Does anyone know the pros and cons of 2pack paint vs acryllic paint, and which one i should use to repaint a whole car?

4L Acryllic is on special at the moment, 3M brand, $95 colours, cheaper for clear. Im not sure which way i should go, as ive heard 2 pack is longer lasting and a finish straight off the gun, less paint and much much less sanding.

With zero experience, but trying to remember articles I read long ago...

Acryllic paint is cheaper, easier to apply and does the job.

2 Pak provides a deeper finish/colour, it requires baking in an oven to set or cure the paint. If done right, the final appearance can be baby smooth, whereas I think acrylic is more prone to an orange peel style finish.

That's about all I think I can remember actually.

2 pack is better than acrylic, but if you don't have the dustproof temp/humidity controlled booth, high quality spray equipment and an experienced operator equipped with safety gear, use acrylic instead. Acrylic can be applied with in a less technologically advanced environment, ie under my carport. lol $300 of materials to do a full colour change, but the biggest investment is not money, it is your time and effort. If you have never waved a spraygun at a car, start with acrylic and don't expect a brilliant job, that comes only after you have done 3 or 4 cars. Treat your first car as a learning experience. Clear not needed if you go for a solid colour, don't try a metallic as you will be embarassed by the results.

Eventually there will be room in the shed, and can set up plastic sheets and heaters for some dust/temp control. Dad has a fairly big air compressor, and a spray gun (from back when he painted his car, years and years ago) but im not sure if he would let me spray 2pack through it, i think its a fairly expensive one.

I can give yo a full run down about them, as I went through this sort of thinking myself recently.....so here you go:

Acrylic:
Pro's:
- Cheap to buy supplies
- Easy for beginners as mistakes can easily be fixed
- Can be done in backyard as long as it is sealed from dirt well during spray
- Can actually look as/nearly as good as 2pac but requires skills and patience
- Dries pretty quick

Cons:
- Alot less resistant to sun fade, chips,scratches etc - 2k is much tougher and resistant
- Only shiny when clear coat is applied
- Not as long lasting - i.e. probs won't look as good as 2k after a few years if not maintained
- Needs more maintenance than 2k
- Can look 'flat', and has can have different finish to 2k ....and

2Pac
Pro's
- Shiny off the gun
- Very Hard wearing against chips & scratches
- Finish Lasts longer than acrylic
- If done right finish Looks fantastic for a long time

Con's
- Gives off ALOT of toxic fumes and chemicals so you LEGALLY need a booth to spray with it
- More expensive to buy supplies
- Much more tricker to spray than acrylic....orange peel, runs etc are seen very easily and very hard to fix once sprayed and set
- Takes hours to dry in which it has to be sealed off from dirt or you'll be buffing heaps...
- IMHO Needs a pro to do it - homejob will look nasty unleses you're really good with your hands....even pro's get it wrong!
- No way near as forgiving if you stuff up and it sets dry...
- It is hard wearing but if you remove a part it, it require the panel to be resprayed...

This is pretty much what pro's and con's I gathered about acrylic & 2k after doing my own research in what to do for my car when it needed to be resprayed....I'm probably wrong in some things though....have a chat to Mal if you want further clarification - he does know how to spray paint very well...

If you don't want to spend 2.5-3k for the pro's to do a 2k job then I would 100% recommend Acrylic ....its great for beginners as its much easier to work with and fix up mistakes, cheap to buy paint and if you're prepared to put the work in you can get a nice finish with it...get it right and I'm sure alot of people won't know the car has been sprayed with acrylic....you also can't legally spray 2k in your backyard, it stinks bigtime and can be harmful...some of the chemicals that are in some 2k materials can actually eat away at your lungs...2k is way too hard for a beginner - heck even pro's get it wrong! (my car is sitting in the workshop again because the spray painter got orange peel everywhere) .....before you do spraying make sure the prep work is good... this is paramount - a paintjob will only ever be as good as the prep work....spraying acrylic on 2k will require alot of tedious sanding but it will make the difference when you do the spray and years later the car still good....you'll need to clean the car well first all to get rid any residue,dirt etc, then more ontop bogging up the body work where there are dints etc....and then sand....start with a course sandpaper (i.e. 400 grit) and work your way down to finer and finer sandpaper (2000 grit) ....when the car is really dull and you've taken out the clear coat as well as took out alot of the colour of the base layer then you're ready to spray...i personally would recommend taking off all mouldings, handles, seals etc instead of taping up everything...taping up is a bad idea...

