Water Borne paint, Who knows about it?

[66FBCharger]

I have heard and seen references to waterborne paint. Can you educate me on it. Is the primer and body filler the same (solvent based), when painting the car with waterborne paint? What are the pros and what are the cons of using water borne paint? Is there much of a difference in price?

[69 OUR/TEA]

John,primers are all the same,body filler,etc.Basically the basecoats are whats water borne because of so much solvent used in them 1:1 ratio,whereas clears (PPG 20121 that I use is 4:1:1) so you see not alot of solvent conmpared to the solids in it.
Pros,you are contaminating the atmosphere less,but namely for collision shops,they turn out better blends as it lays down/flows into your work better.Alot less steps from when doing a "correct" blend with solvent based basecoats.Contain your work(paint blend) tighter because of this.Don't quote me,but I do beleive the color match is better as well.
Cons,you won't be doing it in your backyard garage,takes alot of air movement to dry it,so is best for shops with spray booths,and older spraybooths have to update and get the quads installed in them.
Your single stage urethanes such as PPG Concept is still the same as well.
There is probably more pros and cons then I just mentioned ,maybe some can add to what I said.

[66FBCharger]

Thanks, Paul.
Can the typical enthusiast tell that a car was painted with waterborne paint? I am sure your trained eye can tell.
Is the price for waterborne paint more expensive than solvent borne paint? Are the spray guns different?

[NorwayCharger]

Thanks, Paul.
Can the typical entusiast tell that a car was painted with waterborne paint? I am sure your trained eye can tell.
Is the price for waterborne paint more expensive than solvent borne paint? Is the spray guns different?

I am a car painter, and i cant tell the difference..

[twodko]

My car was shot with waterborne paint and it's gorgeous, rich and looks like you can dip your hand in it. Very satisfied. 

[Charger-Bodie]

Weve been spraying Sikkens Autowave for over a year now. Love it. Wouldnt go back if you paid me.

[Cooter]

We sprayed it here and it SUCKED to spray...Prep time is rediculous...Do NOT try and sand between coats.

[Charger-Bodie]

We sprayed it here and it SUCKED to spray...Prep time is rediculous...Do NOT try and sand between coats.

What brand did you try? The only one Ive heard people really complain about is the Dupont stuff.

[Cooter]

Yep, Dupont. Hadda rep try and sell the bodyshop on this sh*t...IMO, until they either get the bugs out, I'll stick with killing your kids a million years from now with my solvent based paint.

[tan top]

 never thought i would say it !!  better than solvent base coat  , especially doing a big repaint  in metalic ,  just walk round the car & take your time , stays open for longer 
given a choice  would chose water base over solvent  any day of the week &  was painting with solvent for 12 years before before we switched in 2000.
  when waterbase first come out & we changed  , thought whats all this crap , air dryers/ blowers in the booth , had to turn the booths  air flow up a little too ,  special tack rags  as that gear don't like being tacked off , some colors are worse that others , depending what binders etc & tinters are in the mix .
need to take three times longer de greasing before paint ,  wearing gloves too ! also none of  this  ( get a speck of shit in the base coat , spit on a bit of 1500 paper & de nib while in booth  with gun in hand  ,   waterbase  dont like de nibbing  , if you must be carefull & use pannel wipe as lubricant if you must wetflatt ,
  easier cleaning guns out ,  stick them under the tap ,  but take them appart at the end of the week &  clean with normal gunwash   
forget painting waterbase out side of a Booth 

[66FBCharger]

I was always under the impression that the solvent in traditional paint, helped the paint bite into the primer by softening the primer so the paint would stick to the primer. If that is true, how does the water borne stick to the solvent borne primer?

[bill440rt]

From the shops I deal with, the initial changeover is the hardest part. But, once they've become accustomed to it they love it & there is no turning back.
Yes, special dryers, blowers, fans etc are needed. Forget the DIY at home.
I saw an FC7 RR done in waterborne, I couldn't believe it was waterborne paint. Looked great.

Like others have mentioned, only the base is water-based. The rest (primers, clears, etc) are solvent based.

[GPULLER]

We spray PPG at the shop I work at, we switched last fall.  From what I hear from the painter the color match is far better than the Global we used to spray, blends are easier too.  When it gets humid it can get to be a bitch for it to flash, only complaint I've heard.  I know he wouldn't go back to the solvent based.

[69 OUR/TEA]

As far as a car done in water vs. solvent base coat,as long as the base had good coverage,uniform layout of the metallic,etc,should be equivalent,as the clear going on top is still solvent,in my case PPG 2021,so the end result,topcoat you are staring at for gloss,depth,durability is the same.
My friends custom paint/resto shop I work for has both Envirobase and Global.For new car blends/color match etc I agree,the water is the best choice.For me doing a resto,I stick with the solvent,and actually have no choice as my charger I am doing right now,black,is going to be PPG DCC 9300 Single stage with 2021 cocktailed in it.
I just did a repair/blend on my 04 Ram, graphite metallic,and used global(solvent)as I have not sprayed water yet,and did'nt want to take the chance of screwing it up.So,agreed,if you seen the steps I had to take doing the blend to not see it or a halo,yes,water would have been easier.

[Indygenerallee]

I'll stick with killing your kids a million years from now with my solvent based paint.

[elitecustombody]

The only pros are better color match and easier blends, but all the hassle with converting the booth with dryers/fans,using special tack rags,prep solvent, dedicated gun, special gun cleaner is not wprth it,because you still have to spray solvent based clearcoat.And forget about trying to paint anything at home with this garbage,yes, I said GARBAGE!