how many coats of clearcoat?

fixing to paint my '80 chevy, truck has 53000 actual miles from new, 0 rust, i small scrape from a farm gate [ at 6 mpg we don't use it much, since about '89] paint is factory, now the factory paint is the old light metallic blue, this did not have much 'shine' when new, i plan to do another factory paint to the truck,single stage to keep it original looking , im thinking about using clearcoat to make the truck blue have some depth, but to me nothing looks worse than all these modern cars with flaking clearcoat on them once they get to be a few years old, is clearcoat feasible on single stage, and how many coats should i apply to make the stuff last awhile?

If you are going to use clear, there is no reason to use single stage. Use base clear. Modern paints do not peel off. Do the proper preparation and use the primers recommended by the manufacturer. Glennster on this forum will read this and tell you whether you need to remove the paint to bare metal. I would say that is the best way. I don't think clear was used in 1980, at least not base clear, the original paint on your truck was either alkyd enamel or acrylic enamel, not sure. The current paint is as foolproof as you can get, PROVIDED it is applied properly.

I didn't answer your question. The number of coats depends on the quality of the paint and your skill. I use PPG Omni, which is a little thin--3 coats of base and 3 clear. If you insist on using single stage, 3 color and 2 clear. The only advantage of clear on single stage is that if you have to sand and buff it, it will not go to primer as easily -- that is why I use base clear, it sands and buffs better than single stage. However, if you can get a smooth finish it will be brighter without buffing. Sanding and buffing is to remove imperfections.

Just to add to what CNKS said , unless you are pretty well experienced at painting , you will have a mess if you try painting a light blue metallic in single stage. It is just one PITA to get it to shine like glass without the metallic sagging or mottleing or tiger striping.It can be done but not without some formal education from someone who has learned it(probably the hard way). I have done many back in the days when it wasn't an option but now with base/clear , I will NOT single stage ANY metallic for anyone. Base/clear is much easier , costs no more and holds up better and gives you the option to sand and buff if need be. Sand and buff on a single stage pastel metallic and you will have a blotchy mess. Ask CNKS , once you base/clear you will never go back , especially on metallics. Solids , it's a toss-up. Sounds like a truck worth doing right. The reason clear delaminated on some older base/clear cars was that it was still in it's experimental stages and the factories were between a rock and a hard place trying to get a "wet on wet" bond without sanding and also meet the EPA's more stringent factory emmissions and VOC standards for the paint operations. Havn't seen one delaminate since the early-mid 1990,s. I have never had any of my jobs do it. Been using BC/CC since 1986.

About all I use single stage for is on some parts I remove from the tractor (cast). I have a matching single stage that I use for that. You are right, I am never going back to single stage on the sheet metal or the chassis, except for a few small parts. Clear is much easier to buff.

(quoted from post at 15:09:05 06/25/12) About all I use single stage for is on some parts I remove from the tractor (cast). I have a matching single stage that I use for that. You are right, I am never going back to single stage on the sheet metal or the chassis, except for a few small parts. Clear is much easier to buff.

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So you are doing the majority of your small parts base clear as well? Nuts and bolts?

I don't have a real good reason to clear small parts, so most of them I don't. You have to look real close to see the color difference. Some of the bigger small parts such as the oil canister, air cleaner, etc will be cleared, along with the fan shroud, front axle or bolster, etc. The bolts are painted with single stage urethane intially and touched up after installation, with of all things IH 2150, close enough for me, and I don't have to mix the hardener. So, I am using 3 kinds of paint on one tractor, and I challenge anyone to tell the difference. That is not to say I will paint a whole tractor with 2150, I won't. In small areas used as a touch up for chips, etc it blends in. I bought a quart of 2150 several years ago only to compare the color to PPG 71310-- I can't tell the difference. I still have 90% of it.

When i went to work in a body shop, back around 1951, or so, i had only been there about 4 months, when the guy who painted everything on wheels--failed to show up! We had a car all ready for him to do the painting, but no painter! Thats when the boss told me i had better get into the booth and paint the car. And, thats when i found out it was a high metallic goldish color. (A '51 Ford Custom Coupe)
Now, my experience at painting cars was only in Laquer, and i trembled at the thought of doing synthetic enamel--especially high metallic gold. HOO-BOY!
But, it turned out nice, and i stepped right into the job of head painter. Cars, not heads!

if you have the paint code, i can check to see if it is base clear. but just guessing, i would venture to say it is a single stage. early 80's was the beginning of the domestics to start the switch to base clear because the asian imports were base/clear, and the colors looked so much better. to check paint adhesion condition of your present paint, get a good quality duct tape, and apply some 12 inch strips in various areas on the tuck finish. rub it in good so it sticks well and then give it a ginger tug to remove the tape. of color comes off with the tape , the old finish will need to come off. soda blasting works well for this.