In my mid 50s now, went to school for auto body and paint. Got out of the business a decade later, still worked on the side for a while. But haven't done body/paint since 2000.

Many of my air tools were shot, so I replaced many of them, and hand tools as well.
After the divorce, no I can do what I like to do again...I have a project, actually a few.

My main one now is a restification of a Model A pickup. Modified like a teen might have in late 40s/early 50s... along w/ some modern things like AC, Stereo, nicer interior, etc.

I was originally going to use Imron, as that was king back when I painted. But I've checked the forums and not only see there are better alternatives, but they are cheaper too. Going to pinstripe it Von Dutch style, then clearcoat over it. I want a tough enough finish that if scratched/vandalized, it won't ruin so easily. DuPont is the only brand carried by a shot that is user-friendly here. Any shop that sells Ditzler is snooty and won't let you look at the products and compare. It has always been that way around here, anyone else deal with this issue? But if I know exactly what I want, I can go in there and just ask and I'll be fine.

Hoping someone will give me advice on what's hot, and what's not these days. Will be using non-metallic acrylic/urethane enamel of some sort. I understand Epoxy primer is popular now, need the lowdown on all products now. Thanks in advance...

Well first, welcome..... One word pops to mind when I hear that someone has been out of this business/hobby for nearly 20 years...... READ! And, I don't mean read on the net or just watch a bunch of youtube videos. Read here... Hit the Info Center button at the top of this page. Go to the first column on there and you will see the "Basics."

I'll just comment on something you mentioned....My cousin has been a professional graphics and pinstriping guy for 40 years or so now. If you are truly going old style with that pinstripe most of those guys prefer to use stuff like 1 Shot enamels "after" the complete paint job. It's what they are used to working with, they can repair there work at anytime, and in my opinion, it just stands out better and has that right look. Don't get me wrong he can also do it the way you mentioned but 90% of the time he's doing it the other way.....

As to the dealer thing....yeah, you are basically nobody to them, burning up their time, not spending enough. Personally, I find it easier to do most of my buying right here on the web site. I've found the Tamco products to not only be user friendly, they are tough, and you can easily troubleshoot them. And on that user friendly note....loose the word "enamel" in your vocabulary. We now use SSU (single stage urethane), or B/CC (Base coat, clear coat) and that's about it. The SSU would be more like the idea of the old enamels but in most of our opinions around here Base/Clear is a lot easier for the newbie shooter to handle/troubleshoot. SSU can look more "authentic"on older more classic cars. Either system will far exceed any products you were used to using back in the day. Get ready for some paint culture shock though..... You'll find that you can easily spend $1000 to $1500 on just paint supplies...... And, yes, epoxy is a great primer, again, get out your checkbook though.....

lots of good info^^^, i've got a couple winter time projects of my own, one is a 31 Chevy pickup and i'm going to do the same as you. this is just going to be a daily driver NOTHING fancy as far as bling. it has modern running gear disc brake straight axel, Toyota rear, gmc 6 and a 5spd trans. I'm thinking of going satin black and doing the interior nice. on your solid color I've done it both ways, striping on top of the finished project or striping on the urethane then clear over all of it. if you going to clear over the stripes you might want to catalyze your striping paint. get your metal clean and start with a good epoxy coat then some hi build. post some pictures !
Jay D.

: )

Thanks guys for the advice. I see I have some studying to do, I do appreciate the info. And I'm impressed with what the site has to offer!

If you are going to spend the time pinstriping, do it over the clear.
You can always clear it again if you want.