Good luck with it - hope it works out for you :) Do some research - it can get you far.. I saw the worklog of this green lancer getting a acrylic paintjob and the finish was fantastic...just goes to show that it is possible to get a really nice finish with acrylic....

My garage has got plastic curtains & 300watt exhaust fan with ducting & yet shit still lands on it (2pack) & gets stuck since it takes longer to dry, the biggest challenge for me is getting right temperature in the garage. Im no pro by any means but since it your first time go with acrylic, its just easier to work with & you can get just as shiny it requires more effort when sanding/polishing but with right products its not that big of a task.

My garage has got plastic curtains & 300watt exhaust fan with ducting & yet shit still lands on it (2pack) & gets stuck since it takes longer to dry, the biggest challenge for me is getting right temperature in the garage. Im no pro by any means but since it your first time go with acrylic, its just easier to work with & you can get just as shiny it requires more effort when sanding/polishing but with right products its not that big of a task.

You do realise this is illegal right? If your neighbours reported you doing this, you could receive serious fines - up to 20k....2k can be very dangerous for yours and others health as well - like I said some chemicals have been known to cause damage to the lungs.....hire a booth if you have too...serious if you hunt around you can get them for like $100-200 p/day ....truly a small price to pay....

You do realise this is illegal right? If your neighbours reported you doing this, you could receive serious fines - up to 20k....2k can be very dangerous for yours and others health as well - like I said some chemicals have been known to cause damage to the lungs.....hire a booth if you have too...serious if you hunt around you can get them for like $100-200 p/day ....truly a small price to pay....

It's not illegal if it's vented like his above. For that reason alone, it needs venting to move air.

Try and hire a booth, any runs on 2K are easily rubbed out with some 2000G sandpaper and a cork block, then polish smooth, won't even know they are there :)
Beginners, use acrylic, although unfortunately if you are after a top notch shine you will be disappointed with acrylic as it will never have the shine 2K does. Saying that, I only get my stuff painted in 2K now as trying to get a good shine with acrylic is a PITA.

Yep to all of the above. First time painters always overestimate their ability to get a good job first off, and underestimate the time needed to do it properly. The paint work takes a few hours, the prep takes ages. For every hour spent painting count on 30 to 50 hours of pre prep and post paint work. I have painted a number of cars, including my current 2 TS Magnas. I use solid colour acrylic, I would never try 2 pac or clear over metallic acrylic, as the job will turn out badly.

Feel free though to ignore all of the advice given, but be warned that you can end up a car that you will be too embarassed to drive, lol

Plenty of advice/info on the web outside of this forum.

;1267785']
Try and hire a booth, any runs on 2K are easily rubbed out with some 2000G sandpaper and a cork block, then polish smooth, won't even know they are there :)


Taking out runs/orange peel is far from easy compared to acrylic.....it takes alot of sanding to get runs out and if you're a beginner you're likely to have alot of runs/orange peel etc....its much easier to take out mistakes with acrylic....


;1267785']
Beginners, use acrylic, although unfortunately if you are after a top notch shine you will be disappointed with acrylic as it will never have the shine 2K does. Saying that, I only get my stuff painted in 2K now as trying to get a good shine with acrylic is a PITA.

Well you'd be surprised on how good of a finish can be done with acrylic.....if you put alot of time and energy into - you can get a really nice finish - check out this guy's (http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11214626&page=1&pp=25) acrylic respray of his green lancer off the forumforums (you'll need an account) ...the finish is fantastic for an acrylic spray job - I doubt eyou would never know that's not 2pac if some didn't tell you....Tmi you might want to create an account, if you don't already have one, and have a chat with the user - might be able to give you some tips ;)

You do realise this is illegal right? If your neighbours reported you doing this, you could receive serious fines - up to 20k....2k can be very dangerous for yours and others health as well -
I also got a filter at the end of my duct thank you very much!

