Base coat opinions

sprint_9

Rookie
Im trying to decide on basecoat for my project, I want to stay with something I can get locally and currently have my eye on 3 options. I havent done hardly any painting but what I have done was with PPG DBC. So Im looking for some input from anyone that has some experience with the following.

PPG DBC option 1

Wanda option 2

Lesonal option 3

Given these choices I have a few things to say about each one. DBC would be a perfect match to the factory color, but it costs quite a bit more. Wanda would be pretty close but not exact on color, and the price is obviously better. Lesonal I havent really looked into but it was quoted to be about the same price as DBC, and would be the same color as Wanda

Im not too hung up on the color deal as I am spraying everything so I dont have to match. Im more interested in quality as I want this to look good and last. Now with that I would venture to guess that DBC or Lesonal would be my go to option as its more expensive but I see Wanda highly talked about on here. So I am wondering if I can save some money with Wanda or just quite messing around and get DBC or Lesonal.

What would be your preference if it were your project?
 
Im trying to decide on basecoat for my project, I want to stay with something I can get locally and currently have my eye on 3 options. I havent done hardly any painting but what I have done was with PPG DBC. So Im looking for some input from anyone that has some experience with the following.

PPG DBC option 1

Wanda option 2

Lesonal option 3

Given these choices I have a few things to say about each one. DBC would be a perfect match to the factory color, but it costs quite a bit more. Wanda would be pretty close but not exact on color, and the price is obviously better. Lesonal I havent really looked into but it was quoted to be about the same price as DBC, and would be the same color as Wanda

Im not too hung up on the color deal as I am spraying everything so I dont have to match. Im more interested in quality as I want this to look good and last. Now with that I would venture to guess that DBC or Lesonal would be my go to option as its more expensive but I see Wanda highly talked about on here. So I am wondering if I can save some money with Wanda or just quite messing around and get DBC or Lesonal.

What would be your preference if it were your project?

Order a pint of each and go with the one that gives you better color hiding.

Wanda is mixed 2:1 so you may end up needing a bit more base than the others.

At least that's what I would do, get a feeling of how each spray.
 
I too heard good things here about Wanda so I used their SS. Found it sprayed well.
 
you wont have any advantage using lesonal over wanda. i have a wanda mixing rack in my shop but i often have mixes made in lesonal. coverage between the two is for the most part the same. only difference is for a shop lesonal has tech support and warranty. if you have the color camera, that also works with far more formulas on lesonal than wanda. in your case though, none of that makes a bit of difference and there is no reason to pay the premium. wanda coverage is right up there and within maybe 10% of the top lines from the best brands. i never used dbc so i cant compare with that. i can tell you that i have a resto shop that i have done business with over the past 10 years or so. they are totally ppg. primer, clear, everything in the place but they come over to my place to buy wanda base lol. they stopped using dbc a long time ago. what im told is there is very little if any gain and a huge price jump.
 
Same as Jim here. I use Wanda on most of my collision repairs and for the most part works out great. Diamont is my other go to base coat but I feel the 2 are just about the same , Wanda is less $. Euro clear is my clear choice.
 
All offered you good points and the only thing I can add is all your three choices are excellent bases.
 
Thanks everyone for the feedback. I did some more checking today and it looks like I'm most likely going with Dbc. Neither of the two Wanda jobbers can match the original color, one gave me a close variant and the other wouldn't even price out a variant. So I thought why not try a more modern color that I might go with instead, all 3 came within $100 of each other. The thing that wins it for Dbc is it mixes 1-1 and I can drive 5 miles instead of 80 to pick it up.

A couple a questions on Dbc, when activating is the 1 ounce per qt. Ok, Spi Clear activator? Can Dbc be lightly sanded if I get some trash in it before clearcoat?
 
It's not a good idea to clear over sanded basecoat. Any sanded areas need a coat or two to bury the sanding scratches. I did not see where you mentioned what color this would be, but metallics in particular will be screwed up by sanding, and can even give you problems when going back over with base. But even solid colors will change with sanding, and will need at least one more coat before clear. The only thing you should touch as-shot base with prior to clearing is a tack rag, and even that should be done with care.
 
That is kind of what I meant, I just worded it poorly. Reason I asked is I remember reading somewhere where some basecoats couldnt be sanded at all or you run into major problems. Its not something I want to do unless absolutely necessary. Im thinking like a piece of hair, or eye lash, lands on it and shows up before I clear.

Im just trying to plan ahead for any problems I may or may not have to be prepared.
 
