I am getting my car painted in a month or so. The shop near my house said he can use enamel and paint it for $350. Enamel? Does anyone use that for cars? He said to do it right with clear coat, urethane, etc. it will be around $1300. I assume this is due to multiple thin coats and more material cost. Can someone give me a crash coarse in automotive paint types, applications, cost. I don't want to spend a fortune but I don't want it to look like I painted it myself either. The thing that bothers me is he said if I want to paint it again in the future the enamel must be completely stripped. By the way damn near everything on the body is removed.

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350 Vortec, forged flat-tops, CompCams XE268, Edlebrock RPM, Holley 3310, TH350 w/Holeshot 2400, 3.23 posi, Heddman shorties, HEI

 

I used Urethane paint w/ no clear coat on my car. It ran me about $200/gallon needing 2 gallons for the car. The problem with urethane is that it needs a lot of care, but it shines better than most. Enamel is cheap for a reason, it doesn't last very long. I don't like clear coat b/c over time it cracks as most of us know. Our cars are notorious for having crappy paint.

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1989 Camaro Convertible
dark silver w/black top
305tbi, auto, all stock
posi
Check out Phil's Rice Boy Page

 

Yep, he's right on the money, it's been said a thousand times here, you get what you pay for. When I got mine repainted this winter the the guy put on 4 coats of clear so hopefully it'll last. I wound up using 5 quarts because the color I chose covered so poorly (it looks like clear with blue flake in it when you put it on). But if you're lookin for a quick fix go with enamel, if you're looking for a lasting paintjob, go with the urethane. I went for the long haul cause I don't plan on selling mine...ever and I sunk $3K into it. It was worth it to me, but maybe not to you. just my (constantly depreciating in value) 2 cents.

 

On the other hand, scratches and cracks really show up on dark urethanes, where they have to be deeper on a clear coat paint job to show up "white".
The base/clear paint also actually shines nicer because it looks like glass over the car instead of just a shiny color coat.
I like both types of paint; my RS has PPG base/clear and it looks absolutely awesome. My Z28 has urethane, and it looks just as good, but both cars were painted around the same time, and the Z28 has little white scratches where some tool set something on the trunk. Some punk kid keyed the side of my RS and it buffed right out.