Type of Paint for FJ40 full paintjob

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vabeachcruiser77

10 Year 15 Year
Joined
Aug 26, 2009
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Location
Virginia Beach, VA
Looking for some thoughts on my upcoming project. Am getting ready to start disassembly for a quality "frame-on" repaint (Freeborn Red/same color). Have my Body/Paint guy doing the work, not me! PO had a paint job done with a poor tape job, resulting in lots of overspray on window weatherstripping, plus, it's all original, so all weatherstripping needs to be replaced anyways due to rot. While i'm at it, I plan on replacing all the exterior hardware with Yellow Zinc, and replacing lights, emblems, etc... FJ40 will go to body guy with top, doors, hood all off and disassembled.

For background info: the only off-road action this vehicle gets is driving on the beach, and it is kept in a garage. Driven 4 or 5 times a week.

I know the FJ40 came from the factory with a Single Stage acrylic enamel, with a little "orange peel" finish to it. Most of the paint guys i've talked to have said this is "cr@p" paint.

I'm leaning towards a two stage, base clear coat system. The body should be near-perfect prior to paint, so I think the higher gloss, more durable finish should look good.

Any thought or experiences from the crowd would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Joe
 
I think there are some very high quality single stage paints such as PPG Concept. The base-coat, clear-coat paint system wasn't around when your 'Cruiser was built, and assuming you go with high quality paint, it's probably a better system then a single stage.

However if you compare PPG's Concept with an el cheapo base-coat, clear-coat system I'd argue Concept is superior.
 
Paint

I just finished painting my 72 FJ40 with PPG Concept in Dune Beige. Awesome paint and I was able to get the correct paint number in Concept. I don't see the need to do a clearcoat as PPG Concept itself is overkill on any FJ40 if done well.
 
I agree with allfoden above.

The only reason I would consider going with a 2 stage is fading.
Reds notoriously fade first and I don't think you want a pink cruiser :)

With a high quality PPG 2 stage you can get a lot of UV blockers in the top coats which helps with fade.

Another perk would be the ability to more easily correct any paint blemishes caused by the sand.
 
allfoden said:
I just finished painting my 72 FJ40 with PPG Concept in Dune Beige. Awesome paint and I was able to get the correct paint number in Concept. I don't see the need to do a clearcoat as PPG Concept itself is overkill on any FJ40 if done well.
Click to expand...

pics please!!!!!!!!!
 
The FJ40 is the fourth car I owned that I repainted with Concept. I was so pleased with the paint on the first two cars I repainted my 1930 Rolls Royce Woody in british racing green PPG Concept. I think that speaks volumes as they say. And no clear coat on the Rolls either. Ed
 
allfoden said:
The FJ40 is the fourth car I owned that I repainted with Concept. I was so pleased with the paint on the first two cars I repainted my 1930 Rolls Royce Woody in british racing green PPG Concept. I think that speaks volumes as they say. And no clear coat on the Rolls either. Ed
Click to expand...

Post a few pics
 
Here is my two cents and they are worth exactly that..... the main focus for you might first be price. The base clear is definetely more but I prefer having clear to allow me to cut imperfections and scratches later etc. etc. However once you decide which route you wish to go the brand of product should be left to the painter.... If he is a great painter I can promise he has his preference OR will only paint with one brand because his or her name is behind the outcome and has full trust and experience with one particular product. You can get away with different things with different manufacturers and the last thing you want is experimenting with a new product. That is how orange peel happens!!!

Now the trick is to find out what material will be used up front....... (that might be why you are asking this question) because if you are paying XX amount of money for a paint job there is a chance that the cheapest material could be used to increase profit. I found a painter that I trusted his ability and I purchased the material and paid him XX amount to make it happen. The material ofcourse was of his choice but I then had the chance to say LETS DO IT or I had the chance to find someone else.

Just a thought :meh:

And here is a pic.

