Are you going acrylic on top coat Chris, I' m pondering the paint on mine at present, cheaper, less toxic and manageable..?
It's a big decision Steve, and one you need to make early, before you commit to panel preparation. . .
If you go back to the beginning of this thread you'll see I was all but convinced that I would be painting using acrylic lacquer. After talking with my paint supplier and seeing what can be achieved with modern 2K finishes I have been swayed. You can pretty well duplicate the factory finish with additives which just take that 'glass gloss' back to a finish that suits the era of the D, perhaps more like an acrylic finish.
I can still think of good reasons to run with acrylic, but I'm committed to 2K now with my preparation.
At this stage I will get all the panels to primer stage and possibly top coat the inside of doors, bootlid, front and rear guards and the underside of the bonnet. I should then have the use of a booth for top coating all the exterior. Currently I am using a full face airfed mask and disposable tyvek overalls when painting. The airfed mask is run off a second compressor which is sitting outside in the clean air, ideally the air should run through a filter but at around $400.00 its still sitting on my ebay watch list.
In terms of cost, I doubt there would be much in it, using 2K with a good HVLP gravity gun most of the paint goes on the panel, very little overspray unlike acrylic. 2 coats would be more than sufficient whereas to get a decent film thickness with acrylic you may require 6 coats or more - bottom line you will use less paint which may cost a little more in 2K. I think they would be on par $ for $.
Short answer, 2K :wink2:
Cheers
Chris