w108

[awarne]

My first question is, these were originally painted with laquer
right? Next question is my 280 was resprayed with poly eurathane over the original paint so now do I need to bring it to metal before I respray it again? Has anyone done this? Is it recomended? And should I use aircraft paint remover or is there a better way? Suggestions please.
Thanks....

[ctaylor738]

I am not an expert on paint, but I thought the original finish was a two-stage paint urethane(?). I have also been told many times that you should only put paint on top of paint once.

I know a guy in Alexandria who stripped a 230SL and was big on the remover he used. I will give him a call.

The cars were originally done in "air dry" enamel. Either Herbet's or Glasurit. If it has been re-sprayed over the original, go down to the metal and start over. The newer Sikkens and Glasurit two-stage paints are great.
Regards,
Randy D.

Randy,
When you say two-stage, do you mean basecoat/clearcoat? Is air dry enamel the same as acrylic enamel?

Originally posted by cmcdonnell
Randy,
When you say two-stage, do you mean basecoat/clearcoat? Is air dry enamel the same as acrylic enamel?

Ooops...that should have been "two-part" paint. Or maybe catalized paint? The stuff that takes a hardener and is really bad to breathe. I'm not a big fan of the base coat/clear coat stuff, but some colors must be done that way. I'm pretty sure the "air-dry" enamel was acrylic, but it was just called air-dry enamel.
Regards,
Randy D.

[Tom Drew]

Chris- Maybe I can help shed some light on the different automotive paint systems used since the early days.
Auto finishes in the beginning were pigmented organic varnishes as would be used to finish wood. These were of limited durability for obvious reasons, and it was in the late teens and early 1920's that enamel and lacquer paints began to be used on automobiles. The enamels were generally more durable than the lacquers, but couldn't be polished out as well. These two paint systems were continually improved throughout the 30's, 40's, and 50's until the mid-50's, which saw the introduction of acrylic enamels and acrylic lacquers. This improvement was due to the "acrylic" (chemically synthesized) binders in the formula as opposed to the formerly organic binders, making for much better durability and gloss. The next advancement in the early 70's was the development of a urethane component or "hardener" added to acrylic enamel. This changed the "air dry" enamel into a coating that hardened much like an epoxy due to a chemical reaction between the two parts when mixed together.
Presently, we have four paint systems to choose from:
Acrylic Enamel - air dry
Acrylic Lacquer - air dry (limited use due to VOC restrictions)
Urethane single stage - hardens by chemical reaction
Urethane 2-stage - also known as Basecoat/Clearcoat. First stage is
acrylic enamel color coat followed by urethane clear coat that
hardens by chemical reaction.

Hope this helps sort out some of the paint questions. This above is simplified for brevity, but I can try to answer specifics if anyone is interrested.
One more note- I have had excellent results with a local firm that offers plastic media blasting for stripping paint. They can do and entire car or separate panels for reasonable cost. This is the way to go in my opinion!

Cheers, Tom

Thanks for the info, Tom. I have been cnfused about this for a while now. I really like the air-dry enamel as far as looks and ease of small repair. It has much more depth to it than the newer paints.
Speaking of paint, I want to do my 71 250C in a medium gray. I saw a 69 280SL showcar on eBay (Kruse auction) and the color was listed as Olive Gray. I don't see this color on the /8 website. Does anyone know where to get some decent color samples of DB air-dry enamels? The car was originally anthracite (not metallic) and I think it is too dark for a driver here in AZ. The white paint that's on it now is so thick it looks like it was just poured on! It comes off in big sheets! I thoght about silver, but then you get into clearcoats and they don't hold up here in the sun. Also, if you get a scratch it is difficult to repair.

[william rogers]

I have my Chevy 2wd Blazer down to bare metal.It's a big job,paint removers are very messy and pretty nasty stuff. I used a 5 inch variable speed porter cable sander.The two part paints (base coat clear coat) are not for armatures as the hardener is cyanide based and requires a full body suit with outside air supply to do it safely, there are some good painting sites that explain the whole process
and give advise about the different paints.I found them by just typing (auto body work, auto painting into Google)
William Rogers....
74 240 D 81 SD 81 2wd Chevy Blazer