What type of paint should I use??

[TerryLynn]

Hi, I have a 1968 Mustang California Special in need of paint. What to keep it as original as possible. What type of paint should the body man be using?? It has its original paint and someone suggested lacquer, but I have no idea what should be done with it. Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks so much.

[recoatlift]

the top of my head, i'd say a/enamel. if ur needing old style looks, catalized acrylic enamel would fit the bill. with the voc's, i don't know if laq. is available. besides, lacquer is destined to crack & fade anyway. good luck!

[dave_demented]

i'm going to say that originally that car was lacquer, and depending on where you're at you can still buy it. For the best longevity, you should use a urethane based paint, for originality lacquer would be the best bet as long as it is properly applied and doesnt see a lot of sun

[wblynch]

Fords were originally Enamel. GM used lacquer.

A single stage urethane sounds like a good choice for your car.

Is the original color white? (seems most C/S were white)

I'm not a painter but for that Mustang in solid color I would use the single stage urethane and for a metallic color I would go with base coat/clear coat.

[Len]

The original finish was enamel and acrylic urethane would be the best product to replace the original finish. A single stage urethane would look more original if you're spraying a metallic color because bc/cc would look too good If it's a solid color the look will be about the same no matter if you use single stage or bc/cc but clear will help the finish look better longer.

[Phil V]

Terrylynn, your Mustang was an enamel from the factory but it was an enamel referred to as a "baking enamel". That type of paint is not now nor has it ever been available to automotive paint stores as an aftermarket paint. It was sprayed in a factory spray booth then the car immediately went into a VERY hot oven where the paint was reflowed then baked to a hard shell finish somewhat similar to porcelin. NO non factory autobody/paint shops are now or ever were setup to duplicate that factory paint job (prohibitive because of non availability of that type of paint and very high cost of high temperature baking oven). So my point being you can't directly duplicate the factory paint.

As Len suggested to you the best aftermarket paint for your car for longevity and the look that closest resembles the factory paint job would be single stage acrylic urethane. Definately no lacquer. Acrylic enamel would also come close to resembling the factory finish but acrylic enamel does not hold up near as well as acrylic urethane single stage or basecoat/clearcoat paint. So that narrrows down your best choice to acrylic urethane single stage paint.

What color is the car ?