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Thread: How much paint will I need for a 55 Chevy Sedan?

  1. #1
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    How much paint will I need for a 55 Chevy Sedan?

    3 coats red base (or should I do 4?) Including under the hood and trunk, all jams, dash and inside trim pieces.

    I was told one gallon is enough?

    Doing BC/CC
    Last edited by DocHarley; 08-21-2016 at 02:39 PM.

  2. #2
    Registered Member Custer55's Avatar
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    I used 1 gallon of each (red and white) on my 55 and then needed another 1/2 gallon of white to do the trunk. I painted mine back in 1988 with acrylic lacquer though. 8 coats of each on the outside of the body and 4 to 5 coats on jams and under the hood. You wouldn't need as much with base coat clear coat but I would get at least a gallon and a half if it were mine. Better to have paint left over if you need to repaint anything down the road.
    Brian

  3. #3
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    That's a tough question and it depends a lot on the paint, color, coverage, etc. We used 1/2 gallon of orange base on JUST my frame and radiator support so far. I bought two gallons but I'm not sure it's going to be enough for the underside of the body and all the front sheetmetal along with the rest of the car. Plus the entire backside of the car is going to be off-white. I may paint all those loose pieces first and see how much I have left, then order what more I need and mix it all together to shoot the outside of the body, doors, tailgate, fenders and hood last. Need to discuss it with my painter.

    One gallon for a whole car seems like not nearly enough but I could be way off on my thinking.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


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    I agree, you'll probably need 1-1/2 to 2 gallons of both base and clear. Red will take more than 3 coats IMO. Part of this depends on what paint brand/line you use. Premium brands/lines cover better. How much clear depends on how much you sand/buff off.

  5. #5
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    Red will be very expensive, but you want to make sure you get enough. To make sure you have the same shade you need to mix it all together in a bucket, then pour it back in its containers. I noticed that you used SPI primers, but they also have three different base coat reds for $307 per gallon--bright red, medium red, and dark red. For restorations they recommend their Universal Clear for $113 per gal. There is a forum for questions about their paint products and application.

    After all the hard work you have done, don't skimp on paint quality.
    http://www.southernpolyurethanes.com/#!current-ad/c1ex

  6. #6
    Registered Member MP&C's Avatar
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    Red is a semi-translucent color, so make sure your sealer is all one color before spraying any red. No exceptions. The only thing I have to compare to was the 65 Fairlane we painted in Viper red, although this is comparible in size. It took about 5 gallons of mixed base to do both inside and outside of doors, trunk lid, and fenders. Hood was sprayed black on inside, red on outside, and red on body and door jambs. We sprayed 3 coats of base, 3 of clear, and may have had 1/2 pint left over. At the time this paint ran about 200 per gallon. Dupont Chromabase would have been about 600 per gallon, but perhaps would have covered in two coats. I felt more comfortable with coverage using 3.

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  7. #7
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by MP&C View Post
    At the time this paint ran about 200 per gallon. Dupont Chromabase would have been about 600 per gallon, but perhaps would have covered in two coats. I felt more comfortable with coverage using 3.
    Once I picked my color I checked with my local PPG Paint Supply and the DBC base was $1168 a gallon. I ended up finding a PPG supplier in NY that sold it to me for less than half of that (under $500 a gallon). Not sure how he does it, but he said he buys trainloads of base at a time so he has lots of volume. I bought 2 gallons of base and 2 gallons of clear plus hardeners and reducers from him and saved $1700 over the local price. If you want his contact info, PM me.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  8. #8
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    I found PPG Viper red on ebay. Is this junk since it's only $200 bucks a gallon?

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/PPG-Deltron-...285394&vxp=mtr

  9. #9
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    Well it's closer to $300. If it's what's it's claimed to be (PPG DBC with the Viper color mix, mixed when you order it) that's a good deal.

  10. #10
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    I was also looking at the DBU which is $200 and got confused. What's the difference between DBU and DBC?

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