I've shot a s-load of DBC over the years. It's a good basecoat but it does have it's issues. First it is not a polyester so any nib sanding you will do will gum up the paper immediately. Activating helps but things need to be clean when you shoot it. Like Crash said if you do sand you'll need to recoat, 2 coats minimum, sometimes three. I wouldn't nib it with anything coarser than 800-1000 grit. As for activating you can add up to 5% to your RTS (ready to spray) mixture. 1.6 oz per 32 oz RTS. Any SPI clearcoat activator will work nicely in place of DX57. Count on spraying at least 3 coats and probably a 4th coat for peace of mind and full coverage. If you match your sealer on the greyscale to your color it will help you get coverage sooner. Barring that SPI gray epoxy would be a good all around choice. The SPI reducers work perfectly with DBC and are cheaper (and better). I wouldn't use anything faster than SPI 885.
Spraying it DBC works better with medium wet coats. Don't spray it heavy, especially if it's a metallic.
That being said make sure you spray a wet coat for your first coat. Not heavy but wet. After that you can go a little faster and spray it a little lighter on the subsequent coats, especially if it's a metallic.
Here is a link to the DBC TDS (technical data sheet). Read it thoroughly before you shoot it.

http://www.tcpglobal.com/docs/ppgdbcp.pdf
 
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Thank you Chris, and everyone else for their input. Pretty much all of my questions have been answered regarding base coat. I really appreciate the detailed responses.

Ill be sure to follow the guidelines you have suggested, only thing I might have to change in my reducer. Do you think I need to go 885 from 870? I bought 870 as my shop is going to be between 65-70. Probably on the lower end of that when spraying and running my fan, especially the way the weather is trending in the upcoming weeks. Im spraying in pieces, and not an all over.
 
I gave up buying local due to their ridiculous pricing and poor color matching. Chad's service has been excellent and the Automotive Art Motobase LV sprays excellent. Great coverage, lays out nice, mixes 1:1 and arrives at more doorstep.
 
Thank you Chris, and everyone else for their input. Pretty much all of my questions have been answered regarding base coat. I really appreciate the detailed responses.

Ill be sure to follow the guidelines you have suggested, only thing I might have to change in my reducer. Do you think I need to go 885 from 870? I bought 870 as my shop is going to be between 65-70. Probably on the lower end of that when spraying and running my fan, especially the way the weather is trending in the upcoming weeks. Im spraying in pieces, and not an all over.
Sometimes I mix 870 and 885 at normal room temps, because the 870 seems a bit fast for basecoat unless it's a bit cooler, but straight 885 is a bit too slow unless it's a complete. (Your mileage may vary, depending on shop conditions)
 
I gave up buying local due to their ridiculous pricing and poor color matching. Chad's service has been excellent and the Automotive Art Motobase LV sprays excellent. Great coverage, lays out nice, mixes 1:1 and arrives at more doorstep.


I was originally thinking about going with Motobase, but the guy I was talking to recommended using only Automotive Art reducer otherwise the color might end up being slightly different. I already bought most of the reducer I need from SPI so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with it and end up with a bunch of leftovers.

Color being slightly off doesn't bother me now, but worries me if I end up in a fender bender and need to match something.
 
I was originally thinking about going with Motobase, but the guy I was talking to recommended using only Automotive Art reducer otherwise the color might end up being slightly different. I already bought most of the reducer I need from SPI so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with it and end up with a bunch of leftovers.

Color being slightly off doesn't bother me now, but worries me if I end up in a fender bender and need to match something.

If the Automotive Art reducer he is recommending is a low VOC type, then I would definitely go with SPI 870/885 blend like Crash suggested.

The non VOC regulated 870-885 are way better than the 0 VOC stuff. If you ever have to re-spray your car just stick to the same reducers and painting procedure-settings and you'll have no problem matching the paint job.

I find the A ART reducers grossly overpriced here in BC Canada and I have tested their medium speed against the 0870 SPI and SPI'S has a slightly slower evaporation rate and good solvency with Motobase, they work extremely well with that basecoat.
 
Thought I would update this with my final decision, which ended up being Wanda. The one thing holding me up on the Wanda was the color choice, I ended up finding a color that is close to factory but I like it better since its just a touch darker blue.
 
I was originally thinking about going with Motobase, but the guy I was talking to recommended using only Automotive Art reducer otherwise the color might end up being slightly different. I already bought most of the reducer I need from SPI so I wasn't sure if I wanted to go with it and end up with a bunch of leftovers.

Color being slightly off doesn't bother me now, but worries me if I end up in a fender bender and need to match something.

I use SPI reducers with Motobase without blending and have had no problems. Again I only buy slow reducers and activators but 2 or 3 paint jobs now and not a single issue using quality reducers.
 
same here with wanda. i have much better results with spi reducer in wandabase than i do with wanda reducer. its a night and day difference actually.
 
I have SPI reducer in Medium speed. I thought about ordering a gal of slow to mix them like Crash mentioned but I havent decided yet. I was also thinking about doing the same with my clear, maybe mixing regular and slow together

I have one gal of clear so it would be 2 gals sprayable, Im not sure but I doubt thats going to be enough for my entire truck.
 
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