Looking for mid-range paint line

I am going to try my hand at painting a vehicle in BC/CC (it will be black). It's a CJ-5 so I'm thinking it a great body style to start on. My question is what paint line should I use? I don't want a high-dollar paint job but I assume that I don't want a summit brand paint either. What's a good mid-grade BC/CC paint line that won't break the bank?

i am a PPG certified painter.
PPG has a budget line call OMNI or shopline.
i have used this with excellent results for over 20 years, sometimes solid colors aren't available as a BC CC formula so they have to convert a single stage formula to BC CC. when this happens you will get very poor coverage. if spraying black you shouldn't have this problem.
in my opinion it's better to buy from a local source over online if you aren't that experienced with paint. you can get better tech support this way if you have problems.

https://us.ppgrefinish.com/PPG-Refinish/Features/Sidebar/Shop-Line-System-Selection-Guide

I have good luck with Pro-Spray. It lays down nice with good coverage and is a nice alternative to PPG or other premium paints.
Whatever you do PLEASE DO NOT use Omni or another super cheap paint. You will be sorry if you did.

Thanks for the good advice. I was planning on heading down to the local paint shop to pick it up but didn't know what to suggest. Seems like there's always a new paint of the month out there that everyone is trying to push so I was trying to stay with something that folks have had experience with.

Maybe I'll have to see what they suggest/have in stock.

My '65 Coronet was sprayed in Omni BC/CC in 1994 and still looks good. It's not a 100 point show car, but presents itself damn well. I wouldn't hesitate to use Omni on something that's going to see a lot of use.

I had a friend spray my car for me as he is a painter. I did all the body work though. We did it in my garage and it's a "driver". Finished it in spring of 2019 and prob have put 500 miles on it....It is stored indoors and I take it out for a car show or 2 a year and just go get ice cream. He recommended the Shopline as it was cheaper and would be good for how I intended to use the car. I think I had $750-1000 in just paint supplies and materials, but colors can make a difference in price as well. The stripe was painted on as well.

Looks nice! Thanks for the feedback.

I had a '69 notchback but, regretfully, I sold it.

Yes, Omni is a very good product. Good for a daily driven car or truck. Of course, with black, it’s only as good as the body work and prep.

PPG certified painter here too. If you want savings yes Shopline is good for BC/CC but by all means do not use the single stage especially if going black. It will die out in no time. As far as clear I have used both the 2002 clears from PPG as well as Glamour and Euro Classic from Transtar. The shopline clears for a daily driver I feel to don't hold up like they should. If you go with shopline base I suggest not going with it mixed 1 to 1 but instead do 1 paint to half a part reducer. no need to reducer it 1 to 1 as it is thin to begin with.

Southern Polyurethanes sells a black basecoat and several clears.

it is -their- specific shade of black, which might work as long as you were not looking for a certain black from a specific vehicle/model year.

https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/pricing
https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/basecoat
https://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/clears

I have been working with their epoxy and 2k primer over the last few months, seems like good products to me.

Also worked with Matrix several years ago which was similarly priced, and also good product, but since then
the company went from independant to owned by Valspar and I don't know what else has changed. I wouldn't
be afraid to try them again but would purchase small amounts to experiment with and see how I liked it first.

Also check out Tamco
https://tamcopaint.com/

i rarely have sprayed Omni single stage so i can't comment on if it dies back.
the largest cause of paint failures is LACK OF FILM BUILD. you need at least 2 mils of film build for proper durability. it sprays on at about 1.2 mil per coat. once you sand and buff it you will probably end up with less than 2 mils. i have always used 3 coats and never have had a problem with it.

my biggest experience is with using Omni MC270. i have been spraying approximately 1 GALLON OF IT A WEEK for about 15 maybe 20 years on warranty GM paint delams and other budget work. our shop sprays it on every VW warranty rust repair for the last 10 years and never had a complaint about durability .our shop goes thru about 2 gallons a WEEK of it. we spray it over preimun PPG base coat. first over DBU, then DBC and now envirobase. we have been painting in a downdraft baking booth. i have painted it in a garage and air dried it somewhat regularly in the past and have been pleased with the results. i add a little PPG DX84 enhancer and this improves cure time and durability in a air dry situation. as i posted before you will need good film build for durability.

a little history about this Clear. in my opinion it's basically reformulated DAU82 clear coat. this was PPG best clear in the early 80's. it has been surpassed by higher solids clear used today.


as far as poor coverage with the base coat. i haven't sprayed it Omni BC much. but from my experiences as i posted before CHECK WITH THE supplier if the color is a BC/ CC formula or if it's converted . if it's converted it will be poor covering color. i painted my 72 Hemi Road Runner with Omni from the epoxy primer on the bare metal thru the clear coat, it was all 100% Omni products, and it held up well in the 10+ years i owned it.

I also have used Omni. Used the Omni 2k primer. Sprayed well with very good coverage and topcoated with Omni single stage. Was really surprised how well the paint laid on.
Very happy with the results considering it's a lower cost paint.