" Coach enamel " ??

[MIG Wielder]

I was on a visit to a Railway Preservation group last weekend and got chatting with one of the restoration guys and he was telling me they use a paint called " Coach Enamel" . It does seem to give a good finish especially on dark colours like green and Damson (?) . Has anyone tried this on a car ? I imagine its going to be quite expensive.
Thanks,
Tony.

[Mahesh]

I think it only comes as a brush on.

[Galileo]

My Dad did his Austin A60 in that stuff, bright red, swear he knew someone down the Post Office, anyway, not a bad finish as long as you didn't look too closely, like maybe give it about 3 miles and you'd be golden.

[RobSun]

When I was a lad this was a very popular way of repainting a car and brilliant finishes were obtained. It was developed for coach builders and used by them for decades and using the correct brushes and technique the finish is superb. Preperation just the same as for spraying then brush on, and it didn't run easily. Rub down then second coat rub down and polish or third coat for best finish and polish. It eventually lost out to spray paint but as late as the mid seventies I had customers who were real coach builders and restorers still using it because of the superior finishes it gave.

[Bumpa]

Two or three years ago I repainted a Lotus Elan with brushes using International Perfection yacht paint. This is a two-pack epoxy paint and gives a fabulous shine right out of the tin, but it has to be cut back and polished with a machine after a couple of weeks to lose the brush marks. A lot of work but the final effect was good and those who saw the car couldn't believe I had done it with a brush. See the final result in my photo.

Does coach enamel have to be cut back?

[RobSun]

Does coach enamel have to be cut back?[/quote]

When I saw it used all they did was rub down with fine grit emery between coats and tee cut and polish to finish. Most recommended leaving final tee cut and polish for about three weeks to let the paint harden fully, even saying get some rain on it first. It is very good (or was) at not leaving brush strokes or runs if high quality brushes are used and you get the brush load right. If there were any runs or brush strokes they just used a bigger grit to remove them and finish off with a fine grit. The paint deposit was thicker than spraying and seemed to be more resistant to chipping and fine scratching. A skilled coach builder got fabulous results and a practiced novice could get very good finishes without the need for spray equipment in their garages.

Up in the north east in the 60s and 70s it was the favoured way for the guys at the engineering co. I worked for to repaint their cars. People were much more hands on in those days, had to be, in keeping their cars on the road, just like now we classic owners tend to be.

I believe there is a company in the north east still producing coach enamels but the range of colours is very much reduced to the traditional black, blue, green and red.

[naskeet]

This coach paint sounds like the sort of paint I need to repaint my 1974 Triumph Toledo 1300 "HL".

[tony g]

years ago I grew up where a "Wynns Haulage" company were. All trucks and vans were brush painted and I couldnt believe they werent sprayed, very nice finish.

Tony

[Slowmo]

Narrowboats are all painted by hand using enamel paints, similar to coach paint. Good old fashioned stuff with plenty of volatile solvents.

The paint is brushed or rollered on, and then 'laying-off' with a dry brush. (brushing gently one direction then at right angles). The finish is near perfect with no brush marks.

Peter.

[naskeet]

Narrowboats are all painted by hand using enamel paints, similar to coach paint. Good old fashioned stuff with plenty of volatile solvents.

The paint is brushed or rollered on, and then 'laying-off' with a dry brush. (brushing gently one direction then at right angles). The finish is near perfect with no brush marks.

Peter.

Back in the early-1990s, I brush painted my Toledo with ICI Permobel Mimosa yellow together with "hammer-finish" black Hammerite. The ICI Permobel gave a reasonable finish, but I would have preferred an longer "wet-edge" time.

[tinweevil]

like maybe give it about 3 miles and you'd be golden.

Splortle!