Re: 2-tone paint job on 23rd series

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2012/12/22 9:08:26

Larry51, the traditional nitrocellulose lacquer paint jobs on the high-end cars from the classic era often used as many as a dozen coats of laquer with hand rubbing or wet sanding between coats. And they weren't clear-coated. I don't know that "patina" is the word to describe the resultant depth of finish which is something that really can only be achieved today by using lacquer. I know of several recent Pebble Beach winners that were done with lacquer and no clear coat. You've really got to see one of these finishes in person to fully appreciate them. And though today's paints are so very much durable (resistant to chipping for example) and resistant to surface oxidation, those old lacquer paints, especially the non-metallics, can have remarkable longevity. There are plenty of examples of cars from the early 30s with original paint that are still quite outstanding. The body tub of my 34 Eight is still original factory paint. The painting that I did redo, fenders, sidemount covers, hood, were done about 30 years ago in nitrocellulose and still look like new. Were I to consider having a high-value Full Classic repainted today, I'd probably go againw with lacquer. For a car to be driven more regularly and of lesser intrinsic value, I'd think single stage urethane (for a non-metallic).