I am thinking of stripping and repainting my 75 convertible. The car is code 56 bright yellow. Since I am old school I think that nothing beats a good lacquer job on a Vette. My car has a good bit of the original lacquer paint that still shines and shows well.

The car has the normal chips and a few cracks. Since I don't know how the car lived its first 28 years and how much it was outside year round.

Now I know base/clear will hold up better but they never look as good as a lacquer job. Since I own the car it is garage kept and never out in bad weather. So I think if I lacquer it this should last me for another 30 years for how much the car gets used.

Ok lets hear it!!!

 

A vote for base/clear.
Larry

 

Many states wont allow the use of lacquer anymore...and a good painter can add some basecoat tint to the final clear and make it pretty much look like a lacquer job.

Nick

 

QUESTION :

Is it really a huge difference ?

I Don't think i have ever seen both parked side by side, nor would i know the difference............input from paint guys would be interesting to hear !!

 

If lacquer was still available, I would not use it. Shrinkage, cracking and weathering are some of it's drawbacks. Properly applied, wet-sanded and polished, even single stage urethanes will knock your socks off!

 

I would use base coat clear, or poly. I remember I worked in a bodyshop back around 1979 and I had a black vette. We painted it with laquer a couple of times and it always ended up with crows feet and cracks. It does look good when it works right.. Our problem was possibly primer or just a mistake in the prep. I have one with base/clear and one with polyurathane. They both look good. The polyurathane, sands and buffs easier.. Just my opinion, for what its worth..Good luck either way.

 

Answer to your question go to a NCRS show and look at 63-67 cars you can always tell the lacquer cars from the others. Lacquer has a smooth wet look to it. Base Coat has a fake plastic look to it.

 

We were shooting clear for the past 40 years, we just used lacquer clear, and didn't call it base/clear (most GOOD lacquer REPAINTS, especialy metalics were clear coated). Unless your into NCRS, it's hard to beat the durability, ease of aplication and eye appeal of urethanes.

 

lacquer paints are getting hard to come by, besides, there is a reason the b/c urethanes are taking over. the urethanes are far superior. As far as the urethane looking dull, im not sure what the meaning was. have painted lacquer, and b/c urethanes, i find the urethanes to look so much wetter, and deeper than the lacquers, not to mention you dont need as many coats. just my opinion

 

I agree, I had my 69 done in lacquer 8 years ago and it looks great. Don't like the "plastic look". You have to find out if they are still using solvent base lacquer.

 

Well, I guess you answered your own question....

 

Mine was done in laquer too! 38 year ago

 

My .02: Go with the original acrylic lacquer if your state still allows it and you can find someone who knows how to apply it.

 

Mine is laquer and while it still looks great after all these years it has started to chip very easily. I would not use laquer now. A base/clear job that has been properly wet sanded and buffed will look amazing and be much more durable. The shine will be the same. The base/clear color match to original is just a little tiny bit "darker" especialy for the metallics but the single stage solid colors should look identical to the original.

-Mark.

 

I painted mine in Lacquer about 3 years ago. It still looks great, but If I ever need to paint it again, I will go Basecoat/Clearcoat. The shine and durability can't be had with Lacquer. Just my .02

 

theres no way a laquer paint job will ever look better than a nicely done bc/cc.

 

I repainted my car in lacquer using the base/clear method. It does in fact look great and there is a difference between lacquer and urethane paint jobs. But you have to look towards the future. I just went through hell trying to find lacquer to paint my new L88 hood. Many manufacturers are phasing it out and it will only be more difficult to find in the future. And you will definitely need it in the future because you will get cracks, stone chips and other normal wear on the paint job. Lacquer is very brittle and only gets more brittle with age so its going to chip easier and crack easier and will need repair. The biggest advantage of lacquer is that it is very forgiving to spray and only requires a respirator for safety. Urethane paints require a fresh air breathing system because of the toxic nature of the product. If you don't use a fresh air system you are taking your life and lungs into your own hands. Don't believe me, ask around. The other problem with lacquer is the long drying time. A lacquer primer should sit at least 2 weeks or more before sanding due to shrinkage. The topcoats should also sit for at least two weeks before color sanding but it's better to have them sit at least a month. If you don't wait, and color sand right away (which is required for lacquer since it doesn't dry to a shine from the gun), you will be color sanding again at a later date after the paint has shrunk. You will see some people point to their original lacquer jobs and tell you how great they've held up over the years. Just remember that what you get in the aftermarket isn't even close to what the factory used back then. Original paints were dried by heat and had a different composition than the newer paints so don't expect them to act the same way. Also, lacquer will require a hell of a lot more maintenance than urethane. Even though your car will be kept in a garage the shrinkage and continual drying of the paint will require polishing and waxing more often than a urethane paint job. And don't even think of putting a car cover over it for at least 6 months or you'll see the pattern of the fabric in the paint. Ask me how I know. You're best bet is to go with an epoxy primer and then top it off with a basecoat/clearcoat from any of the big manufacturers. You'll end up with a durable paint job that will require minimum maintenance and last for years. Good luck.

 

I beg to differ. My car is black with clear.