Hi guys.

2 confessions before I start.

1. I don't own a Hot Rod (but do own a 1974 Daimler Double Six Vanden Plas - you guys might call it a Jaguar sedan - and a 1967 Hillman Imp - I think Cary Grant promoted them in USA as Sunbeam Imp Sportsedan! and several 1970s Yamahas)

2. I live in the UK so don't know what a Urethane is

However - reason I have came on this site is that you guys seem to know your stuff and, thru Ebay mainly, I've found people 'across the atlantic' to be helpful, knowledgeable and forward thinking plus youz have great products

Before embarking on spray painting I read loads of books, printed in USA, on the subject and they talked of 'paint systems' and had pictures of racks of buffing waxes of all grades, fast and slow thinners and talked of helpful paint dealers.

I approached my paint factor in Glasgow and asked for some cellulose paint. They looked at me as if I'd asked for cannabis and told me they didn't do it but could knock me up some stuff that I wouldn't need an air fed mask for. I said I'd come back later. I tried another dealer for cellulose clearcoat. He handed me 1k acrylic clearcoat. I asked for a data sheet. He asked me why I wanted one. I said 'for spraying viscosity etc'. He said 'just thin it 50/50 with cellulose thinners'. I followed his instructions. The lacquer went on nice. 2 months later it turned into crocodile skin .

I later purchased Metalflake acrylic laccquer (candy red, tangerine, white base coat, silver base etc) and Metalflake Acrylic clear and Metalflake thinners and have had great results with them on my old Yamahas.

My problem is this: Metalflake UK now don't sell their thinners which I guess were Acrylic Lacquer thinners but they still sell some of the acrylic paint. I have ran out of thinners. Can you thin acrylic lacquer with cellulose thinner?

I notice that in the USA cellulose is seldom mentioned whilst in the UK acrylic lacquer was uncommon altho the paints are pretty similar IE they are not 2K isocyante types and they are not synthetic enamels, or coachpaint as it was called in UK, (ie thick oil based paint which takes a week or so to dry).

PS anyone know what happened to Metalflake Corp? I cannot access their websit anymore

Typically, I try to use whatever the car was painted in originally.

Nitrocellulose lacquer was introduced in the states in 1924

Acrylic lacquer was introduced in the states in 1956

Using nitrocellulose lacquer over anything but nitrocellulose will produce the "alligator" cracking you observed, plus nitrocellulose is much more tempermental than acrylic lacquers.

I would not mix thinners, period. If you have PPG products available, they make high-grade acrylic lacquer thinners like DTL-16, DTL-876.

I was able to hit the Metaflake site, maybe it was a internet server issue?

You may wish to look at these guys as several shops have tried their product with good results.

http://www.prosprayfinishes.com/sub...n=content&ID=19

They are in the UK so shipping will not be an issue. Here the use of laquer materials is confined to a few in the restoration trade as most materials now used in collision are the urethane based or epoxy products.

Sam

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I would rather make it work than make it popular..And if it does not work it will not be popular..

I just finished a show car touch up that is lacquer.
The best thinner to use in lacquer is urethane reducer.
This was told to me by someone who knows paint.
It works much better.

Fascinating that you can pinpoint the year these paints came into use. That means in the UK we continued with cellulose for 30 even 40 years after youz moved to acrylic! Strange thing is we now get some acrylic lacquer in aerosols. This seems to have co-incided with the tighter regulations on VOCs.

I have heard that UK car production lines used TPA from perhaps the late 60s/early 70s which stands for ThermoPlasticAcrylic and was a low bake sort of material for production line as it is unlikely a car factory could go thru thr laborious multi stage lacquer process. I don't know how TPA relates to acrylic lacquer tho or what the US were using on the production line in the 70s.

I have managed to partially access the Metalflake Corp site and may contact them direct for thinners altho I understand they might not be able to ship one gallon to UK just for me. Worth a try tho.

Many thanks for your reply.

forgive my ignorance but what exactly is Urethane. Is that what we call 2k/2k acrylic enamel?

Thanks for the link. Its unusual to find a UK company providing something 'specialist' to you guys rather than other way round.