L300 Stretch updates

[jessef]

3/4 cargo door ?

[Super Exceeded]

What are you using for product?

Parts have come from, RONA, Home Depot, Lordo, a VW Rabbitt, Rans Coyote (Airplane), and of course the odds'n'sods bucket. Most likely a broomstick for the short term as well!!

[FalcoColumbarius]

I mean for paint....

[mararmeisto]

3/4 cargo door ?

Okay, I see it now. Cool.

[bigbird]

Very cool!!!!...Again I'm totally amazed by your ambition!

Just wanted to give you a heads up though Mr. Super Exceeded. I know Santa personally and he says if he doesn't get to se some updated photos soon, he may have to stuff your stocking with coal! I'm just saying....I tried to talk him out of it! It's out of my hands now....
Although someone as industrious as yourself would probably use the coal to heat Stretch with a hand built high efficiency coal furnace!..Lol.

[Super Exceeded]

I mean for paint....

Pure white! w. black accents (endura)

[FalcoColumbarius]

They call it "Volatile Organic Compound" compliant which I suppose makes sense as I can't see how a reasonable durable auto paint could be low VOC. However, from what I understand the new water borne auto paints, although okay in the city, tend not to be so in the bush as they apparently scratch very easily. How is Endura regarding BC pin-striping?

[Super Exceeded]

You're not going to find a stronger paint than Endura, As for the new water based paints. In talking with my guy they are a ot more work to apply so more $$$$. But also really do not make that much difference to the enviroment if you take the whole process into account.

[jessef]

You're not going to find a stronger paint than Endura

x2. Highly durable.

This is what was used on the swing out tire carrier bumpers and sliders, etc.. Endura 2 part epoxy paint.

Probably the best paint to use on a vehicle.

http://www.endurapaint.com/

[RichD]

In picking a finish for my van, this is the fairly sensible fact I learned: A paint that is mainly pigment will buff out scratches well, unlike a metallic/clear coat process. The latter is not suitable for offroad use.

[jessef]

There is no clear coat on endura.

It's unlike any conventional paint.

[FalcoColumbarius]

In picking a finish for my van, this is the fairly sensible fact I learned: A paint that is mainly pigment will buff out scratches well, unlike a metallic/clear coat process. The latter is not suitable for offroad use.

Not so and they don't really make paints like that any more. It used to be that a paint was made from four basic components: The pigment (usually an organic pigment such as cadmium, lead, cobalt, &c.); a medium (such as linseed oil for oil based); a thinner (such as turpentine for oil based); and a sealer (such as varnish). The finish was dependant on how fine the pigment was ground. If it was ground very finely you had a gloss paint. If it was ground not so finely you got an eggshell finish or a flat finish. The finish was affected by how the grind of the pigment reflected light. You cannot clean a traditional flat paint as it will polish the finish to a higher lustre. All you can do is touch it up and hope no one notices. Same with newly applied paints, until they have fully cured you cannot clean them. Modern latex requires three weeks to a month of off gassing to fully cure.

Today paints are much different. the pigments tend to be a synthetic lake pigment or dye. The finish is determined by adding silica... then there are the emulsions, which is a combination of paints ~ this is what latex has become. Latex was originally a product derived from trees and was discovered by an American paint company called Glidden sometime on the mid nineteenth century. Now the product we we call latex is based on petroleum distillates using water as a carrier ~ it is truly an emulsion of the highest order and is not that different than synthetic alkyd paints, what you might refer to as "oil based".

Auto paints: This is not an horse of a different colour.... this is a completely different animal. Painting carriages began by using enamels, like in the first paragraph, then graduated to lacquer which dries much harder, has a deeper finish. It is originally derived from shellac that was "French polished" onto the surface creating an highly durable finish. Also extremely laborious. Lacquer graduated to more chemical cocktails that could be sprayed on, such as nitrocellulose lacquer, which you find on cars from the mid twentieth century. Auto paints then moved onto the multi-component paints that require a hardener as well as a reducer (thinner). In the case of "base/clear" finishes the base coat is usually a polyester resin (great for doing murals on jean jackets, never fads in the wash) and is covered by an acrylic clear coat, not that unlike modern day so called "latex", except it has a polyisocyanate (as in cyanide) hardener that makes it even more durable to scratches yet the polyurethane acrylic clear allowed the paint to deal with more extreme weather conditions.

