Is it true that our ef's never came with clear coat on the paint ?
I heard that they used to mix the clear in the base coat on our cars...

can someone confirm this ?

 

Only Maaco and idiots do that. Honda uses a clear coat. A single coat looks like you painted it with house paint, or Testors...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by drdisco69 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Only Maaco and idiots do that. Honda uses a clear coat. A single coat looks like you painted it with house paint, or Testors...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Funny because I got my car painted at macco and it does not look like house paint.

 

when did u get it painted?

 

You must have actually paid money then, I've seen some real quality work from them, including overspray on the windshield, and just painting every rubber moulding possible.

 

When the pics were taken, it was about 2 years since I had it painted. It went threw 2 rough Chicago winters and 2 rough Chicago summers.

 

About how much did you pay?

 

I think it was 225 for paint 225 for clear, can't remember though.

 

nice paint from what i can see

 

learn about paint dude... search on it, it's a very big part's of restoring a car.

a " single stage paint " as you call it, is prolly Eurethane, it's not Base coat - clear coat. and Yess that is usually what Maaco use. You can add a clear coat on top of eurethane but it's not required, only peep's that need's to polish the clear coat for a very slick look will go that route and shell out the extra 1000 for clear coat and polishing compound.

there is no shuch thing as being an idiot on using eurethane on a car, many people do that and it can be as strong as base coat clear coat, and it's not cheaper depending on the quality of eurethane your buying, cost can come up with a std paint job.

I had 4 coat of PPG Deltron Adriatic blue pearl on my EF with 3 coat of PPG clear coat. Oven dried, and polished.
cost me 4100 $ canadian.

hope this help,

Kranked.

 

Well put kranked

There has been numerous paint discussions, involving maaco and other chain paint places, with generally positive results. I would search, hear everyones testamony, and decide for yourself.

I for one had a single stage maaco job on one of my old crx's and it looked great. You will find out that a solid prep job makes all the difference in the world.

 

i painted my first crx in highschool at the body shop with a single stage paint, turned out looking like new, and just as good as a basecoat + clear coat paint job would look. it lasted fine for the 2 years that i kept it, im not sure how it looks now that its had a few years.

 

I had a 1980 El Camino we were restoring. They guy I know painted it with a single stage metalic blue paint and when you waxed it it was so shiny. I was happy with it.

On my 91 Si I had it painted with a base coat clear coat it I am really happy with it. Not so much waxing/buffind involved.

 

Im pretty sure that most of the older honda's arent basecoat/clearcoat. There enamels. Single stage paint, add some hardner and it shines just like 2 stage. Once it starts to get a lil dull, use some rubbing compound and it looks like new.

 

I believe you are correct, except for metallic colors. The clearcoat on my roof (91 Si metallic black) is peeling, and it's pretty clear that it is two layers. I'm pretty sure that both the red and white Honda used were single stage. Single-stage paint is great for non-metallic colors, though it does have a different 'look'.

 

I can guarantee you that the factory clearcoat is seprate. My clearcoat is peeling on my car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 91sihatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I can guarantee you that the factory clearcoat is seprate. My clearcoat is peeling on my car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Same with me, thats how I know.

 

What color are your cars? (91sihatch & drdisco)

 

Mine is Tahitian Green, a metallic color I believe.

 

Mine is hugger orange with metal flake

 

Same here, mine is light blue...

AT work I heard my boss say once that cars built before ~1990 didn't have a clear coat. I thought that was bs of course. But I believe him more and more everyday I see my car

 

Isn't single stage signifigantly less durable?

 

granada black

 

Not sure about Hondas pre-90 came with clearcoat or not but i do know this. It takes a very good painter to lay down a single stage and make it look like 2 stages. My dad and i both paint cars for a living and he can lay it down like none other. Im a different story as far as single stages go. Look at most boats and jet skis, they are all single staged or dyed fiberglass or some sort. The single stages last for a long time if done properly. The benefit of using a single stage is that there is absolutly no chance of your clear peeling off. If you put enough of the single stage down, if you get a scratch, you can always buff it out to a certain degree before it burns through. I once read a story about a European car that had 6 coats of clean on it. the designer believed that it would allow the owner to buff out any minor imperfections it would have in the next few years. Bad thing about that if you put too much clear on a car, it will bake in the sun and most likely turn yellow even with todays "UV" clear coats. I believe that single stage versus 2 or 3 stage depends entirely on what the owner wants out of the car.

 

Our cars are two stage.
You can see the clear peeling up on some of the older ones.

One stage paint can look REALLY good.
Two stage can look REALLY good too.

Either one you get, you have to sand/buff/polish (whatever you need to do) out all the orange peel. I have seen new "high end" cars like Lexus, Mercedes, blah blah blah that have been in minor accidents and the new paint looked BETTER than the factory simply because the orange peel had been removed. Cheap *** paint applied correctly to a properly prepped car with orange peel removed after painting looks dope and will last a long time (unless it's so damn cheap that it flakes off)!

The really really really good thing about having a 2 stage or a one stage with a clear (I guess that's a two stage anyway, right???!?!) is that you have a layer of clear protecting your paint. If you get a scratch with one stage you are cutting into paint and you are basically screwed. With a clear coat on top with a light scratch you can buff the clear down to remove the scratch and the paint will remain looking good as new.