Alrighty then, thanx for the answers and sorry for hi-jacking the thread ByteSize!

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1978 Leyland Clubman S

Actually the "hi-jack" answered everything I needed to know.

Thanks guys

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1968 Mini-Matic ex998 Now 1098

But seriously here, as Phat rightly sent a pm to me, keep all electrical and ignition devices right away from any spraying or paint storage areas.
The stuff is incredibly flamable!

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

I have done a few acrylic jobs in winter in the Blue Mountains (= very cold!)
I just used heat lamps and a couple of heaters to raise the room temperature and make sure the car has warmed up before painting.

correct morris! its not just about warming the enviroment your spraying in, but mostly warming the job to be sprayed through!
But again, bugger the heating lamps off when spraying!
Only have the lighting that is a necessity for seeing what your spraying!

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

And a Led Zep CD going Paint sticks better to stairway to heaven

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

So... what do people see as the downsides to acrylic? I'm about to respray the new acquisition and the old man is pretty handy with the gun. I know we're not going to get that stunning mirror finish of 2pak, but are there any other obvious pitfalls?

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http://www.rylstoneclassic.com

I say up front I am not a painter, however the best finishes I have seen are Acrylic

Acrylic Paints do need more care and maintenance. They are (IMO) more easily repaired too.

2K is essentially 'gloss off the gun', pretty much what you see after spraying is what you get, but I am told that it can be buffed. It is harder wearing than Acrylic.

If you are painting at home, Acrylics you can get away with, but DO NOT even think about using 2K at home. Why too toxic.

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I agree with what has been said already. Yes - you can be surprised on how stunning you can get acrylic - alot of times the job is only half finished, meaning the compounding and polishing is not done either correctly or to the right degree. This can give acrylic a dull appearance. I have seen many jobs where it is straight off the gun and the owner complains about the peel, lack of shine etc. It takes time to get a nice finish.

Regarding the pros and cons I would ask ,myself a few questions.

Is the car going to 'live' outside?
What sort of finish do you expect for the amount of money you have?
What is actually underneath that original paint?

UV and sunlight are the biggest killer of acrylics, however the latest paints are certainly better in this respect. If your car is going to live out in the sunshine beside the coast then, yes, the acrylic will break down eventually. If it lives in the garage, goes out on a Sunday drive, is cared for, cleaned and kept waxed then no problems.

My Deluxe below falls into the latter category and the acrylic has a nice depth in colour, smooth finish and nice and shiney.






The Moke I am working on now will be a 'drive to the beach car', parked next to the ocean in hot sun during summer and for that reason it is being done in 2 pak.

Some years ago I had asked a few painters to put the colour on a car that I had prepped and had in primer,and all politely refused. The reason is they don't know what is underneath. One recounted a story of painting a car only to have the surface breakdown because the person doing the primer etc had not used gloves and had contaminated the surface with sweat and oils from their hands and this eventaully led to the top coat failing in patches. The owner blamed the painter, the painter blamed the owner!

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Dave K.
1979 Moke Californian + 1981 'Coke' Moke

in my opinion, both acrylic and 2K give a great finish. Both can be compounded and polished!
I only use 2K at work because thats what I have at hand.

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

+1

Both can give a great finish (its all up to the madman waving the gun).

These days though, if I had the choice and a spraybooth and correct PPE (air feed face mask and sperm suit) I would use 2k. It lasts longer with less attention (as MiniDave has pointed out).

The reasons I push hobiests working in their back yards to use acrylic are:

1- its far more forgiving if you've had little experience

2- It won't give your kids and dog organ failior

3- Its cheaper (and thats always a good thing when you know that you are probably going to have re work)

4- Its still legal to use at home.

Your Mini (was ours once) is 2 pack all over now. If you want to redo it in acrylic, every skerrick of 2 pack has to come off. Preferably to bare metal.

I would strip and redo it in 2 pack, but sprayed by a painter with a booth & all the gear, don't spray 2K at home in the garage like the guy who built it did.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

If you dont mind me asking, what do you want to respray for? Is it a colour change, freshening up the old paint, etc?

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

Unless it's been painted since we sold it, some of the paint has fried up where it's been hot from sitting in the sun. It looked fine for years, until I drove it to work for 6 months whilst mine was laid up.....
I had the bonnet redone by a painter, he said it looked like the prep was wrong or the paint mixing was suss.
The white roof is OK, it is a different brand of paint put on later.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.