Taking out runs/orange peel is far from easy compared to acrylic.....it takes alot of sanding to get runs out and if you're a beginner you're likely to have alot of runs/orange peel etc....its much easier to take out mistakes with acrylic....

Disagree there. I've painted many bumpers and interior parts before in acrylic and when there is a run, its the exact same process.
No matter what paint type, you still need wet type sandpaper and a cork block to smooth runs out, I don't see how it differs.


And it's all in the prepwork. My wheel took 20~ hours to prep and my bonnet close to 45~ hours. Pays off in the end with a stunning finish.

;1267793']Disagree there. I've painted many bumpers and interior parts before in acrylic and when there is a run, its the exact same process.
No matter what paint type, you still need wet type sandpaper and a cork block to smooth runs out, I don't see how it differs.


And it's all in the prepwork. My wheel took 20~ hours to prep and my bonnet close to 45~ hours. Pays off in the end with a stunning finish.

What I'm saying is that with acrylic you put the clear on later so you can sand out the base layer much easier, 2k is shiny off the gun so when it runs you actually have to sand the clear top layer as well = more work no?....but I do agree that once the clear coat has been painted then they're as annoying as each other....

But definetely agree with prepwork - as they say the paintjob will only ever be as good as the prep work .... spend the time sanding and prep-ing the surface and the paint will last for long time, skimp on properly sanding everything back and you'll have some serious issues on your hands later when the paint starts peeling/fading and even poping up....I've seen the aftermath of poor backyard sprayjobs that weren't prep-d very well and within a year you had paint poping and peeling off...truly nasty stuff....

Just found this - The $50 Paintjob (http://www.rickwrench.com/index79master.htm?http://www.rickwrench.com/50dollarpaint.html) .... he used rollers and paintbrushes!! Finish is actually pretty good too...

Not really dude, weather base coat or top coat, if there are runs, you need to sand them? So either way, it's just as much work sanding runs.

...

aidan, have you ACTUALLY had ANY experience ACTUALLY painting a car? ANYTHING?

aidan, have you ACTUALLY had ANY experience ACTUALLY painting a car? ANYTHING?

Ian, mate whats your problem with me? Do you think that someone actually has to first hand experience with something to know about it?! My car got returned today after getting sprayed and before I gave it to a pro I did alot of research into using both paints, reading off forums/guides etc and spoken to many spray painter's/panel beaters, not to mention the fact that my dad is a painter as well who has actually done a few car resprays (albeit acrylic..) and knows retired professionals......... I can't what you see wrong about what I've said.... most people will agree with me except Paul who made a point about the sanding back after runs/orange peel with 2k.....

Ian painted his own car in 2K so he doesn't need to refute anything :P

;1268051']Ian painted his own car in 2K so he doesn't need to refute anything :P

Waw impressive! From the pics I've seen the car had a good finish too....how'd he manage to do it by himself like that? ... I would've never dared to do it myself despite having a dad who has done car resprays with acrylic...then again my car isn't like 15 years old either...if it'd be an old car I'd probably have a crack at it....

Waiting on moderator activation, cant see the lancer on fordforums yet.
I dont have a ventilated booth, so no 2pak i dont think. Can/do you sand 2pack like acryllic to get a dead flat surface finish? And ive heard of people using a 2pack undercoat and acryllic paint, but also heard that 2pack clear over acryllic paint goes bad and peels. Is there any do's and donts with mixing and matching? And how does acryllic go on plastic and fiberglass?
I also wanted to do my car coke red perhaps, black base, red sparkles, clear. Its a metallic red at the moment (whats left of the paint) since ive heard regency needs to look at your car if you change the colour.
Also, matte finishes - ive heard these are bad on cars as they can absorb water and cause rust - true or false? If i sealed it with gloss underneath would it be ok? If so i might start looking a bit harder for a white 2nd gen.

