My intent this month was to talk about single stage and two stage paint. But first I need to share the following:

I have been told by people older (if that is possible and possibly some of you) and wiser (easily done) that crow is best eaten while still warm. Well, I am going to take a big heaping plate full. Remember last month I said the Studebaker was the only fiberglass car that behaved? Take a look at the picture. This is the car I was talking about. I took it at the recent Studebaker meet at McClellan in mid May. Isn't it beautiful with rechromed bumpers and NOS emblems? Yep, sure is except for something you can't see in the picture. And that is the bubble on the hood. Yes, a bubble and two other items which appear to be some sort of a reaction. Only on the hood, nowhere else. Obviously the Gods of Fibreglass wanted to get even with my boasting. So the hood will be back in the shop getting fixed on warranty, i.e. no charge. So there are two lessons:

1. Don't brag unless you want to get slammed later
2. Why your shop will charge more for fiberglass cars

Well with the crow completely consumed, here we go on single and two stage paint.

Single and Two Stage Paint

At the highest level we have two completely different paint systems, although they both come from PPG, our paint company of choice. (We have used several different manufacturers of paint since I bought the shop and we have found PPG, which at one time stood for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, is the best. Most high end shops used PPG, although there are zillions of other including DuPont, Sherwin-Williams, House of Kolor, BASF, etc.

Single stage paint is just as it sounds. We mix the paint and put it on your car. To make an analogy, think if the way your mother or grandmother did her nails. She simply took the bottle of nail polish and painted her nails. One bottle and done.

Two stage paint has two different components: the color coat and the clear coat. To use the nail analogy again, today women who paint their nails use a two step, two bottle approach to their nails. The first bottle is color and the second bottle is the clear.

Advantages of single stage paint
1. inexpensive
2. great if your goal is simply to make the car look better. For example, if you want to make an older car look better for your 16 year old that will drive it to high school

Disadvantages of single stage paint
1. made to paint the whole car, not part of car. So if you get in an accident you will generally need to repaint the entire car
2. metallics don't look as good as solid colors. In other words, black comes out better than silver.
3. Never looks like factory
4. with minor exceptions can't be buffed, so those little scratches can't be made to go away
5. does not last as long as two stage

Advantages of two stage
1. can paint part of the car, so spot repair is possible.
2. All colors come out the same – always better than single stage
3. Looks like factory
4. you can buff out scratches.
5. lasts longest
6. with a few variables, discussed next time, can be made to really stand out.

Disadvantages
1. more expensive

Don't listen to the folks that say, 'I don't want two stage paint on my car because it peels. I want single stage.' That is a bunch of hooey. A good quality two stage paint, which is not defective as some of you GM and Chrysler owners may recall, that is properly applied will always outlast single stage and look better doing it too. Simple as that.

Next month I am going to talk about differences in two stage paints and clears. I also will touch on water based paint as my shop makes the transition in July.

Article by guest columnist, Sam Hedgpeth, owner
North Highlands Maaco • www.SacAutoBodyShop.com
Email: smhedgpeth@sbcglobal.net or phone: (916) 334-5556

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