Thanks for all the replies!
Single stage vs base-clear is a very fair question, and I don’t think there's a right or wrong answer.
I’m not sure the paint longevity issue has a clear winner, but my perception from talking to knowledgeable folks in the automotive paint world is base-clear holds up better over time than single stage. Also, at this point I’m planning on doing the spraying myself. That means dust and even bugs are a virtual certainty, and I’ll have to wet-sand and buff the paint. Having a few coats of clear to buff appeals to me as it should make it much less likely I’ll buff through the paint (been there, done that).
This past fall I completed the restoration of a John Deere 420 lawn tractor. I had purchased the correct John Deere brand paint and activator and despite already having bought it, talking to those same guys I made reference to above convinced me to use a quality automotive base-clear paint system. I think it turned out very well. I’m sure a purist would say it’s “over restored”, and it is a lawn tractor after all, but I’m pleased with how it looks (yes, the right front wheel bearing cover is missing).
Automotive paint is one of those topics that stirs up lots of debate about paint brands, quality and cost. There are relatively small paint manufacturers such as Southern Polyurethanes (SPI), Kirker and Tamco. Both Eastwood and Summit offer paint as well.
I have a 1986 K5 Blazer and I had it painted by a fellow who paints high end restorations professionally. He did this on the side and I wanted him to use SPI paint as I thought it would save money. I had read all of SPI’s information about how great their resins are, how easy it is to work with, how great the results are, yada, yada, yada. Well, he used the SPI paint and he said it was more difficult to work with than the big-name paints he typically uses. This was a man who had a lot of experience, and he was underwhelmed with the SPI product.
After that I did some Internet research and found one post that hit home. The author, a professional automotive painter, basically said “You guys spend hours and hours and hours doing body work and block sanding to make the body perfect, and then try and save money on the paint. Go to any major show and ask what paint is on the nicest vehicles, and what you’ll hear are the big brands: PPG, Axalta, Sherwin Williams, etc. Spend the money and buy the good stuff”
I think I’m like the majority of ‘MUD members that have to keep one eye on costs throughout the project. That said, with a project there are some areas that one may want to spend more heavily on, and for me that’s paint. I want to use high quality paint, and I’m willing to spend some bucks.
