Easiest paint for a beginner.

[chrisd6875]

I know this is an open ended question. I want to paint my own restore, and was wondering what the easiest paint to use would be. I'm not looking for show quality. I'm looking to stay on budget and complete the whole restore myself.
I am looking at a low end hvlp gun and compressor. What tip size do I need with whatever paint you suggest? Where do I buy the paint?
Thanks,
Chris.

[another2centsworth]

I know this is an open ended question. I want to paint my own restore, and was wondering what the easiest paint to use would be. I'm not looking for show quality. I'm looking to stay on budget and complete the whole restore myself.
I am looking at a low end hvlp gun and compressor. What tip size do I need with whatever paint you suggest? Where do I buy the paint?
Thanks,
Chris.

Solid color urethane single stage paint. 1.3-1.4 tip. Buy high end or economy line name brand from your local supplier.

[chrisd6875]

Thanks, I have a local supplier that is very helpful. I called today to get prices for material. He said for mid-line quality paint, plus primer and sealer, it would be $900 for single stage. Base coat clear coat would be $915. The color I'm looking to paint is just plain white.
I attached a picture to show what I'm working with. I know I have a long way to go, but I need to start thinking about my next steps.
Also, by using the word "easiest" I dont want to offend any of the professionals here, I know this is not going to be easy.
Thanks for your help.

[ARDan]

For basic white you are better off with single stage. It will hide most minor sand scratches. If you have a problem with a coat, just let it dry, sand it out and resume painting. You can color sand and buff it easily.

[another2centsworth]

Wow. Sounds too steep for white IMO. I can get a 2 gallon setup of white Limco Urethane for 200-220 bucks that will make 3 gallons plus a quart (13 qts) of ready to spray material. High Strength White is the color. Buffs great with 3 coats. Epoxy (for bare metal) goes for 125 bucks 2 gallon sprayable setup un-reduced. It can be mixed as a sealer if needed. High build primer I can get for between 80 bucks a gallon setup to 125. Makes 5-6 qts sprayable depending on reduction. Consider shopping around. Buy your epoxy and high build first. Wait until later to buy your color. These are not the cheapest you can buy and definitely not the most expensive but they have served me well for quite sometime. PM me for primer names and more.

[Len]

Wow. Sounds too steep for white IMO. I can get a 2 gallon setup of white Limco Urethane for 200-220 bucks that will make 3 gallons plus a quart (13 qts) of ready to spray material. High Strength White is the color. Buffs great with 3 coats. Epoxy (for bare metal) goes for 125 bucks 2 gallon sprayable setup un-reduced. It can be mixed as a sealer if needed. High build primer I can get for between 80 bucks a gallon setup to 125. Makes 5-6 qts sprayable depending on reduction. Consider shopping around. Buy your epoxy and high build first. Wait until later to buy your color. These are not the cheapest you can buy and definitely not the most expensive but they have served me well for quite sometime. PM me for primer names and more.

You get what you pay for. There are times to use cheap paint and there are times to use high-end paint and the right choice can be important.

[CustomWorks]

A lot of different opinions for sure but I always thought base clear was easier for beginners. It's harder to run base than SS and if a beginner does run clear at least it is easier to buff out. $900 is not a good price for white. You could do a white base clear for less than half that with House of Kolor, Kemfx, or Pro Spray and have a quality job. I'm sure there are other brands that are a lot less that might work also but those are the three that have worked for me.

[another2centsworth]

Regardless that is too much for white. Period. I can get high end half that price. Sometimes you get taken advantage of and get that same thing cheaper. That calculates to you don't always get what you pay for because the dude is ripping ppl without knowledge of the market completely off. Don't spend that much please. My jobber is not out ripping ppl off. He sells BASF (Glasurit-RM-Limco) and Matrix. I can beat those prices big time compared to those numbers chris (OP) gave. Anyway the original title was what is easiest. I repeat....SS solid color Urethane. You can cut/buff a run out just as easy and cut the number of coats in half meaning less trash. getting what you pay for doesn't include the shaft.
IMO he needed to know that there are other options besides a thousand dollar setup of plain white. LOL!

[tbm3fan]

I agree about the price for white. I just priced PPG Deltron Concept single stage in eggshell white and it was $297/gallon. A quart of DCX61 activator at $100.

[jwd]

A lot of different opinions for sure but I always thought base clear was easier for beginners. It's harder to run base than SS and if a beginner does run clear at least it is easier to buff out.

You are 100% correct.

[another2centsworth]

You are 100% correct.

Doesn't matter on a solid color. Metallic colors are different ball game. The OP titled easiest paint for a beginner.....solid color single stage is better for a beginner because less coats means less bugs and trash getting trapped in the project. I can buff a SS paint (especially white) to look just as good as clear. Anybody can if they do it right.

[armandodiaz]

I'm project is going to run approx $500. Using PPG Omni SS (includes epx, primer, paint, extras...).

I also just got caught needing to have a budget (wife lost job), so I had to settle on the StartingLine guns (instead of the FinishLine I was planning on).