how many coats of black urethane paint should i spray on. im not clear coating. whats a good amount?

just go with thin layers untill you covered up the paint beneath and you have the glossy finish you want... 3 to 4 layers max

why aren't you clear coating?

the paint being black... no need for a basecoat/clearcoat paint.. the urethan is cheaper and will do the same finish.. this is true for any solid color

so you just buff on a good coat of wax to get it to shine or what?

the urethane will shine as good as clearcoat... actually the clearcoat is made of urethane... so instead of doing it in 2 coats... you do it in one.. some say it even gives a better finish... but it lasts shorter than basecoat/clearcoat

so the urethane protects the paint for the weather too?

when you spray basecoat.. the paint does not harden, it needs the clearcoat to finish the chemical process... the clearcoat hardens and protect the basecoat AND gives it a glossy finished... the urethane hardens itself, thus it doesn'T need a coat of clear to protect the paint

urethane is just like enamel... both don't have clearcoat to have the glossy finish... but the enamel is thick and cracks easily.. the urethane is more flexible and won't fade as fast as enamel... it's a compromise between enamel and basecoat/clearcoat

ok i'm new to this (sorry) i'm going to have my firbird painted this summer what would be the bast paint and way to do this.....

scratch that my real question is this
with the long nose on my 91 what could i use that will not chip right off when someone tap's into it while parking thier car?

i'm actualy trying to figure out a way to wire a camara into so it will take a snap shot or thier plates b/c some ppl are just plain aholes after i paint it i don't want to have to put on bra to hide chips with in a week or two

the only thing you can prevent is for the paint to makes like a spider web after a while... you add flexible stuff in the paint... the professional that will paint your car will know what to do... as for preventing others not to damage your car... well you should not drive it at all... there is no magic tricks for that

My painter talked me out of bc/cc on a black car. Said scratches and flaws during paint process are easily hidded with buffing on a single stage. If it was clear coat it would still be seen somewhat. I couldnt argue and the results were great. This is about a week after paint. Was 3 layers of paint which made the wet sanding easy .

[QUOTE]Originally posted by lock
[B]My painter talked me out of bc/cc on a black car. Said scratches and flaws during paint process are easily hidded with buffing on a single stage. If it was clear coat it would still be seen somewhat. I couldnt argue and the results were great. This is about a week after paint. Was 3 layers of paint which made the wet sanding easy .

you wet sanded? what grit? did u buff it also? how, with what?

wet sanded with 1500 grit. Then he buffed it out with a 3m polish. I cant remember which one but it was the mid grit one. I think Diamond Cut is the high grit one.

My father is currently wetsanding and buffing my IROC. He painted it 3 years ago but we never had time to wetsand and buff until now. He uses a basecoat/clearcoat system exclusively. Although the single stage urethane paints are similar, the clearcoat itself seems to resist oxidation much better. I suppose it could be that the clearcoat's oxidation isn't as obvious as when a color coat oxidizes. There's a van around town that my father painted in 1995. I don't think it's ever seen soap, and I know it's never seen wax. Dispite being a rusty dented sh*t bucket now, it's still got a beautiful shine. I've never seen a single stage paint hold up to abuse nearly that well.

my point exactly.. a clearcoat is of better quality.. will last longer... but urethane has the same finish... just will fade faster

You speak like urethane and clearcoat are mutually exclusive. The clearcoat and the basecoat are urethane in a 2 stage urethane system.

no no no... a basecoat is made of color particules only... it doesn't hardens... the clearcoat is made of urethane... that coat hardens... the basecoat never really "dries" as one could say, it always is actif... the clearcoat is exactly like urethane paint without the color... actually look on a can of clearcoat and you will see that it says urethane clearcoat

We're arguing the same point. The way you worded it last time gave me the impression that you didn't think the clearcoat was urethane.

oh.. my appologies... I guess my english is playing games with me tonight... excuse the frenchie