Difference between Urethane and Base Clear Paints

[dvnen]

In talking to my painter he orginally suggested painting my car with a base clear, and now as we get closer to final prep he is suggesting a Urethane Paint.  The last time I did a car I used base/clear and it came out great.  Is there a difference between the two? Is one better than another?  IS there an advantage/disadvantage to one over the other?  I am looking at having the car painted Citron Yella (Y3) and he has indicated he will paint the car with Dupont paint.  Once again, any comments on the paint compared to PPG etc.  Thanks for the comments in advance.

[69 OUR/TEA]

When you refer to base/clear or urethane,you can have base/clear in   laquer,acrylic enamel or urethane.Did you mean base/clear urethane versus single stage urethane??You also said citron yellow.No metallic,do it in single stage urethane.And last,I only used Dupont one time,because the owner of the vehicle already had the paint.I only prefer and use PPG,therefore did not spray Dupont well ,as someone who uses it all the time.PPG's version of single stage is called DCC otherwise knowm as "Concept".When I spray this I like to use a SATA NR 2000 w/1.3 fluid tip and I slow the reducer down at every coat,it lays down beautiful.Cuts and buffs nice too.

[Drop Top]

I have used Du Pont and PPG in base/clear and in single stage. Both in urethane. Du Pont is a bit cheaper but dosent cover very well (especailly yellow). I always use PPG Base color. It covers much better and in the long run because of that reasion its cheaper. As an added bonius Its what the factory use and its usually right on the color. As far as witch I would sugjest to use. Go with Base/Clear. Here in Calif. we don't have much of a choice as to witch clear we can use. So it would be Urethane Clear. The reasion I like to go with this is for color sanding and buffing. Also the ability for lasting longer. I have some paintjobs that are over 10 years old and look as good today as the day they picked the car up. Todays clears are as good or better then in the early 90's as long as you use a good quality clear. If you want the paint to last don't buy PPG's Omni Brand. Stick with PPG's more expencive line of base/clear.

Personally, For my restorations. I use PPG for my base and House of Kolor for my clear. I like the way HOK Clear lays down when I spray better then PPG.

[bill440rt]

When you refer to base/clear or urethane,you can have base/clear in   laquer,acrylic enamel or urethane.Did you mean base/clear urethane versus single stage urethane??You also said citron yellow.No metallic,do it in single stage urethane.And last,I only used Dupont one time,because the owner of the vehicle already had the paint.I only prefer and use PPG,therefore did not spray Dupont well ,as someone who uses it all the time.PPG's version of single stage is called DCC otherwise knowm as "Concept".When I spray this I like to use a SATA NR 2000 w/1.3 fluid tip and I slow the reducer down at every coat,it lays down beautiful.Cuts and buffs nice too.

69, any reason why you would not want to do a solid color in base/clear? I'd think it would still add more depth to the color.

[69 OUR/TEA]

If you are doing a solid color,concept will cover alot better than going around the car multiple times with base,also you can cocktail clear in with the single stage and get the same depth you require.One note on black,their DCC 9300 triple black is the bomb,it doesn't get any blacker than that.I actually did a spray out with 9300 base with 2021 clear,and when held next to DCC9300 SS,it looked grey.Our friends mini tubbed 65 valiant(9300 SS)that we did,was picked by Brock Yates at the 2004 chryslers at carlisle,for the celebrity pick.Needless to say my friend was thrilled that out of 2300 cars ,his was chosen.

[bill440rt]

Our/Tea,
Thanks for the suggestion with the black. Sounds very nice. I've done some parts already in DuPonts ChromaOne black, I have about 1/2 gallon left. I thought they came out pretty nice.
I'll be doing my '69 in Sublime green (wife's pick). Any coverage issues with this color in PPG base/clear? Any recommendations of a sealer color? I was thinking possibly white, or a yellow sealer to make the color pop more. Suggestions?
I looked a bunch of cars at Carlisle that were Sublime to get an idea. Unfortunately, most car owners didn't even know what kind of paint was on their car!! How is that possible?? 
Anyway, I did notice a difference with the cars that had clear on them, very deep compared to the single stage cars. I'd prefer to do it with a base clear, & maybe do the underside & inside the trunk with single stage as those areas are a chore to do base/clear.
Would you mind shooting me your email address? Thanks! Attached is a pic of my '69 progress, 3/4 of the car is in the first high-build primer stage. I have to finish the body work on the driver's fender & door yet. I used Evercoat's Uro-Fill, as I'm doing this car on a budget & it met my price range. Fills & sands nice, too.
BTW, my '70 R/T took the Celebrity Pick too, in '03 by Harold Sullivan!

