me and my boss are doing some major body modifications to my white 89 camaro rs, and the paint is one thing we are changing. one thing we cant decide on is what type of paint was used on it. is it base coat-clear coat, or is it enamel? i think base coat clear coat wasnt introduced till 1986 but wasnt put on production cars till the 90's. Since my car is on that boreder, I'm stumped on this decision. Hopefully its base coat-clear coat so i dont haveto strip the care completley and apply some mud work. just sand off the clear and prime, and sand/prime a few more times and then paint.

 

I believe that 86 was the first year for the basecoat/clearcoat for all colors on the thirdgens. I believe that it was an enamel basecoat/clearcoat at least for the norwood cars. At some point Van Nuys went to that water based garbage, but I don't know what year that started.

But regardless, there's no reason to repaint the car in anything other than a urethane basecoat/clearcoat. Whether it's clearcoat or not, you should plan on stripping the paint in the areas that require an application of bondo. In areas where body work isn't needed, a simple sanding will suffice regardless of whether it's a single stage or a 2-stage paint, just as long as what you're sanding is well adhered to the layers below it.