dash paint

[John Hertog <crossram@xxxx>]

My 2 cents worth with regards to dash paint... when doing both 300F and
300G dahsboards, we took off a sample piece each of the dark grey ( for both
cars) and also the tan ( for 300F) and had them color-matched by The
Prophet, which my local auto body supply house uses.

Then the choice was, what type of paint to use ? single-stage, as Russ
suggested, or base / clear? I have learned never to argue with my bodyman,
Walt the Reprobate, because :
A/ I always lose and
B/ he does what he wants anyway and
C/ it always comes out great so why should I argue ?
Anyway, Walt elected to use base / clear PPG Deltron. Two coats of base were
sprayed on and then two coats of clear, but with flattening agent added in
to give the correct semi-gloss finish.

I've compared the results with an original dash , and, other than having
fresh paint on the restored dash, there is no difference in degree of gloss
or color. Looks good to me.

I think what really matters here is the "taste" and proficiency with any
specific type of paint that whatever person will be using. Today's paints
have come a long way, baby, and one can achieve virtually the same results
with base/clear versus a single-stage urethane. All that matters is the
preference. And, of course, what is available locally, but usually both
types are.

I forget exactly why, but when we restored my blue 300L, Walt elected to
paint the door jams, engine compartment, and inside the trunk with
single-stage urethane, and then painted the outer body with base/clear !

I guess, as far as outside body paint, single-stage will achieve a result
closer to the original acrylic enamel, whereas a wet-sanded and buffed out
base/clear will achieve a degree of depth and gloss greater than the
single-stage urethane - and even further removed from original factory
look.

But like I said, it's just my 2 cents' worth...

John