the guy asked for a simple answer pros cons of both types of paint........in my opinion go with the 2pac or dont bother acrylic is no longer used in the automotive industry for many reasons the main 1 being that 2 pac is a far superior product it produces a cleaner finish and is easier to tidy up and more durable if you are looking for a finish that will withstand time and and have a show car shine with out the hastles of countless hours of buffing and applying clear coat after clear coat go with 2pac will save you time and $$$ !!!! as for the coment made on do you have to have first hand experience on this matter......... well in my opinion YES YOU DO!!! in this trade the way we apply paint ,tidy up afterwards ect changes as much as you change your undies and im sure others in the same trade on this forum would much agree that is why people pay the $$$ for the pros to do it, any 1 can read and ask for information but puting it into practice is a compleatly differant story!!

the guy asked for a simple answer pros cons of both types of paint........in my opinion go with the 2pac or dont bother acrylic is no longer used in the automotive industry for many reasons the main 1 being that 2 pac is a far superior product it produces a cleaner finish and is easier to tidy up and more durable if you are looking for a finish that will withstand time and and have a show car shine with out the hastles of countless hours of buffing and applying clear coat after clear coat go with 2pac will save you time and $$$ !!!! as for the coment made on do you have to have first hand experience on this matter......... well in my opinion YES YOU DO!!! in this trade the way we apply paint ,tidy up afterwards ect changes as much as you change your undies and im sure others in the same trade on this forum would much agree that is why people pay the $$$ for the pros to do it, any 1 can read and ask for information but puting it into practice is a compleatly differant story!!

Buddy you need the read this thread properly..... :beer:

....if you had read the thread properly you'd realise he was talking about doing 2pac himself in his shed........no one is saying 2k is bad...we all know its better and for good reason but its best left to the pro's (heck sometimes they can't even do it properly!) ...I'd never recommend a beginner to do try and do a 2k job themself.... this is about doing a backyard sprayjob not which paint in general is better for spraying cars...2k is a no brainer when we're talking purely about the material alone exclusive of whose going to spray it.....thats a whole different kettle of fish.....plus the op also said that they don't have the proper facilities for 2k spraying so that rules that option out completely......

The comment I made about needing first hand experience was in regard to knowing about the pro's and con's of using either paint....I really don't think you need to spray with both acrylic and 2k paint first hand to know their advantages/disadvantages .... someone else whose done it/does it regularly can tell you, and if don't have the memory of a fish, you'll remember..... I didn't talk from my arse, I was basing what I said on what others have said - including pro's who've done both type of spraying...... I did not make comments about the level of workmanship required to spray...a pro is always best but when you car could be worth as/near as much as the price of getting it professional resprayed, its fair to question and seek other ways to spray for cheaper....of course you need experience to talk about how to do the spray specifically...

Buddy you need the read this thread properly..... :beer:

....if you had read the thread properly you'd realise he was talking about doing 2pac himself in his shed........no one is saying 2k is bad...we all know its better and for good reason but its best left to the pro's (heck sometimes they can't even do it properly!) ...I'd never recommend a beginner to do try and do a 2k job themself.... this is about doing a backyard sprayjob not which paint in general is better for spraying cars...2k is a no brainer when we're talking purely about the material alone exclusive of whose going to spray it.....thats a whole different kettle of fish.....plus the op also said that they don't have the proper facilities for 2k spraying so that rules that option out completely......

The comment I made about needing first hand experience was in regard to knowing about the pro's and con's of using either paint....I really don't think you need to spray with both acrylic and 2k paint first hand to know their advantages/disadvantages .... someone else whose done it/does it regularly can tell you, and if don't have the memory of a fish, you'll remember..... I didn't talk from my arse, I was basing what I said on what others have said - including pro's who've done both type of spraying...... I did not make comments about the level of workmanship required to spray...a pro is always best but when you car could be worth as/near as much as the price of getting it professional resprayed, its fair to question and seek other ways to spray for cheaper....of course you need experience to talk about how to do the spray specifically...


Does anyone know the pros and cons of 2pack paint vs acryllic paint, and which one i should use to repaint a whole car?


As long as your garage is fairly clean/closed and has good VENTILATION, Wet the floor with a hose to keep concrete dust at bay and give spraying it a go. Then when it's done just don't open or go in the garage for a good 4 days while it drys.

So yeah pretty sure he was actually the pro's and con's :P

Ho Hum, it's the old "2 pack versus acrylic" slinging match. It's happened before. Quite boring really.

