Summit Racing Single Stage Paint

[garzas23]

Has anyone tried using summit single stage paints? Im working My way towards painting my 85 single cab swb. Please keep in mind im new to paint & body and im not going for a show truck finish lol. Im not against other brands but I can get each gallon of single stage for around $100 & clear around $50.

My question is mostly about the difficulty in spraying their metallic/pearl paints. I want to go with single stage for both cost & simplicity (dark blue or grey) with the single stage clear. BUT summit does not offer many basic gloss colors without metallic or pearls in single stage. They have nice gray and blue metallic but im concerned about how difficult it may be to spray metallic & pearls. They do have regular gloss black but Ive read that imperfections show really bad in black.

Also, anyone have an estimate on how many gallons of single stage i might need? I will be painting the cab inside/out, firewall, inner fenders, everything but the inside of the bed.

 

[smoothandlow84]

Metallic paints require a lot of patience...and several light coats for the application. If youmoverpsray metallics they run really easily. I'm not a fan of single stage paints as they dont last very long with sunlight. 2 stage paint would be beneficial if you want to spend a little more and paint less often. Depending on your budget and experience, single stage is a good first step and easier to apply. Pick up a high pressure, low volume air sprayer from a place like Harbor Freight Tools. They are around $35 and do a decent job with automotive single stage paints. You'll have to experiment a bit with the pressure at the gun in order to determine what psi works best. I painted my fiberglass shell on my 4x4 about 6 years ago with single stage metallic bergundy. It turned out even, but faded after about 3 years. My next step will be to spray a few coats of clear after wet sanding the surface. Remember, in order to get a good paint job it's all about the prep......clean, clean and clean. Dust is your enemy. Do you have a place to paint out of the elements...like a garage or temp paint booth?
The lighter the color, the more forgiving. Metallalics and especially pearls are tough to master. Black will show EVERYTHING. .

The amount of paint you will need will be close to 1 gallon. I used up two quarts for just my shell.

 

[garzas23]

Thanks for the helpful information.. I understand that the single stage may not last as long. But summit does offer a single stage clear and Im hoping that will atleast help protect the paint from UV and other elements for a little longer and I do plan on using it.

 

[carnation831]

I'm getting ready to do the summit single stage as well. I've done lots of reading and as with any paint job it will only look as good as you take care of it. Single stage needs to be waxed and buffed periodically to keep it looking good. I think that's easy for the amount of money you save on single stage.

 

[Georgeb]

I agree that single stage paint will work fine and look good for a long time if properly cared for. If you protect it with good quality polish and keep it clean. Metalics and pearls can be tricky but with some practice you can get a nice looking paint job. If you invest some of the money savings into a middle of the road HVLP gun and make sure you have enough available compressed air CFM. Prctice on some old hoods or anything else that mimics a vertical surface like the side of your truck to get the hang of overlaping your pattern without running or tiger stiripping the metalics.