Base Coat/Clear Coat vs Single Stage - Black

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oldjunkster

Member
First post here. I have been using SPI black epoxy and love it! I plan on painting my '57 Chevrolet black and would some guidance on wheather to use Base/Clear or Single Stage black. I want a show quality paint job but also have the Hot Rod Power Tour on my Bucket List. I am sure at some point there will be a rock chip or scratch. Which would be easier to touchup, blend or panel paint? Thanks in advance.
 
Some like the look of the single stage black better than base/clear. I'd say spray a few panels or look at a few cars done both ways and make a decision. If you are concerned with scratches and chips down the road, I think base/clear would be a better choice.
 
I've read that you can clearcoat over single stage black for better chip protection. Just another option.
 
WOW!!!!

How hard is the SPI Single Stage paint vs Base/Clear Coat? I have used Lacquer (soft), Enamel and Base/Clear. I am not familiar with the SPI Single Stage.
 
I found it easier to cut and buff clear than the single stage. I had a terrible time with fine scratches. I spent close to twice the normal time as the scratches wouldn't show up in the sanding only after buffing so I kept starting over.

The color is great.
 
Has anybody done a side by side comparison?
I want to paint my Harley solid black and bought a qt. of base but if SS will give me a better look I will go that way.
 
Brad J.;40927 said:
I found it easier to cut and buff clear than the single stage. I had a terrible time with fine scratches. I spent close to twice the normal time as the scratches wouldn't show up in the sanding only after buffing so I kept starting over.

The color is great.
Click to expand...

Brad, how fresh was the singlestage when you sanded and buffed? Singlestage does take longer to cure than clear and when caught at the wrong time you will have the scratch battle going on, let it cure longer and it buffs the same.

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[QUOTE='68 Coronet R/T;40932]Has anybody done a side by side comparison?
I want to paint my Harley solid black and bought a qt. of base but if SS will give me a better look I will go that way.[/QUOTE]

better look is a matter of opinion, both can have the same level of gloss but the look is different
 
Bob,

The car sat a month with some time in the sun.

I picked the wrong car to use it on for the first time. I used it on a 59' Cad Limo and it almost doubled my sanding time. What I ran into during the progressive sanding was each step appeared right but the buffer would show scratches and I'd have to resand. I always sand each grit in different directions until the previous grit dissapears. I do this with clear without issues but this stuff wouldn't show the scratches until buffing.

I've used the product on bike tanks and it's fine because they don't get cut with aggresive grits like the cars do. It's soft and buffs easy but I'd never use it again on a car due to my shoulders and a bad attitude during the project because of the extra work.
 
Brad,

Do you think the scratches were filling with dust from the sanding so you couldn't see them or was the 2k or paint shrinking?
 
if you sand it there should be no scratches. each grit should remove the previous grit. 3000 does not leave any scratches .
 
I agree, if scratches are showing up again and again it has to do with your sanding process. One thing that can create some heavy scratches is sanding while the paint is too fresh-the coarser papers cut too aggressive because the paint is soft-then the finer grits don't cut because the paint is soft.
 
There's nothing wrong with clearing single stage, with metallics you
have to anyway. Why do it? Because SS is cheaper and more durable
than base and the clear does add more depth.
I use base/clearcoat on all my collision repairs but for my own car I used
single stage urethane with a clearcoat. Best of both worlds to me.
 
us as painters could tell the difference but you could have 2 cars side by side, one in ss black and one in bc/cc black and 99.5% of the people would never know or be able to see it. i have had cars in here where some panels were ss and others were bc/cc. i knew the car and owner well. you could not tell the difference when it was new. a few years down the road though the bc/cc was still shiny and somewhat new and the ss was chalking. the ss was factory paint in 03. another instance was i had a black Ferrari in here which was all bc/cc. someone did a repair on the quarts of the thing and used single stage black. they blended it in and sanded and buffed it. you could only see a 10" round repair spot if you happened to catch it in the right light. this just gives you an idea of in the real world how close the 2 are in looks. i much prefer having the uv protection of a bc/cc than ss.
 
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