Paint or Powder Coat

[fabr]

First off let's just say that PC is best. OK,now that that's out of the way  this car will have very little of the frame actually exposed. Soooooo ,what are the very best alternatives in PAINT. I'm not interested in bed liners or anything like them. Epoxies,ceramic catalyzed urethane,industrial enamel,whatever. Opinions and experiences. Pros and cons.

[Lance-W]

My experiences are with automotive paints.  PPG or as it used to be called Ditzler.

Pro's and Con's

Lacquer Is weak and very labor intensive but very easy to touchup.  Do people even spray lacquer anymore?

Acrylic Enamel is tough especially if you use a catalyst.  Simple one stage paint that's easy to paint and easy to blend.

Urethane.  Super tough but much harder to spray than enamel.  It's like trying to force honey through the spray gun.  Usually requires a two stage BC/CC aka Color then clear on top of it.   It's super tough but not as friendly when you have to fix it.  I paint all my cars with it so it can be sprayed but there is a learning curve.

"industrial enamel" is usually just a less expensive (color driven price) than automotive enamel.  Just as tough just not as many color options as the automotive stuff.  It's what I plan on using on Samantha's buggy.

Epoxies I have no experience with...........

[fabr]

Plain old gloss black for this car. I really like black cars even though all my race stuff has been blue. Go figure. Anyway I've sprayed about all of them and do it the old fashioned way with a pressure pot so any viscosity is no issue. I'm really leaning toward just an industrial enamel due to easy touch up if I forget to weld something or need to add/repair something.

[SPEC]

I think lance pretty much summed it up...
A good epoxy primer, with a catalyzed Industrial pigment top coat
Tough as nails and touch up freindly

[Enemy]

I think lance pretty much summed it up...
A good epoxy primer, with a catalyzed Industrial pigment top coat
Tough as nails and touch up freindly

Absolutely!

Just my $.02 here is all.
Every painter has a favorite product, this is mine!
I have been using BASF products for 4 years after switching away from the Duponts and PPG's and will NEVER EVER go back. (been painting for 15 years ) On restorations/bare steel jobs I like to use Glasurit epoxy primer (801-703) after a good cleaning of the steel with 360-4 Metalwash. This is an excellent foundation product for doing any plastic/metal fill work or to go straight to refinish. If you are just going to shoot it black I would use BASF SC403 single stage black (its in their Diamont line) 

Simple, durable, highly effective system. (Chip Foose seems to think so anyway!  )

Lacquers, enamels, (dinosaur technology) hell even urathane base/clears are getting harder and harder to obtain thanks to the EPA and their forcing of waterborne systems on us....Even in Nebraska!..bastards

[fabr]

On bare 4130 there is a "scale" from the mill. Sand blast first or just prep with metalwash?

[fabr]

What primer if going over the FG body panels?

[Enemy]

On bare 4130 there is a "scale" from the mill. Sand blast first or just prep with metalwash?

I would not feel comfortable answering that without testing it properly. Is this the same type of "scale" byproduct that comes along with soda blasting? (I am not too familiar with 4130) If so than I would definitely sand blast first just to be safe. I have seen soda blast scale bite many people in the ass when it didn't get all removed in the cleaning stage.

What primer if going over the FG body panels?

I like to use Glasurit 285-50 for primer/finish work. I'm no salesman but I say that one because I use it everyday and it hasn't failed me yet. Sprays nice, sands nice, and doesnt shrink up like the cheaper alternatives sometimes do while creating fits of rage a few years down the road because of how shitty the job now looks!
(Yes I have been bitten by shit products 
Fabr I could fax ya some tech sheets on the products if it would help ya decide

[Lance-W]

On bare 4130 there is a "scale" from the mill. Sand blast first or just prep with metalwash?

I'd blast it.  It doesn't have to be a hard surface changing blast just a knock the crap off clean the weld residue off type.  One thing about sand blasting it'll give the metal teeth for the primer to stick too if you hit it hard.  You'll definitely have to prime it after blast.  How hard you blast it comes down to how much you want to sand the primer.  Painting it black it has to be perfect or it'll look like shit.  Sure you want black on a buggy?  I'd never do that but then I have two black cars that always look dirty unless I just washed them 5 minutes before.