Thread: What brand of paint is "the best"

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Hey Al, this guy sounds like a dick, tell him to pay up and go somewhere else. as there are plenty of people waiting for your expertise.

I think Al you had the right idea......get your money from April???, and hit him with Mays bill due at the end of May. Then I'd shove it to the very back burner, and wait for him to ask for it - then I'd tell him that because of his late payments that I'd have to recive the final payment in advance in full.
You have to get on even ground first before you can go any further. If he pays you I'd paint it with whatever he wants, and do the very best I could, if he balks from there than your out nothing.

Well I see ol Bob mentioned my name so I will throw my 2 cents in here also .
I am a PPG man for 30 years , I know the product fowards and backwards, and i have tried other brands and they all are good today.
Its what you get comfortable with using what it boils down too.
The only thing I can express is never mix and match paint products now days as the manufactures formulate it to be compatiable with their product line , no one elses, ( not say that it cant be done ) but if a problem ever arises and ask for help they always ask what products you are using , if you say well i have dupont this , and PPG this , and R&M for this , they will say Sorry we cant help you.
I would tell my customer this , and if he still wants dupont on it , tell him the guys that thinks dupont is the best can finish it , and you will not stand behind your work after it has dupont on it , as you used products for your brand specificly.

I get so sick hearing through the years that this brand is better then the other, its usually because some one had a bad experiance with that product and will never use it again............I have shot it all , but beings i have used PPG for so many years I know what I can do with it , plus it makes me a damn good living spraying it.

I think from what Iv'e heard over the years PPG is better quality than M/S but there's no place around here that sells it. If you want a custom mixed color for a special project then House of Color is the place to go.

I have an Econoline pickup that I painted in the late 70s with M/S acrylic enamel that still has a very good gloss except where it's rusted around the edges. It's never been garaged. It's never been buffed or rubbed out. I did a 71 ElCamino around the same time. The guy I sold it to has kept it garaged and only drives in good weather. He waxes it once a year and the paint still looks fresh. So I know it's good paint even if it's not the best.

I used Dupont on my 56 Packard that's in my gallery because NAPA didn't have the formula. I don't dislike Dupont paint. It's just as good as M/S. I doubt that it's better. I used it for a couple of months when I opened a body shop in N.H. in 1986. I switched back to M/S when the parts store wouldn't let me open an account until I had been in bussiness for one year. I had been working at my Maine shop for several years before but that didn't matter to the bean counters so I continued doing bussiness with NAPA where I already had an account. The NAPA store in N.H. billed it to my Maine account.

As for the cliche that the customer is always right. It doesn't apply to things the customer knows nothing about. And it doesn't say that the customers friends are always right. If we had an understanding at the start of this project that he wanted Dupont paint there would be no problem. (except for being a slow paying jerk).

I have the car in M/S primer now so to do it right I should take it back to bare metal (and plastic) and use Dupont primer and thinners. I'm not willing to do it to please Charlie's friend who may very well be a bigger jerk than Charlie.

The car has no engine, trans, interior,grille,bumpers or any of the trim. It's riding on four mismatched wheels, two of them keep going flat. With a high gloss light blue metallic paint job it's still going to look like crap. Charlie won't be able to visualize it assembled. He'll see a piece of crap. How many of us have brought home our dream car and had people ask why did you buy that piece of junk? We can see it as a finished car they can't. Charlie's one of them.

I would rather have him complain about not getting his paint job than to have him complain about the finished product. I don't have a spray booth. I can suggest a couple of shops that do and can do a better job spraying it than I can but they know I'm easy to get along with. If he tells them he's had problems with me they probably won't take the job.

