Water based paint vs. enamel based paint for repainting 280sl

[chrislohrcdm]

Hi,

I have a dilemma.  My 1969 280sl automatic is all original.  The paint on the car is original too.  It is about 80-90% in good shape.  I have a number of door nicks that I want to get repaired and someone keyed my drivers door.  The place I took it to look into getting the door nicks is a really great body repair and paint shop in Los Angeles and the owner said I should get the door nicks popped out and have the car repainted.  Especially because it is a dark bule car and everything shows up.  He explained to me that the paint used these days is a water based paint.  They would also put on 3-4 coats of clear coat or something like that.  Enamel paint is now illegal in California. 

I am conflicted because I would love to keep the original paint as much as possible but I also want to car to look great.  And, I am concerned that if I do get it painted, is the water based paint now used as good as the original quality paint.

I would love any advice.  I attached a picture of my car.

Thank you!
Chris

[scoot]

I don't have an opinion on the new water-based paints.  What I can say is that to avoid this issue I bought paint for both my Pagoda and my Duetto from a supplier and had the Pagoda painted at a local shop (inside Los Angeles city limits).  This was maybe 5 to 10 years ago.    I used oil-based paint and this was after the "no oil based paint thing". 

FWIW the paint supplier I use says that the water based paints are good but the application is a little more difficult.

That's my 2 cents.

[George Des]

Supposedly, these new waterbased paints are very durable and some car manufacturers are using them on production vehicles. I am not sure I am convinced but others swear by it. I think when most of us hear “waterbased”, we think immediately of latex house paints or those little water color kits we had as kids. Even though I am not totally convinced they are as durable as the polyurethanes, I have got to believe the technology of waterbased vehicle paints has come a long way from latex and water colors!

[chrislohrcdm]

That makes a lot of sense!  Thank you!

[chrislohrcdm]

I was thinking of taking it to Arizona and if I do it, I could do it there where the have less restrictions.

That is another option!  That you.  I will ask if I can do that too!

[Benz Dr.]

The water in water based paint doesn't come from your tap. It's part of the formula and is not regular water. All I know is that all of this stuff is very expensive but it's less toxic for painters to use.

[chrislohrcdm]

Thank you!  I am just concerned about the quality of the paint job and how it would compare to my current original paint.

[doitwright]

I believe the original solid color paints were lacquer based. Not as durable as today’s products but easier to restore, buff out and touch-up. I just had my car painted last year and the shop and I talked about water based paints. Apparently the clear coat is still not water based so in Illinois where the shop can still buy solvent based paints that is what my shop prefers to use. Every painter has a brand and type of paint they like to use. The big collision shops have their own systems which commits them to a brand. With a car as old and original as yours, I hope you are talking to painters with restoration experience and not just shops that specialize in collision work. The collision shop near me has posters in their lobby that they use water based PPG products approved by BMW and Mercedes. They had no interest in restoration work.

If originality is important to you, find a shop that will work with lacquer. That might mean taking the car out of state. We have all seen how Motoring Investments touts the originality of the 2 “holy grail” cars and that they are “mostly original paint”. There is a perceived high stakes value there.

[specracer]

I think your dilemma is less about water based vs solvent based, but clear coat, vs single stage.

LOTS of debate on this, and you have to decide what right for you. Do you want a shiny more durable, easier to get done finish? Or are you looking for 10000% period correct authenticity. 

[George Des]

The original paint was a synthetic enamel. Glasurit was one of the original suppliers. This enamel was a “get what you shoot” finish in that it was an air dried formulation and could not be color sanded unlike the catalyzed polyurthane and acrylic enamels common today. The synthetic enamel was normally baked on and provided a beautiful finish as the paint “flowed out” with the baking process. Because it could not be color sanded it needed to be applied in a very clean environment in order to avoid dust or dirt getting in the finish. The gloss as achieved by building up the color coats. The modern two step and three step finishes avoid this by applying a relatively thin color coat that is fast drying and then achieving the gloss with a fast drying, catalyzed clear coat that can be sanded to clean up any dust. Lacquer paints are fast drying, easy to apply but are bery brittle and prone to chipping. The finish can be buffed to a beautiful shine but typically oxidizes and dulls over time. Explored a lot of this prior to my own respray several years ago.

[chrislohrcdm]

Great information!  Thank you so much!  The place I am looking at to do it is a restoration shop. 
I will see what my options are.  If I do decide to paint it maybe I will need to take it to Arizona.  At this point I think it will take the door nicks out and see how it looks at that point.

Thank you so much.