napa, martin senior products
05-01-2008, 11:19 PM
#1
Burning Brakes
Thread Starter
napa, martin senior products
Around here there is many Napa paint stores, I have a 69 vette sanded down to the bare glass, Instead of using the old school of gelcoat, I want to use new stuff, I think this would be Epoxy primer filler because there are some pin holes in the glass. What is Napa's best epoxy for bare glass and then base coat clear coat paint
05-12-2008, 09:54 PM
#5
Melting Slicks
I've used Martin Senour for years. It's a good product, basically Sherwin Willimas (parent company). The price has really escelated in the last 10 years, but you could say that for all the brands, I guess. They came out with "Cross Fire" which is a lower-end version of the same stuff.
Tec-Prime 5100 is what I've always used. It's M/S' urethane 2k high-build primer. I've got a couple vehicles in my driveway with 10+ yr old ungaraged M/S finishes that attest that it holds up great.
That being said, the technology of urethane primers and paint has been 'out of the box' for many years. There are a lot of lower-priced products out there that in my mind are as good or even better. I've used them on projects, some of my own, and they've held up fine for, well, it's got to be 5 years now, maybe more. My favorite is Morton 2k by USC. I've used others, I'm using Dupont Nason 2k for my 81. I wouldn't be afraid to use some of the lower-priced 2k primers, and name brand topcoats.
PPG and DuPont are also good. Personally, after using Omni (PPG's lower level paint) and Nason (DuPont's lower level paint) for a few years, I've gravitated towards them and don't use any DuPont name brand paint anymore. The paint market has changed over the years. These paint company top level names are typically marketed towards production bodyshops, and the second tier products (Omni, Nason, Cross-Fire) towards smaller shops and hobbiests. People I know that use them, including myself, say they are indistinguishable from the top name products. Ive heard people say the pigments aren't as good, and maybe that was the case years ago, but I haven't found that to be the case in my experience, and I've sprayed a fair amount of Onmi and Nason. They are about 1/2 as expensive. I know a lot of people that use Cross-Fire (Sherwin Williams' lower level paint) and love it. The same can be said for off-brand clearcoats, like "Southern Polyurethanes" that was mentioned above. There are way too many of these companies to list these days. I've tried a few and have had great results. For my current vette, I've used Nason 2k high build primer and will seal with Nason urethane sealer (non-sanding), paint with Nason silver and topcoat with Trans Star Euro clear, which I've heard very good reviews of. I was going to go all Martin Senour as I have all the thinners and base-making solvents already, but at the time they were out of one of the base making tints and I didn't want to wait. I thought I'd try a 'coctail' just to show people the 2nd tier products are very good. My brother just squirted a 68 mustang convert with Cross-Fire and it looks great. Like I've said, the polyurethane technology was new 15 years ago, but everyone's got it now. You'll see some Polyester's out there, but I haven't gone that route. And think about it, your vette won't exactly be sitting outside for 10 years baking under the hot sun.
If you are new to painting, the best suggestion I think would be to stick with a top line brand like, DuPont or PPG, or Martin Senour, and use their products exclusively throughout. Reason is, part of what you pay for is the 'insurance' policy and if something doesn't go right, they'll stand behind ya. 99 times out of 100 if there's a problem, it comes down to the body guy cutting corners or using the wrong solvents inadvertently or incorrectly. You get a warranty of sorts if it's a product issue. That's my recommendation to you.
Now, let me give you a hot tip that will save you a lot of money: Go to a woodworking store and get yourself some 'Bloxygen' product, 1 can. It's a spray of non oxegen gasses. Spray that in your hardener (especially if you go Martin Senour) after you use it. It will keep it from setting up in the can over the months if you don't use it. At $60/pint or whatever it is now, it's a pisser when you go to use it and 2/3 of the can set up since the last paint job. Also, put in your excess paint once you are finished painting so it keeps. You can send a check for the money I just saved ya
Tec-Prime 5100 is what I've always used. It's M/S' urethane 2k high-build primer. I've got a couple vehicles in my driveway with 10+ yr old ungaraged M/S finishes that attest that it holds up great.
That being said, the technology of urethane primers and paint has been 'out of the box' for many years. There are a lot of lower-priced products out there that in my mind are as good or even better. I've used them on projects, some of my own, and they've held up fine for, well, it's got to be 5 years now, maybe more. My favorite is Morton 2k by USC. I've used others, I'm using Dupont Nason 2k for my 81. I wouldn't be afraid to use some of the lower-priced 2k primers, and name brand topcoats.
PPG and DuPont are also good. Personally, after using Omni (PPG's lower level paint) and Nason (DuPont's lower level paint) for a few years, I've gravitated towards them and don't use any DuPont name brand paint anymore. The paint market has changed over the years. These paint company top level names are typically marketed towards production bodyshops, and the second tier products (Omni, Nason, Cross-Fire) towards smaller shops and hobbiests. People I know that use them, including myself, say they are indistinguishable from the top name products. Ive heard people say the pigments aren't as good, and maybe that was the case years ago, but I haven't found that to be the case in my experience, and I've sprayed a fair amount of Onmi and Nason. They are about 1/2 as expensive. I know a lot of people that use Cross-Fire (Sherwin Williams' lower level paint) and love it. The same can be said for off-brand clearcoats, like "Southern Polyurethanes" that was mentioned above. There are way too many of these companies to list these days. I've tried a few and have had great results. For my current vette, I've used Nason 2k high build primer and will seal with Nason urethane sealer (non-sanding), paint with Nason silver and topcoat with Trans Star Euro clear, which I've heard very good reviews of. I was going to go all Martin Senour as I have all the thinners and base-making solvents already, but at the time they were out of one of the base making tints and I didn't want to wait. I thought I'd try a 'coctail' just to show people the 2nd tier products are very good. My brother just squirted a 68 mustang convert with Cross-Fire and it looks great. Like I've said, the polyurethane technology was new 15 years ago, but everyone's got it now. You'll see some Polyester's out there, but I haven't gone that route. And think about it, your vette won't exactly be sitting outside for 10 years baking under the hot sun.
If you are new to painting, the best suggestion I think would be to stick with a top line brand like, DuPont or PPG, or Martin Senour, and use their products exclusively throughout. Reason is, part of what you pay for is the 'insurance' policy and if something doesn't go right, they'll stand behind ya. 99 times out of 100 if there's a problem, it comes down to the body guy cutting corners or using the wrong solvents inadvertently or incorrectly. You get a warranty of sorts if it's a product issue. That's my recommendation to you.
Now, let me give you a hot tip that will save you a lot of money: Go to a woodworking store and get yourself some 'Bloxygen' product, 1 can. It's a spray of non oxegen gasses. Spray that in your hardener (especially if you go Martin Senour) after you use it. It will keep it from setting up in the can over the months if you don't use it. At $60/pint or whatever it is now, it's a pisser when you go to use it and 2/3 of the can set up since the last paint job. Also, put in your excess paint once you are finished painting so it keeps. You can send a check for the money I just saved ya
Last edited by Mark G; 05-12-2008 at 10:18 PM.
