Ok i know a little bit of basics when it comes to panel and paint but not much so im looking for some expert advice... My vl calais turbo is in the spray shop having a full respray, inside and out and a walky kit fitted Im just wondering.... 1.once the panelwork is done how many times should the painter spray the car in primer and block it back? He said he would be using a hi build primer if this makes any difference. 2. the car is being painted in a 2pac metallic blue, i want to use ppg paint as it is a ppg colour however the painter says he normally uses spies hecker and swears by it, what do u think in terms of quality in the paint brands and would the colour come out the same if i get the paint in spies hecker? 3. how many layers of color should be put on and how many coats of clear? also how many litres of colour would this be and do you have to use a different brand of clear to suit your paint brand? 4.i know the paint is 2pac but when i rang and enquired about the paint and asked for it in 2pac the guy said it was cobra/ so yer im just keen to find out as much as i can before i commit to handing over my cash. basically what is the procedure he will be doing and what should i expect to be done. thanks heaps guys sorry for the long post but i want all the info i can get. cheers

1. hi build primer should be 1 coat, block back, then another coat, until its smooth.. 2. depending on your budget, and how much you trust the spraypainter, get him to show you a few jobs done with spies hecker paint, then make the decision 3. when i painted my vlt blue, i applied around 4 coats of basecoat, and about 5 coats of clear, it is recommended that the clearcoat is the same as the basecoat 4. doesnt make sence i answered to the best i can as i am not a sprayie myself, just a self taught backyarder that had guidance along the way!

1 ONCE (coupla coats). Its the panel beaters job to get a car straight not painters. Even with hifill primer , the measurement ur talkin paint in is in microns not millimeters. Any area which does get sanded through will/should be reprimed and hand sanded. 2 There may be a slight different colour in spies heaker or any brand. This is dues to colours being matched by eye. But there variation in colour is so minimal that if u had 2 cars freshly painted , one in speis and one in ppg next to each other you could not see the variation. Ud actually have to take the door off one car and put it on another to see a difference. NOTE metallics can be sprayed dryer or wetter by a spray painter making the colour ligher or darker. So 2 painters useing the same paint may have a variation on colour. Personally ive used spies hecker and agree it is top quality paint. Spies and glasruit are the only 2paks i would recomend. 3 only enugh coats of colour to be covered. Personaly i used to do an extra coat to be shure and a dryer cross coat to get ride of any "train tracks" Clear wise only 2 coast. No more. You can mix different brands but that voids your warrenty and i wouldnt recomend it. 4 cobra??? dunno bout that one. There was no spies cobra when i was paintin cars. You should expect some peel but not much. (as in not overly peely , more like a wave , to get a dead flat finish in 2pak u have tp pay extra for it to be flow coated) You should expect no runs , no dirt , no buffing swirl , no scratches , no chips. Quality also depends highly on how much your paying.

1. usually only once is needed although if you have the money and want a really good job done sometimes its better to do twice but its not real necesarry. 2. PPG is a well known brand but spies hecker is still good the paint quality would most likely be the same but the only thing i could think of that if its a ppg you may not be able to get it in other brands and have to coulour match. I could be wrong though so if someone else knows that would be good. 3. Depends on how transparent the blue is anywhere from 2 to 4 coats of the base and normally 2 coats of clear is fine. everywhere has there different method though 4. cobra? never heard of it sorry. Hope this helps you out a bit Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

thanks for all your help guys, i found out what cobra is, apparently it just means clear over base. but it was weird that when i asked for price diff between enamel acrylic and 2 pac that guy on phone said it was not 2pac but cobra

spirit77 when u say there should be no buffing swirl what exactly do u mean, i didnt realise that u buffed 2pac. I dont know much bout painting so fill me in, thanks

Cobra is a PPG basecoat.. my guess is he could only find your color code in Cobra. and he will just use the spies clear.. Basecoat: apply untill it covers (anywhere from 3-8 coats) depending on coverage as newer colors with lots of pearls cover ****house and need more coats. Clear: 2-3 coats max. The clear will be 2pack, if hes not spraying 2pack tell him to!

U dont buff 2pak as it is gloss off the gun. But it is hard not to get one or 2 bits of **** (dirt particles from a number of different surfaces such as the overals or the walls etc) in the paitn work. These small bits if they are in the middle of a bonnet can easyly be sanded and buffed out. The **** may be tiny and to sand it out may be a tiny sand but the buff is quit large and the surrounding area gets buffed as well. Hence why i said there should be no buff swirl.

do you guys think 4L should be enough, remember it will have full walky kit and its a metallic colour which i have been told doesnt cover as well as a solid colour

cobra is another brand of dulux paint its good but its old now if i was u i would go for spies hecker very good paint porsche uses that on there cars but ppg is still good if u cant afford spies hecker

just got quote for 4L of my colour in spies hecker. its only $473 and the colour has a pearl in it so i am stoked i thought it would be heaps dearer

l use debeer its a good paint(my mate owns the shop) but l would use spies heker over ppg anyday and yer cobra was a dulux paint but things and turms have changed in 5yrs

spies ****s on ppg, I uses debeer and sell it too, good **** prefer that to both.

PPG stands for Piss Poor Gloss. I only use Spies Hecker it's not cheap but it's up there with Glasurit. De Beer's is alot cheaper and I reckon better than PPG. As stated primer can fix small imperfections but it's a panel beaters job to get the panel as straght as possible. To get a straight finish I'd concentrate on the bodywork first, It will take alot of time and patience. Then Putty up, block back with 240 grit paper, re putty then block back with 800 grit paper, Should get it fairly straight, And trust me fibreglass will never look straight, the quality of bodykits is average.

you should use what eva the painter is used to painting cause u will b garunteed its good. cobra is a cheaper version of ppg its still made by ppg. really should put 3-4 coats of primer and block it back n that will b good if the person can block a car properly.and usually the painter puts as many coats of color as it takes to cover the panel properly.

hey. im a painter myself and if im doin a nice custom job il only use products what i know. if you throw some brand of paint to painter who's never used it before hes basically testing it out on your car. doesnt know how it flows etc. where as if he using products that he knows, he knows the limits of it and could turn out a nicer job. ive used spies hecker, ppg, debeer, glasurit, chemspec. i have had very nice finishes with them all. every brand has there pros and cons but at the end of the day you can get a nice finish with em all if you know the product and know what ya doin

Whats you guys opinions on Lesonal?

Lesonal. my mate uses that at his shop. i seen some nice jobs done it it. never used it my self tho. clear has nice gloss

prime it once , three maby four coats depending on the build of the primer amd how good a job the beaters have done , ppg all the way but it really comes down to the jockybehind the gun if ya no what ya doin ya can lay down any thing nice.as many coats as it takes to cover an one for good measure , 2 coats of clear is all you need , if ya start puttin on more ya start gettin to much of paint film build up , looks good but cause's trouble down the track , and ya if ya cant lay it down off two coats somthings wrong.cobra is 2 pak. lesanol dosent cover well