Quality and quantity

[brucer]

Hey guys, after a discussion with a possible bodyshop I might be using, he advised me to get 5litres of solvent based paint. This will give me lots of excess for future panels, but I presume this 5litres would be 2.5litres of paint an 2.5litres of thinner?

Ive contacted a local company that sells automotive paint and they have told me that they do a brand called lechler. Has anybody had any experience with this brand before? Reason I ask is that its only 35pound a litre and would expect a good quality paint to be a bit more expensive.

Any help is appreciated.

Bruce

[Nick J]

Lechler is a budget product but at the same time is ok gear to be honest. Most solvent basecoats have a thinning ratio of either 50/50 or 2:1. From what I can remember of lechler it used to be 50/50 so If you bought 5 litres once thinned you'd have 10 litres or even at 2:1 you'd end up with 7.5 litres. Either would be more than substantial to run round the car twice inside and out! All you need will be basecoat thinner to add to your colour. Then obviously you'll need the lacqeur with hardener and thinner (with most products) as some lacqeurs mainly (one hit) dont need thinner added to them. Hope this helps.

Nick.

[brucer]

yeh that helps a great deal, i wouldnt mind spending a bit more on a decent paint though. i dont think there are many paint stockests about me and would like to speak to them in person when they mix the paint.

how budget is it on a scale of one to ten? from what i was told it just wont be as sparkly/metalic from a good make. what other makes are out there that arnt mega expensive?

so realistically how many litres would i need to do the whole car and with a bit of excess left? if i went 3.5 litres and was 2:1 then thats 5.25 litres. would make it cheaper and still have excess.

thanks for the help nick.

[Nick J]

My experiance with the budget materials is a bit limited to be honest fella as the bodyshops I have worked in tend to use the top end materials. However as said Ive used lechler in the past and It was ok for the money. How course a metallic basecoat is should not differ between budget or top quality as this affects the colour and all manufacturers want to be able to offer a good match etc. The way products will differ is longevity and application. The first only being your problem really...... A budget product in simple terms will not look as good for as long as a top quality product. You get what you pay for Im afraid as with everything. Id imagine the shop whom you choose to use will be able to advise you on what they like to use and what results you can expect with said materials etc. Id buy as much as you can afford to...... After my previous car was painted I bought five litres of the exact same make/shade of paint for future use. It paid dividends as I could paint a single panel with no colour or finish issues.

Nick.

[bmw156]

off topic, but plus rep nick j for some top useful info

[brucer]

yeh i see what your saying, would a good quality basecoat be affected by a cheaper laquer? as the bodyshop said they would supply laquer and wouldnt want to spend money on a decent paint for it to look poo anyway.

[brucer]

off topic, but plus rep nick j for some top useful info


i already have.;)

[Nick J]

yeh i see what your saying, would a good quality basecoat be affected by a cheaper laquer? as the bodyshop said they would supply laquer and wouldnt want to spend money on a decent paint for it to look poo anyway.

If I was going to go for a cheap one out of the two I would go for cheaper base and more expensive lacqeur as thats the top coat that'll take the battering. A good quality lacqeur wont dull/bleach in sunlight and is likely to be more scratch resistant than cheaper alternatives.

Thanks both of you for the rep I'll always help were I can. :)

Nick.