[2stroketurbo]

I bought some Sherwin Williams economy line paint called Demension. It sure looks very thin and transparent!! I guess my paint spray technique is going to get some exercise..... I hope I didn't make a huge mistake and half to spray everything 10 times over to get coverage. Has anyone else used this brand with sucess?.

The paint guy behind the counter said he's used it and it worked fine...????

It was 1/3 the price of Sherwin Williams Ultra. But I'm thinking now, maybe I should've bought the better paint?

[BondoKing]

What color is it? Some colors cover very well in economy lines.. White and black for sure.. Ive not used the line, however i know someone on here has before.. SW gets talked about around here.. someone will chime in and let you know their experiences with it

[67goat]

i use it quite often on overalls, less expensive paint jobs, yes some colors are very transparent , what color do you have? is it a metallic, there metallics i have had problem with streaking,on silvers and champagnes, as far as solid colrs it covers very well, it has its good points and its bad points, ive been using it for about 3 years and i have learned it is not for spot repairs. the metallic dark blues and red metallic pearls, are very transparent, and will take about 10 coats to cover, let me know what color it is, and hope this helps, thanks , mike.

[2stroketurbo]

Hi guys,

That makes me feel a little better that someone has had good results with this Demension economy paint. I haven't shot a lick of it yet, but, due to is super water thin transperency just dipping a stir stick on to the lid already I'm annoyed at myself for trying to save a buck

( actually I saved 245 $ on the gallon not buying the Ultra but, big whooopee, if I have to buy it all over again )

The color is '99 Audi Pelican Blue Met. It is the brightest blue I could find. I am doing an all over paint job.

I think today I'm going to test spraying this out interior floor boards to test coverage. ......And, if it just plain bites......

Can I topcoat it with the SW Ultra or Dupont, or PPG of the same color ?

Thanks, Mark

[p8nter]

Even top quality paints have very bad coverage on some colors, you can either use a colored sealer or put a couple coats of silver down first.

[MARTINSR]

Refer to the sealer thread. UNIFORMITY in color is going to be a big one on this job. If you have ANY spots what so ever of different color primer you are DONE. Be sure it is TOTALLY every single square inch the same SIMILAR color as you are painting, a sealer will do that for you.

Sure you could top coat it with Ultra, but why? If the Ultra covers well in that color why would you want to put a bunch of poor transparent paint on building up film thickness only to cover it with something better?

When you test it, seal the floors just as you would the outside. PLUS, make or get a spray out card from the store (a black and white checkerboard card) and spray it at the same time. In fact, get a few cards and seal one first then spray them all when you spray the floor and see how this stuff will feel.

Brian

[2stroketurbo]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Refer to the sealer thread. UNIFORMITY in color is going to be a big one on this job. If you have ANY spots what so ever of different color primer you are DONE. Be sure it is TOTALLY every single square inch the same SIMILAR color as you are painting, a sealer will do that for you.

Sure you could top coat it with Ultra, but why? If the Ultra covers well in that color why would you want to put a bunch of poor transparent paint on building up film thickness only to cover it with something better?

When you test it, seal the floors just as you would the outside. PLUS, make or get a spray out card from the store (a black and white checkerboard card) and spray it at the same time. In fact, get a few cards and seal one first then spray them all when you spray the floor and see how this stuff will feel.

Brian

Hi Brian,

Thanks.

Yep, I read up on uniform coverage. Everything. (and I mean everything is SPI epoxy black,..... jambs, floor boards, spare tire well, under dash, pedal board, cowling vent, A,B,C, and D pillars inside and out, wheel wells, everything is covered).

I believe Epoxy makes a good sealer...?

The spray card idea is great, I'll see if they have those 1st.

Your right on film thickness, now that you say it, it doesn't make sense to topcoat with more paint.

great advice, again.

Mark

[MARTINSR]

The black epoxy may not be the best color substrate for you paint is the only problem, gray or white would probably be better. Again, if your test doesn't come out that well with the black maybe you could seal it (with epoxy or urethane) in a white or gray before painting. But give it a try first it may work out fine. It will likely produce a darker color than if you used the white or gray though.

Brian

[67goat]

if im shooting an overall with dimension, and i know it is a transparent color, i will base the whole thing out with something close , for instance if it is a dark blue i will put down 2 coats of black base , then your actual color will cover with three or four coats, if im doing yellow or red would put down some white base first try it out, ive never had a problem doing this, i do not mix bases i will not shoot dupont over dimension or vise versa, mike.

[2stroketurbo]

Hi Brian,

As I was finishing up the Epoxy this morning I noticed some sandpaper scratches the epoxy didn't cover up or fill in some of my bondo areas. Really nice of the black epoxy to show me that....., but, means more work. I was going to spray some regular 2K 'buff' colored primer over these areas, block sand smooth, then re-apply the black SPI epoxy. ( just to these areas )

Maybe I should just spray everything "buff" 2K ? This may help with transpanency coverage because it is light creme colored, but is topcoating 2K acceptable, I don't believe 2k primer is a sealer ?.... and extra mils of thickness ? hmmm?.

Not sure here.


Thanks for the help.

[67goat]

you will have no problem topping the 2k, it is done all the time, with absolutely no problems, as long as it is finished off with 600 or 800 sandpaper you should have no problems, mike.

[crashtech]

For reference, there are several grades of Dimension paint:

1st Dimension is an alkyd enamel, it mixes 8:1 with hardener. Suitable only as an indoor equipment paint, IMHO.

2nd Dimension is cheap acrylic urethane that mixes 5:1 with hardener. The lowest grade that ought to be sprayed on a beater vehicle.

3rd Dimension is similar 2nd Dimension, but has variants that feature higher solids. It's good for used car lot vehicles that need a complete refinish.

4th Dimension is the Sherwin-Williams economy basecoat line. It can be clear coated with Refinisher Select clear, or Dimension Pro. It's decent for an overall refinish on the cheap, especially if cleared with the 5020 Dimension Pro clear.

Dimension Pro is a line of acrylic urethane clear originally designed to be Maaco's top of the line clear. Some jobbers also have the proper resin to mix Dimension Pro single stage, which is not too bad for the price. The "Pro" line is the only Dimension I will use.

[2stroketurbo]

Crash,

4th Demension is what I have. I wondered about the numbering system, thanks for clearing that up.

Mark

[MARTINSR]

Crash, I if there have been no changes in the Dimension line in the last few years the first is Synthetic Enamel, second is acrylic enamel, third is Urethane enamal SS and fourth is a BC/CC system. With each one of the first three having a 3.5 and 5.0 VOC version.

Mark, you may need to apply some urethane primer to fill those scratches or maybe not. You could sand them out using the epoxy that is already there and then apply more epoxy. I think you should so that spray out test and see what you get. The test card will tell you what that color will look like over black as well as white. One may be more to your favor than the other. Then again, the buff primer will be a third color so spray that too. You just can't hurt spraying it out and getting a good idea of what you are up against. You may find that it covers so poor you are willing to move on up to a high end line. But test that one too before you lay out the bucks for all you need. You may find that it too is transparent.

Brian

[crashtech]

Brian, you may be right. I am getting my info from the most recent S-W training material that I have. Anyway, I hope that the lower lines won't concern too many on this board. My recommendation is to stick to 4th Dimension and Dimension Pro, and leave the rest to the used car lots!