Lacquer paint cracks…..

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Good morning Stang lovers…..
seems to be a lot of knowledge on this site…..I’ve asked many around here….but haven’t gotten any definitive solution

…my lacquer paint hair cracks in it….is there any paint correction I can do, or do I have to repaint ?

thanks
Brad
 
Good morning Stang lovers…..
seems to be a lot of knowledge on this site…..I’ve asked many around here….but haven’t gotten any definitive solution

…my lacquer paint hair cracks in it….is there any paint correction I can do, or do I have to repaint ?

thanks
Brad
Hi Brad,

Although i have walked away from my role as Forum pro spray paint tech advisor a while ago, I can still offer you some "professional" good basic advice here to help you out.

First up, when you talk about hair cracks in your lacquer paint finish, then that can be caused by a few or several different things. For me to diagnose what is going on here, i need to see a few good quality close up photos of the problem areas you mention. That said however, i can offer some basic advice here now.

Cracking of any description appearing in the paint film, no matter what is causing the problem, is not a good sign of a healthy lacquer finish. You basically have two options here. 1. You can try to apply fresh coats of lacquer/ primer or putty over the cracking to cover up or hide the blemishes, or 2. strip and remove the paint problem areas back to bare metal, re prime/ putty if needed, and top coat the panels again. The golden rule to remember here is that refinishing over any damaged old lacquer substrate is never the best way to go. This is because you are only temporarily covering up an existing problem that will show through again months down the track. Spraying new lacquer over any old damaged lacquer is only a short term get out of jail fix, that will look acceptable in the short term, but fail in the long term. I guarantee it.

Sorry, but if you want to end up with a proper, quality result, you must strip and repaint the damaged panels again. Do it once, right, and that will save you doing it twice over in the long run.

Hope that helps,

Greg.:)
 
Thanks for your help……..most people I ask, don’t know or haven’t dealt with lacquer paint jobs…
I guess I’ll live with it til I repaint the whole car again….

regards
 
Thanks for your help……..most people I ask, don’t know or haven’t dealt with lacquer paint jobs…
I guess I’ll live with it til I repaint the whole car again….

regards
Thanks Brad, no worries. Yeah, i started my apprenticeship in auto spray painting back in 1976. Back in those days, 2 pack paints were not around in the auto refinish industry. In Australia, the first introduction into 2 pack paint started in 1977 with Dulux paints. That said, i cut my teeth in with acrylic lacquer paints from 1976 to around 1988 when panel shops were taking up the use of 2 pack paints more and more. That changed the whole refinish scene, as lacquer was starting to be slowly phased out of use, and 2 pack took over more and more. So, yeah, i've painted hundreds of cars in lacquer. It's a very good paint in many ways, but it has its limitations compared to 2 pack paints. It is not as hard wearing and durable as 2 pack is.

If you decide to do a complete strip and repaint, i would strongly urge you to go for a 2 pack finish over lacquer. It is an all round superior paint over lacquer. Lacquer, though, is more user friendly over 2 pack, and thus is more suited for the backyard and amatuer diy painters without access to spray booths. Remember the golden rule - you can spray lacquer over a cured 2 pack pant finish, but you can't spray 2 pack over an Acrylic Lacquer paint finish.

Greg.;)
 
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