Is the finish BC/CC or something else

[Chuck71RS]

The car was painted in 1986 and garaged every day since then. Still has a good shine and reflection. Many areas have orange peel.

The shop that painted the finish is no longer there. Still have the work order but no indication as to paint used or finish.

Are there ways to determine the type of finish?

 

[David79Z28]

Use a small amount of a compound or polish.

If no color comes off, it's bc/cc. If color does come off, it's something else.

 

[cadillac_al]

In 1986 my money would be on laquer or enamel. If I could find a hidden area I would try some laquer thinner or enamel reducer to see if any color wipes off. I'm not sure if enamel will wipe off easily with enamel reducer after 30 years. I don't think the factories started using bc/cc until about 1988.

 

[Chuck71RS]

The finish on the car now is the finish I want after the car is repainted. I doubt a new finish will be exactly the same but knowing the type of present finish I think will get me close enough

The finish is something other than bc/cc. Just tried some lacquer thinner and color was on the rag

Are there ways to determine if the finish is lacquer or enamel. Could it be urethane? From the little I know of paint, I thought lacquer doesn't have a long life. Could some kind of clear have been mixed with the paint? The finish has good shine and some depth

 

[larrylarry]

The problem is you can put clear coat over anything so it could be lacquer or enamel. I wouldn't worry about it. If it doesn't have the shine you want without using clear coat then spray clear on it but you have to prep it correctly.

 

[cadillac_al]

It does sound like laquer. I think almost any paint will stay nice for 30 years if it's in a garage. In 1986 I wouldn't think an established paint shop would want to try new fangled paint and have to warantee it. He most likely went with what he know works, his tried and true laquer. Around here guys were playing with Imron in the mid 80's but I wouldn't think that would rub off easily with laquer thinner. I haven't tried it though.

Personally I think bc/cc is a lot easier to work with.

 

[mark wagner]

Dupont Centari was the go to paint back then. it could be sprayed with or without catalyst (hardener). if sprayed without- you will have problems painting over it, guaranteed. if it was catalyzed no problem. old Centari was beautiful stuff, easy to paint, nice finish, but it was re formulated without lead and lost its durability

 

[Shizzle]

My dad loves Centari, he would spray everything with it in his garage.

 

[Gary S]

It could be urethane, laquer, or enamel. All of them were available in single stage paints, and the urethane was available in two stage bc/cc too. I had my car painted in 1986 with Ditzler Deltron single stage urethane. At that time my paint dealer had all the different paints listed above as options.

 

[Goldduster360]

Lacquer's signature is usually very little orange peel. Enamels unless sanded and polished always had a more textured and usually glossier look especially if hardener was added. Urethane looks similar to enamels. If the paint is metallic and is single stage and has been polished allot you can usually see the metal flakes poking through the surface if you eye ball it at just the right angle. We always used enamel reducer to clean the glue off the door jams of GM stuff when doing weatherstrip work as it rarely broke the shine let alone melt acrylic lacquer. Catalyzed paint/enamel or urethane is usually reducer resistant and somewhat lacquer thinner resistant. If reducer will cut it easily it's likely single stage enamel with no Hardener. Most likely any single stage metallic finish will be less glossy than a BC/CC. Obviously with color on the rag it's not cleared. Paint remover makes a sticky gooey mess of lacquer, it usually wrinkles/lifts enamels quite easily but takes longer to work.