The thing with base/clear systems is the clear is like a lightweight building film that covers the vehicle and when it does take scratches one can buff them out quite easily by polishing out the clear coat. This, I believe is one of the reasons that Mitsubishi used it on the Winter packages with extra clears. In my opinion the BASF Glasurit line of paints is very resiliant as it has more solids in the clear. I used it when I was painting goalie masks ~ I called it "Puck Stopping Art" ~ it put up with a lot of punishment.

There is no clear coat on endura.

It's unlike any conventional paint.

Base/clear systems are the superman of paints as opposed to the more conventional non-clear coat paints. But like superman and kryptonite ~ Polyurethane acrylic has issues with sap if left on the finish too long. I have noticed in the home decor industry a new trend to so called "low VOC (Volatile Organic Compound)" latexes, latex being pretty much low VOC by definition. All that this means is the paint companies are charging you more for an inferior product ~ and when you think about it a poorer quality paint doesn't last as long, which means more paint has to be made. The majority of pollution in the paint industry is not from application, it's from the manufacturing of paint. A house painted in lead alkyd paint would last around twenty-five years, give or take. The latest low VOC so called environmentally friendly paint will last maybe three years. Better to use white wash (if you don't mind painting every year).

I don't know a lot about water borne automotive paint systems as I have not been working in that area for a while now but I have heard from other painters and suppliers that it scratches quite easily and is not good for touching up or polishing out as it shows in the finish.

Falco.

[RichD]

In picking a finish for my van, this is the fairly sensible fact I learned: A paint that is mainly pigment will buff out scratches well, unlike a metallic/clear coat process. The latter is not suitable for offroad use.

Not so and they don't really make paints like that any more.

That's one opinion. Here's what several body shops told me, and I was also able to confirm online:

Urethane single-stage is commonly used for automotive body work. It is comprised of pigment, a binder and a carrier agent. Scratches buff out of it because there is pigment throughout the finish. It's also easier/cheaper to repair. Color choice is somewhat limited in single-stage; you won't be getting silver or anything with deep metallic effects in it with this kind of product.

Multi-stage finishes are what a lot of us are familiar with; its the kind of process you see people doing on the hot rod/chopper shows. Many coats with a clear 'armor' finish. Multi-stage is obviously more expensive to do because of labor - a disincentive for a 20 year old vehicle. Clear coat is less forgiving of scratches and more time consuming to repair, its not a great choice for a rough and tumble truck you are going to drive in the bush and scratch up. If you ding the clear coat, the entire panel or piece has to be sanded down and re-done. I had a mountain bike painted with multi-stage once; what a mistake. Every ding and knock chipped the paint, and it was quite obvious.

Of course, there is no comparison of single-stage to multi-stage in terms of quality - assuming that gleaming perfection is what you are looking for.


As I understand it, the big value proposition with water-based products is reducing health risks for those doing the application. I've seen the same trend in wood finishing products as well, so I think that we'll see water-based grow in popularity.

Conventional water-based is a multi-staged finish (i.e. requires a clear coat), so Endura sounds interesting. Is it single-stage or not?

Maybe Falco can translate the contents of this page: http://www.endura.ca/support/surfaceprep.html

[RichD]

There is no clear coat on endura.

It's unlike any conventional paint.

Actually, it looks like Endura is a multi-stage product and there is a Endura clear coat.

[thedjjack]

Tremclad and a paint roller 6-8 coats.

$50.00 and your done. Tough, looks good (good enough), and easy to touch up!