I am nearing the paint phase of my first major body work project, and I have some questions for you experts. Car is a 91 Toyota MR2, and I am planning on repainting it the original Crimson Red color. Due to some very bad previous owner paint jobs, I am also painting jambs, inside the engine bay, etc. In addition to the re-paint I also have cut / pulled / welded the fenders (my first time doing something like THAT as well). That process has been documented here, if anyone is interested: http://swmtscca.org/forum3/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1993

I initially went to my local paint store and asked them for suggestions on a good / affordable paint, and they recommended the Nason line. My plan to this point has been to use the Nason 421-10 DTM urethane primer, followed by the 435-91 urethane SS paint.

However, I am a little confused on the subject of sealers. According to the data sheet, the 421-10 may be "modified" to be used as a sealer with 401-75. However, I must admit I had a bit of sticker shock when the guy at the paint store looked up the modifier, as it's about $75 per quart. In reality, not that much in the grand scheme of things, but it got me thinking. Now, my understanding is that a sealer is not required, but that the primer "must" be sanded prior to top-coating, unless it is sprayed as a sealer in which case you don't need to sand (provided you top-coat within 2 hours). My concern is with the hard to sand areas, such as the jambs around the trunk, underside of hood / trunk, etc. Priming those with something that doesn't need to be sanded seems preferable.

My followup question to all of this is, what about the Tamco primer? It seems to get rave reviews, is considerably cheaper than the Nason primer, and to use as a sealer all it needs is a cheap reducer, rather than an expensive "modifier". Less than half the cost of the Nason primer + modifier. But my concern is with mixing brands. I have always read that you should stick with one paint system to avoid any compatibility issues. But I get the impression that people are using the Tamco primer combined with other paints without issue.

Sorry for the novel

I'm not familiar with the Nason product you cited. The Tamco products are compstible with any other system. The major brands control the stack by holding warranty over the heads of shop owners, but getting them to cover a product warranty claim is pretty difficult.

You are correct that you want those tough areas as flat as possible, off the gun. Tamco primer reduced would be perfect for this, as well as would the Tamco dedicated 2k sealer.

If you use Tamco primers you must use their clear coat too otherwise the paint will depolarize and cause your fuel lines to clog. Just kidding!

Thanks for the input Chris. I had a feeling that would be the answer. Makes sense that it basically comes down to a warranty thing more than anything else. I'm sure that my amateur application won't be eligible for any warranty anyway, so as long as it will work I'm not worried.

On the subject of paint, I was quoted $389 for a gallon of the 435-91, including the required activator and reducer (just over 5 quarts sprayable). Does that seem reasonable, or should I be looking elsewhere? Or is there another brand I ought to consider? This is primarily a race car, and will be garaged most of the time. I don't want to "cheap out" too much, but if there is another product that is good but cheaper, I'm all ears. Similar to how the Tamco primer gets great reviews and is half the price:)

chris wrote:If you use Tamco primers you must use their clear coat too otherwise the paint will depolarize and cause your fuel lines to clog. Just kidding!

Great, it will probably rust out my muffler bearings and contaminate my blinker fluid too

If you are going with a Toyota book color and it's a red then that price doesn't sound horrible. Limco is BASF's low-end line; might be worth seeing how that compares. Kirker is a non-major brand a lot of people have had success with. Thing is with some of the cheaper paints future repair/color match may be tough. Not sure how much that is a concern for you.

If you were painting it basic black (just as an example) you'd have other less expensive choices of good quality.

Yeah, I had a feeling that the combination of it being red (have always heard anyway that reds are expensive), combined with a "custom" color (or rather, not a generic color) was driving up the price. Just wanted to make sure the price wasn't completely out of line.

Alex,
I would take your paint code and get quotes from the following places:
ProSpray (I have used this paint a number of times and it is very good quality for the price. It also mixes 1:1 with reducer and gives 2 extra quarts of ready to spray paint when compared to bases that mix 2:1)

Wanda (This paint mixes 2:1 but sprays, covers and matches very well.)

Limco Supreme (Similar to Wanda but of the BASF line)

I am just not a fan of Nason or Omni products and the above base coats in my opinion are the next step up but still under the top of the line and therefore more reasonably priced.

Thanks for the input. It looks like there are no local distributors for the first two, although I think NCS carries BASF.

Previously I have had little luck finding online distributors for this stuff, particular mixed colors, but a little more looking and I found http://thepaintersedge.com/. Anyone ordered from them before? Looks like I can get the Limco Supreme Plus (different from what you recommended?) for $288 shipped with reducer and hardener.

Any other online shops I should look into?