I personally use ppg products. Which ones better. I think all of the bigger names are comparable and haven't had a lot of problems with any of them. Way back when I went to tech school used ppg, dupont, sikkens, and a little r-m. I thought they were all good, although sikkens I would always get a little run or two in. Shops I've worked in have used the chromabase system or deltron. I get ppg usually if I go buy the paint, but using another brand of paint doesn't bother me. I get ppg because they seem to be just a little less expensive around here and I've used it a lot with good results. Even the less expensive lines you can get decent results with. Haven't ever used Martin Seymour or Sherwin Williams products yet, but use what works for you. We tried some sherwin williams primer at a place I worked an no one liked it, and it makes me think house paint. I know what you mean by that kind of customer. I just started doing stuff on the side, and I think I've heard everyone of those mentioned. My friend says dupont is the best, well why don't you take it to him and have him do it then if he knows so much and is such an expert. What they usually want is how much can I jerk you around, and I want it done for nothing. Or how bout my friend told me he would only charge this, but he is so busy now he can't do it. There are lots more, but I'm sure everyone has heard them. Maybe its just the name Charlie. I did a car when I was young for a guy my dad worked with and the guy was a jerk. Did the car for next to nothing, took everything apart and painted and looked nice. Guy next door built rods for a living said, you did a really good job on the car, he'll be happy. Charlie even complained when he got it back about the fact his revel mouldings moved if you pushed on them. I said they are gonna move a little they are held on by clips. I dug all the butyl tape that was holding them on before and replaced the clips. Ended up pumping urethane behind them. Find out the guy went to get his window tint and complained so much he got it done free. Wish I would have know that before I even touched his car, idoit didn't deserve that nice of a car anyways, but mommy left it to him. Its always the cheapo's too. The service manager at one place I worked was good. One guy was a pest, and he told them, we don't need your business anymore, please take it elsewhere from now on.

My first post and my 2 cents....i use Dupont paint everyday..and it is the most over rated product i have ever seen.....there color matching is way off.

They promote themselves through Nascar well.....but that is all...now they are trying to launch a wanna be custom paint line..hot hues......
....they are simple pearl base coats..for 30 dollars a pint......i would recommend sikkens.....or m/s or PPG....
..
...and if your truely going kustom go with House of Kolor ....there is none better in the kustom painting field..... Good Luck..

Hey Al, I've never had any problem pushing a guys stuff out the door for the reasons you've mentioned. If you know the guy is never going to be happy anyhow, lose him.

I think this is more of a preference than anything else. I personally use, and love DuPont. I would recommend dupont any day. House of Kolor, in my opinion is CRAP!...one of my buddies was spraying his truck that he just did an insane amount of body mods. to, getting it ready for the World of Wheels. He laid out some sweet flames, and started spraying with hok, only because everyone talked it up so much, he is normally a dupont guy also. needless to say the clear sucked. after wetsanding and a ton of buffing, the paint still looked like flat black. needless to say he got a full refund on his paint, but that still doesn't undo the damage done. So, that was just a time that made me love dupont even more, they have a good selection of clears, which i like all of them. If you really want the best, go with their Premier line!
This is a pic of my daily driver spayed in none other than Dupont!
But as i said, there is probably no such thing as "the best" paint. Im sure there are plenty of people who have bad experiences with dupont, as well as every other brand out there.

Just a business note.
I am not in the automotive business professionally but i am self employed and really doesent matter.

You know if you are satisfied with your work and the product you use.

The customer is always right may apply to making pizzas but not to a tradesman.

It is up to the customer to find out what products you use if they have a specific preference. Then they can decide on you or go elsewhere.
You cant compromise your business and thechnic unless use learn something new which we always do. however you have a product you know and have had success with.
Do your thing because when you change for those reasons you will always pay for it. ALWAYS, its the law or something.

Now if I could give you some advice,
I would stand steadfast on your paint and explain to him this is your product period.
Get totally caught up on your invoice then get a down payment on the paint job if you are concerned with him. Either way keep the car until payed in full.

If he is hell bent on dupont maybe you can work out something on finihing the bodywork and let him go elsewhere. On good terms. Even though most pro painters wont touch someone elses body work.

I know its easy to tell them to get screwed or something but the key is to get paid and make them think you are tryin to help them out.

Other than that dont waste your time , thats worth more than money.

Good luck