The OP wants to gain experience with spray painting, nothing wrong with that, that's how we all learn. We have outlined the pros and cons as he wanted, it's now up to him to go ahead (or not) and hopefully end up with paintwork that looks acceptable. I'm sure that if it turns out well he will post some pictures, if things go wrong it's up to him to work out why and what to do about it. It's a learning experience.

To answer your questions:

Q: "And ive heard of people using a 2pack undercoat and acryllic paint"

A: Yes, but they need to be compatible. Ask your paint supplier.


Q:" but also heard that 2pack clear over acryllic paint goes bad and peels."

A: Yes it does. A big mistake if you do that. Cut back to the undercoat and start again.


Q:" Is there any do's and donts with mixing and matching? "

A:" You need to do some reading. Go to one of the paint manufacturer web sites and read their do's and don'ts. All manufacturers suggest that you use one system for all fillers and paint layers, be it 2 pack or acrylic, and you stick to the one supplier/manufacturer. Good advice.

Q:" And how does acryllic go on plastic and fiberglass?"

A:" Plastic primer is used, and flex agent are added to the colour coats. Research needed here!

Q:" I also wanted to do my car coke red perhaps, black base, red sparkles, clear. Its a metallic red at the moment (whats left of the paint)"

A: Way too ambitious. Metallic acrylic will change hue depending on gun pressure, air temperature, humidity, spray technique. Drying time determines if the metal flakes lie flat or stand up in the paint layer. You get light and dull patches if this varies. You won't get it right unless you spray the whole car in one go. I prefer to paint individual panels off the car and the body separately so I stick to solid colour. Makes touch up later easier too, with metallic repainting a panel a year later can give a poor colour match. Heck, I'm using white acrylic topcoat (Scotia white) without clear and even then spot repairs show up a different colour, so I pull off the panel and respray the whole thing, even if it is only a scratch repair.

Q:" since ive heard regency needs to look at your car if you change the colour."

A: Not in SA. You just need to inform the registry people that the car is a different colour. I never bother.

Q:" Also, matte finishes - ive heard these are bad on cars as they can absorb water and cause rust - true or false?"

A: True, all paint layers will absorb moisture until you get the topcoat on. A matte finish would need to be of automotive topcoat quality.

Q:" If i sealed it with gloss underneath would it be ok?"

A:" Matte over gloss? Might work, if you use the same paint type.

;1268197']As long as your garage is fairly clean/closed and has good VENTILATION, Wet the floor with a hose to keep concrete dust at bay and give spraying it a go. Then when it's done just don't open or go in the garage for a good 4 days while it drys.

So yeah pretty sure he was actually the pro's and con's :P

Really?


Eventually there will be room in the shed, and can set up plastic sheets and heaters for some dust/temp control. Dad has a fairly big air compressor, and a spray gun (from back when he painted his car, years and years ago) but im not sure if he would let me spray 2pack through it, i think its a fairly expensive one.

Thanks heaps everyone. Im not going to be painting for a while anyway, there isnt room in the shed at the moment and its a bit cold to spend every night out there wet sanding. If i did do coke red, would i need to spray with the panels on the car, or if i had them off and made sure i used the same direction as the rest of the body (e.g. hang the doors up the way they come off the car) and sprayed everything at the same time, would it match? Im not expecting a showroom finish, but id like to avoid orange peel and colour mismatching that would happen if i just resprayed my bonnet/roof/boot. Does sanding a metallic paint ruin it, e.g. cutting into or pulling out the flakes when finishing before clear?

Go the 2k setup but first try on an old panel etc that you either have or can get, try different methods and then you do not destroy your car and lets face it, if you dont like what happens on the car, sand it back and try again

acryllic is good, cna look good for 10 times the amount of work, trust me, I used to only use acryllic but now have bene using 2k (finally caught up with the 1980's lol) and am not having issues


If you have to paint a large area, a boot style set up can be easily made. Wear a proper resperator and you will be fine

Sounds like your in for some fun times years ago my first paint job on a car I used cheap fast dry enamel!
it was easy to spray and it actually came out alright plus it had a glossy finish
I got the idea from my mates great uncle he used to paint rolls royce's with enamel but generally speaking for your first spray job everyone will tell you to use acrylic
anyway good luck with it!