TheSamba.com :: View topic

Fri Apr 19, 2024 6:30 am

Hello everyone. I have finally decided to purchase the paint for my 1958 beetle that I am restoring. I want to shoot it with single stage black. How many gallons exactly will I need? And also besides the paint activator and reducer, what else will I need to complete the job?

Fri Apr 19, 2024 10:43 am

Buy everything locally and follow their advice/product line.

Fri Apr 19, 2024 4:43 pm

Dan2973 wrote: Hello everyone. I have finally decided to purchase the paint for my 1958 beetle that I am restoring. I want to shoot it with single stage black. How many gallons exactly will I need? And also besides the paint activator and reducer, what else will I need to complete the job? The rule of thumb is 6-8 Oz per PANNELl per COAT of ready-to-shoot (RTS) material. Your gun settings and painting style will determine the actual amount of material used. On a Bug you will likely be closer to 6 Oz.

- Door and area = 1 Pannel
- Hood and area = 1 Pannel
- Enginr Lid and area = 1 Pannel
- Fender and area = 1 Pannel
- Roof and pillars = 1 Pannel
- Buy more than you think you need, but not too much

Get SLOW or VERY SLOW reducer AND activator since the weather is warming up. PPG Omni is low-end paint and has poor coverage. You will end up using much more than you would with higher-quality paint. Suitable alternatives are Motobase or Wanda. Both carry single-stage paint, are high quality, provide excellent coverage, and are reasonably priced.

...and as mentioned above, read the Technical Data Sheet (TDS) and follow the manufacturers' opinion.

-----
Emil

Fri Apr 19, 2024 7:08 pm

I would suggest anything other than Omni, it is the lowest of quality and covers like tinted water. When buying paint, buy it all at once for color match and if doing a complete get the slowest reducer and hardener you can. The guys at the paint counter can be hit or miss, some know what they're talking about and others barely could tell you the difference between the paint lines.

Sat Apr 20, 2024 7:54 pm

Really. I have heard good experiences with Omni plus

Tue Apr 23, 2024 7:42 am

PPG Omni is about the only thing I can get locally in single stage urethane. I’ve never really painted with anything else. The urethane seems to hold up well. With DIY painting, you can pretty much count on color sanding, so you will likely need more than 2 coats to have enough thickness to color sand without burning through. I have found it otherwise easy to use, but I imagine better quality paint just has more paint in the paint and covers better.

Tue Apr 23, 2024 10:48 am

orwell84 wrote: PPG Omni is about the only thing I can get locally in single stage urethane. I’ve never really painted with anything else. The urethane seems to hold up well. With DIY painting, you can pretty much count on color sanding, so you will likely need more than 2 coats to have enough thickness to color sand without burning through. I have found it otherwise easy to use, but I imagine better quality paint just has more paint in the paint and covers better.

Thanks man, yeah i could only get omni as well. My plan is to prime with filler/surfacer primer block it out and than paint it. I have 1 gallon of the MTK 9300 Black single stage . Do you think that would be enough for the car?

Tue Apr 23, 2024 1:38 pm

Dan2973 wrote: orwell84 wrote: PPG Omni is about the only thing I can get locally in single stage urethane. I’ve never really painted with anything else. The urethane seems to hold up well. With DIY painting, you can pretty much count on color sanding, so you will likely need more than 2 coats to have enough thickness to color sand without burning through. I have found it otherwise easy to use, but I imagine better quality paint just has more paint in the paint and covers better.

Thanks man, yeah i could only get omni as well. My plan is to prime with filler/surfacer primer block it out and than paint it. I have 1 gallon of the MTK 9300 Black single stage . Do you think that would be enough for the car?
If you are going to use black SS paint I recommend you contact Southern Polyurethane (SPI). They make an excellent and affordable black SS and they will ship it free to your door.
https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/

Call them and talk to the tech guys. They make excellent Epoxy, clear, 2K primer, paints, and supporting chemicals. You may also want to check out their forum for guidance and questions.
http://www.spiuserforum.com/index.php

I am using their epoxy and am very satisfied with the products and the support they provide. They only make a few colors of paint, but not what I want. If not for that I would be buying my paint from them as well.

-----
Emil

Tue Apr 23, 2024 6:42 pm

To be honest, there are a lot of mail order options. Summit, Eastwood, big names like that I would avoid. It's all cheap paint. SPI and Tamco are trusted sources with years of reviews backing them up. Some shops will mail any paint, I know one around New Haven will ship Glasurit products. It's all a game. Black single stage shouldn't be terrible with Omni. The problem with a cheaper paint is the lack of UV protection and less toner.

Sat Apr 27, 2024 7:59 am

I've had black Omni single stage on my 62 for 12 years and it is tough paint and covered well. The car looks terrible as I was completely inexperienced and didn't know enough about prep and gun settings, but the paint itself was not bad. I've since used it for lots of my construction equipment and it wears well and goes on thick. With the right prep it should be fine for a driver quality paint job

Sat Apr 27, 2024 8:56 am

I've used Omni successfully many times. I also use Summit's line of epoxy and 2K with great results. The epoxy mixes 1:1, so you get a better value than 4:1 epoxies. It dries quicker than some other epoxies I've used and is very durable. The Summit 2K primer is the best I've used. It goes on thick and sands very well. You can shoot straight over it without sealer.

One thing I have noticed with regards to black Omni, is that it isn't a true black. It seems to have almost a little tinge of brown to it. It's just not as deep as some of the more expensive blacks that are available.

Kind of hard to tell from the photo due to all the dirt on the hood, but the hood was painted in black Omni and the fenders are factory black. If you're doing a whole car, you wouldn't really be able to tell.

Sun Apr 28, 2024 7:06 pm

Bulli Klinik wrote:
One thing I have noticed with regards to black Omni, is that it isn't a true black. It seems to have almost a little tinge of brown to it. It's just not as deep as some of the more expensive blacks that are available.

Kind of hard to tell from the photo due to all the dirt on the hood, but the hood was painted in black Omni and the fenders are factory black. If you're doing a whole car, you wouldn't really be able to tell.

That could be because there are a few different blacks. Blue black, brown black, and plain black are the most common. PPG has a 9300 and a 9000. 9000 is VW and 9300 is most others. On a mixing machine there are a few different black toners to achieve the colors as well.

Wed Nov 12, 2025 5:01 am

An artist told me once that there is no true black, because true black is the absence of all color, therefore it doesn't actually exist. While that may or may not be true, what it means is that what we call black is either ultra dark blue, ultra dark purple, or ultra dark brown. Looking at paint in really bright sunlight will often show a reflection that looks sorta blueish or purplish or brownish. This concept often helps me identify the black colorant, which can be helpful when mixing colors or trying to match blacks more accurately.