106_0542.webp
106_0542.webp
 
Hey STATION WAGON........im in the middle of choosing a color, got three to narrow them down. Talk about a hard thing to do. I chose the names of my children faster than a color for my FJ. Take a pic of vechicle in the sun and post it up as im inbetween three different shades of gun metal grey for mine. I'd like to see it on yours before i toss in the towel on a color!!
 
4x4 Station Wagon said:
Here is my two cents and they are worth exactly that..... the main focus for you might first be price. The base clear is definetely more but I prefer having clear to allow me to cut imperfections and scratches later etc. etc. However once you decide which route you wish to go the brand of product should be left to the painter.... If he is a great painter I can promise he has his preference OR will only paint with one brand because his or her name is behind the outcome and has full trust and experience with one particular product. You can get away with different things with different manufacturers and the last thing you want is experimenting with a new product. That is how orange peel happens!!!

Now the trick is to find out what material will be used up front....... (that might be why you are asking this question) because if you are paying XX amount of money for a paint job there is a chance that the cheapest material could be used to increase profit. I found a painter that I trusted his ability and I purchased the material and paid him XX amount to make it happen. The material ofcourse was of his choice but I then had the chance to say LETS DO IT or I had the chance to find someone else.

Just a thought :meh:

And here is a pic.

View attachment 392615
Click to expand...


You can't throw out that pic without giving more details. Who sprayed that and what did he use?
 
LOL - Here is a link to my build thread and it should have everything you need there.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/227633-1976-fj40-buildup-chief-itty-pants-6.html


Its kind of long winded so here are a few more pics. My painter buddy (Mark Harders) is an animal!! His profession is body work but he is evolving quickly! With the help of him (basically holding my hand) I performed 99% of the body work and prep and he sprayed. If the material brand is not in my build I can gladly get you the name I just need to go look at my stash which is still at his house. (all of his help was 100% free!! I just helped him to return the favor on some of his toys)

106_0529.webp

106_0528.webp

106_0722.webp

burnttoastburgos - I missed your post while typing this. I have one more picture I will load that I think better shows the color. I picked my basic color as you have and then drove parking lots till I found a vehicle that had exactly what I wanted and then searched down the factory paint code. :meh: Might be worth a try
106_0529.webp
106_0528.webp
106_0722.webp
 
One more it may or may not help see the tru color. It always looks different on the computer...... You can not see the red pearl sometimes. If I had to describe my color though I would say DARK I wanted a stealth look. NO BLING

106_0540.webp

Here are a few others that people were nice enough to help me find when I was in your shoes. One was called charcoal and the other gun metal grey

charcoal.webp
gun metal fj40.webp

As for challenge of picking a color :bang: I agree it was half as hard to name my son!!! The next in line might be buying tires!! :D
106_0540.webp
charcoal.webp
gun metal fj40.webp
 
Personally I would not let a painter make the decision on what paint to use on my truck. Any painter worth is salt can spray any of the modern auto paints with good results. Unless he had a strong argument against the paint I wanted I would go with my choice. Now if your painter does only 100 point restoration paint jobs and you ask him to spray $25 gal paint different story.
If you have done the effort to do the body work, days of sanding, etc and are paying a painter why not use the best paint you can afford. The quality remains long after the price is forgotten or something like that. At least that is what I tell my wife.
 
Personally I would not let a painter make the decision on what paint to use on my truck. Any painter worth is salt can spray any of the modern auto paints with good results. Unless he had a strong argument against the paint I wanted I would go with my choice. Now if your painter does only 100 point restoration paint jobs and you ask him to spray $25 gal paint different story.
If you have done the effort to do the body work, days of sanding, etc and are paying a painter why not use the best paint you can afford. The quality remains long after the price is forgotten or something like that. At least that is what I tell my wife.
Click to expand...

Man I have the worst luck!!! Out of four painters none have been worth a salt. :D

Its hard to explain with out typing two pages but if someone wishes for me to explain just PM me and I will do my best.
 
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