[dvnen]

Thanks Our/Tea for the comments and education on paints.  Just a quick couple of questions of clarification.  Do I read correctly that the Dupont and PPG paints are both good products and it becomes an issue of familiarity of product by the painter in its application?  Also, you are suggesting a single stage paint for the Citron Yella paint that I am likely going to use - also a colour my wife picked (seems to be a trend here), and if so will I still get good colour and depth from it.  Finally, can you also still apply a clear over that and would there be any benefit to that.  Thanks...

[69 OUR/TEA]

Hi Bill,what I have learned is you should try and get the sealer as close to the color as possible,to get better coverage,have the color look how it is supposed to look,and if anything else,you will use less base coat,and have less material on the car,also have less solvent to let get out.For instance,my coronet is EE1 dark metallic blue,I used NCS 1990 (grey),I did not tint it,you can use concept SS as the tint,or DMD or Dmc right off your mixing bank,it was DBU I was using and did not cover for you know what!!!! I blew thru almost a gallon of base to get it to cover,after doing that I let the car sit for a day then came back and cleared it.On my charger I am doing right now,I am using Golbal 2K chromatic sealer 8090(blue) and 8085(grey) mixed together to get very close to the B5 that it is.Any light metallic blues are poor hiders,seen this happen,person may think he had good coverage in the booth ,but when brought it outside with the sun on it,you saw right thru it.NCS 1990 is a better filling sealer than the Global,so if you want to use that,I would tint it with some form of light green,or yes even yellow.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Hi dvnen,exactly,it is what the painter is used to,for his best job.I'm sure Dupont has a  good clear or single stage,but what I use is PPG,so that's what I would prefer to spray.If you did it in single stage,and sanded and buffed it ,you will get some nice depth out of it.To most people,they could not tell the difference between B/C or SS,unless you are familar with painting .The benefits of SS are,first you are using half the materials,$$$$$,and it covers alot faster than B/C.Last ,yes you can either clear over the SS,but in PPG's concept SS,in the last coat you can cocktail clear in with the SS,This is done in an equal portion of RTS(ready to spray) amounts,and you have to use the same hardener,I.E. DCX 61,in both SS and clear.DO NOT USE DIFFERENT HARDENERS IN EACH AND MIX THEM TOGETHER!!!.   Exept 9300 black,you can,but here is what happened when I tried it in 2  test panel spray outs...... the panel that I added 2021 to the 9300 black,looked great,but when held next to the panel that was straight up 9300,it looked greyish black.When it comes to painting black,I am a real stickler for using 9300,it is real BLACK !!! Hope this answered some ? for you.

[dvnen]

Thanks and it does answer many of my questions.  One final one though - since you seem to know the PPG product, do you know if they have a mix for the Citron Yella - Y3 paint code in a single stage paint.  Thank again for all you help.

[69 OUR/TEA]

Hi dvnen,I checked for you today,and unfortunately they do not have a formula for Y3 in DCC SS,not even in an offset color.They have the original mix for Y3 in DBU basecoat,but if you want to use DBC basecoat they have an offset mix that has a notation(a little greener).So I geuss,if you are going to use PPG,I would go with the DBU basecoat and ,just my preference,2021 clear,but when you use the 2021,instead of the mixing ratio 4:1:1   go   3:1:1, it lays out nicer.This is exactly what I used on my 68 coronet,DBU with 2021 clear.The sealer I used under the basecoat was NCS 1990,love it,but should have,and in your case,definetly tint it close to the color to be.These products are going to be a few $$$$,but they work great!!!