Buttersvette

My car is going to be painted on Monday or Tuesday. After much thought I am staying with Daytona blue , the original color. I have seen so many different thoughts on how many coats there needs to be. (How many base and how many clear?). I am sure the painter will have an idea but just wondering what others have done. It will be base/clear. I really have no idea. I am sure there are many factors involved.

CorvetteMikeB

Nice color choice. What color is your interior?

Factoid

This entirely depends on the finish you want. Typically, two coats of base and three coats of clear allow you to color sand the clear to a smooth finish. For a “perfect” finish, then add three more coats of clear and color sand to a mirror like finish. If you want a more factory finish complete with orange peal, don’t color sand and only use two coats of clear.

Ken Sungela

You and your painted should agree to what type of finish you want BEFORE he paints. This will impact price of course. # of base coats depends mostly on the quality of base coat paint being used and how well it covers. # of clear coats depends on how nice you want the surface to look, orange peel to mirror like, and the quality of the clear coat paint being used. I would leave this up to the painted after you tell him what you want.

Buttersvette

My interior was changed from saddle to black but I am going back to something like saddle. Will never be a factory original car because of replacement block so I want the paint to pop in the sun if that makes sense. I don’t care about original orange peel. So I guess I would say mirror finish. I saw a few people say three base coat but never said how many clear coats. Corvettes are in such a different world when it comes to other cars and I have never had one painted. Not sure if fiberglass requires different coverage than a metal car???

elwood13

My painter is doing two coats of paint and four coats of clear.

cv67

Go for the wetlook, pile on the clear and pay good $ for colorsanding its totally worth it.
Orange peel looks bad period. Darker colors the less the better it looks.

When you can read off a box in the reflection of your paint you got a good job.

DansYellow66

But you have to be able to read backwards.

Factoid

^This!

Extra points for the paint showing the ripple in the polishing compound label vs. the other way around!

Frankie the Fink

Careful - you'll be accused of having a "glazed ham" finish!

GTOguy

Different Strokes.....I would never have a 'wet look' classic car. Can't stand the look. Don't care for clearcoat, either, as I tend to keep my cars a long time, and have yet to see a clear coat that won't peel like sunburn in 15 years. No thank you.

karkrafter

Depends on the brand of paint, I put a gallon [unthinned] of Montero Red on my '65 GTO and it still wasn't covered. Went back to the paint store for another quart while it was getting sprayed , because I know it's there I can still see ghosting. Painter blamed it on the 'shop' brand paint but the good stuff was almost double $$. Red is 'spensive.

DansYellow66

It's PPG single stage. Not particularly wet looking - just flat and slick.

CorvetteMikeB

Is that the standard application 2 paint + 4 clear or is that what your painter does??

elwood13

I ask for more of glossy/show finish so that is the route he is taking. Not sure what he does for an NCRS car.

csherman

- Base - depends on coverage and transparency - it depends on the color - depends on the brand of paint used - there are too many variables to say - your painter should do a spray out card to determine.