My Challenger needs to be redone. Any advice on paint brand to use and what process to follow?

I'd love an original single stage enamel but I realize that may not be practical. I try to only drive the car in nice weather but I do drive it as opposed to trailering it. It doesn't get washed unless I get caught in the rain. I do use a spray shine on it and a California duster.

Thanks for your opinions and advice.

PPG DCC single stage urethane???? PPG Delstar is acrylic enamel. It's ok, but I bet the urethane paints last longer and will be more durable.

I had the engine compartment and trunk done with DCC in FJ5. I bought base clear for the outside, but probably would have been fine just using the single stage. It's a non-metallic color, just like your pink, so you can sand and buff it. I would not do single stage paint on a metallic color.

I would stay with a single stage myself. It will actually make for a more correct look, and its plenty durable--wax it once in awhile. I would also compare a few actual samples, Panther Pink is a color that if slightly white washed looks horrible (and I have seen several cars that end up this way) but if its intense enough (blues and black tint toners) is really cool. Different paints WILL have slighly different appearances.

Back in 1994 I actually had Sherwin Williams Automotive custom blend my own version (slightly more black) to acheive the look I wanted. Its a pain, and I wouldn't recommend it for a 'correct' FM3 car, but it makes for a GREAT look.

I liked the R-M Diamont base and clear we used clear flowed out nice on the areas that could not be sanded and buffed{like underside and engine bay}

If the plan is to wetsand and buff the final finish there's no use in using single stage, base clear is much more user friendly and the end result is more fade resistant.My point is if you water sand and buff the end result will look the same. I would recommend PPG or R-M Diamont. I used diamont on the Bee and it was very nice to work with.

Ken......while I'm a big user of dupont products, and like the high glamour finish of the Dupont BC/CC Chroma Priemier line,.......If your searching for a single stage finish, to look "factory",.....I'd recommend you get the "pink", in Duponts IMRON line,....a real tuff single stage finish, not for "beginners",....IMRON is very tuff to wetsand and buff, if you have a booboo!, it can be done, but best to avoid if possible,.....Moulin Rouge/ Panther Pink mix formula is available in IMRON

Agree with much of what was said above. I used PPG DC single stage.

You WILL find that supposedly the SAME PP color is different from different sources. Some shades look too blue, some too white. If you have ever seen two PP cars near each other at a show I'll bet many times they looked different.

My number 1 priority was getting the correct color (because that is what I liked, not because my car is original. But also why have it PP if it is actually going to be a different color?).

I had samples from different brands and none of them looked "right" - a very subjective measurable of course. However I did see a car at a show in Calif once which did look spot-on and I talked to the owner. He had had an original untouched sample (i.e. unfaded part of his original car) and had found that PPG was a dead match
That was good enough for me....so I went ahead and used it.
The PPG/Ditzler code is 2260

BTW, it seems a rather strange color (no, not because it is pink!). It really looks a different color in different lighting, and my painter also told be it was a bit like a metallic when it came to color matching (i.e. he thought it was very difficult to blend-in a part panel)

I am by no means a paint expert.. But this A12 Bee was done in single stage Glasurit. The finish is absolutely perfect, and this paint is legendary for it's toughness.

Ken: Your car is painted in Sherwin Williams. At that time it was the only paint that was close to being correct. However it was painted more than 20 years ago. Getting the correct colour will be the hardest challenge especially with clear coat and FM3 doesn't look nice unless it is the exact correct hue.
The paint was a problem on that car, the painter used SW colour then he clearcoated it, I'm not sure what he clearcoated it with. I let the car sit for a month and then I couldn't get ahold of the painter to wetsand and buff it (later turned out he was in jail). I checked with a bunch of shops and finally decided to wetsand and buff it myself. As soon as I touched sandpaper to the clear I got colour so something went wrong as the colour had mixed in with the clear. At that time all of the Pro buffing products would not bring the gloss back, what did bring the gloss back a bit was old fashioned Turtle wax polishing compound. I finally got ahold of the painter and arranged to have the car repainted but he died in a plane crash before repainting it. Anyway just a bit of sordid history on your car.
I believe it was recleared after I sold the car and the rocker moldings removed at the same time.

Sheldon

I compaired the R-M base clear in limco and diamount as well as some PPG laqure and they were close to being the same. in fact I used some of the laqure in a spt or 2 in the truck area that was misssed when we shot the R-M base clear and it was realy realy close but was also cleared

I prefer a base coat/clear coat system.I painted my 71 Charger R/T back in 1991.I used Glasurit single stage then wet sanded and cleared over the single stage then wet sanded again then buffed it out.The paint job is almost 20 years old and still looks like it was painted yesterday.Having a clear coat makes it much easier to take care of and also if you needed to do a repair it is much easier to spot and blend>Most restoration shops are also moving towards base/clear coats.Not by choice but because of VOC regulations.Shops must comply with changes or get fined.I now spray with ICI Autocolor a line that PPG now owns which is used on most European cars.Most paint shops will work with you on a color match but they will probably charge for that extra service.
Sam

I wonder how close the PPG paint chips are in the books?

I agree with S-W not exactly being top notch paint. BTW that FM3 looked purple under flouescant lights, that was the coolest stock colour ever.

Sheldon

The factory used Electrostatic guns, and I suspect that caused a lot of issues regarding colors and the way they shift etc.
A sure sign that somethings different is how the paint lays on the firewall where it joins the trans tunnel. A spray gun tends to have a larger overspray pattern there.

I heard once that reversing the polarity on a metallic will change the lay of the flakes for an imperceptible changes that makes color matching and behavior hard to duplicate. Does anyone have any insight or experience?

Ken why don't you call Ken Katarynchuk and ask him what paint etc he used on his FM3 R/T SE. The car turned out absolutely incredible. He won the Mr. Norms award at the Belvedere plant show this summer. It's just too bad it wasn't completed in time for the All Chrysler Nationals at Carlisle when all the Pink cars got together.

It would be great to see both of your cars together especially since they both sold new out of the same dealership in Calgary.

Ken and I were parked next to each other at a local show this summer and it was hilarious listening to all the "experts" divulge their knowledge about Pink cars

One thing for sure, it attracted every babe at the show.

This car was also painted with Sherwin Williams back around 93 still looks like new....& it definately changes in different light....

I used dupont BC/CC, notice the change in color depending on the light.

Later in the day with overcast