PPG vs Omni quality

Arrowhead

Arrowhead

Oldtimer
I got 4 oz samples of the GM Atomic Orange from my supplier in the PPG and Omni lines. The PPG is almost double the cost of the Omni. I sprayed out test cards and they both covered the same, look the same, sprayed the same. It's for a Factory Five Cobra I'm doing the body work and paint on for a local guy. I'm confident in using either product and I think the results from either will be excellent.

But is going with the cheaper Omni line a cause for concern? Will adhesion, durability or chip resistance be an issue down the line? I've tried the Omni before and sometimes it's hit or miss as far as color quality, but this one is very good(might be the slightest shade darker) but the pearl and metallic reflection is excellent. Top coat will be SPI universal of course.

He is not asking for cheap paint, but thought I'd offer up the two options for him to choose, but only if it will still make for a quality job.

Thanks
 
I have a customer that used Omni on a car and he's been fighting it since completion, it's not holding up nearly as well as the car he sprayed with pro-spray at the same time.
It keeps contracting, he's buffed it three times now, he says he will never touch the Omni again. It's been a few years ago now and it's been fine since his last sand and buff but I wouldn't want to chance it..

It's a show car so it doesn't get much use so I can't comment on the durability..

But I do have to comment on a truck I did for myself over 10 years ago, it was a bright red. I had the same problems as listed above, I had to buff that thing every year or it looked horrible.
Just something to think about.. I know good paint is more expensive but I would go with dbc or global any day over omni.
 
omni is weak . most colors do not cover well , especially black . and as stated die back is awful . i was talked into using it once on a 55 . ended up repainting . it is designed for collision work at best .
 
So what does die back or contracting mean exactly? What does it look like and how does buffing fix it?

As I mentioned, I test sprayed both on test cards and they both covered the same (4 light coats) and the appearance was excellent, so I'm not concerned about that.
 
I believe Omni is a big mistake on the car you are doing for the above reasons and a fiberglass car makes it way worse for many reasons...we will never use it again....Dave
 
Ok dumb question here but even if you cleared with SPI do you still get die back and if so why?
Just trying to learn here. Ok yhanks
 
sure, you can have die back come from any layer. you can put the greatest clearcoat in the world on a car but if the base or undercoat are shrinking up then it will show in the clear as well and need to be buffed or even sanded and buffed.
 
this painting stuff is a lot more complicating than what we all realize sometimes..
But it does seem like the clearcoat gets blamed for everything.
 
I "think" that the Omni line is for all overs. They do not guarantee color match from can to can.

If you are going to use a gallon of base and it costs $200 more, that is a small portion of the overall budget for the project.

I used Omni once, there wont be a second time. IF I wanted to save the dollars I would buy Kirker, shoot it, sell it, forget it. Other than that Pro Spray, Concept are my choices.

Jut curious, did you do your spray outs on a black and white checker card or ? Without the use of a checker card I find it very hard to know when I have total hiding, which is only achieved when the whole card is one color and you cannot tell where the white and black blocks were.
 
Senile Old Fart;33829 said:
Jut curious, did you do your spray outs on a black and white checker card or ? Without the use of a checker card I find it very hard to know when I have total hiding, which is only achieved when the whole card is one color and you cannot tell where the white and black blocks were.
Click to expand...

Yes, I did use the checker cards. I sprayed three cards of each color and the both paints covered the same.

Sounds like everyone is pretty down on the Omni, the only experience I've had with it was an all over on my Mustang and I only had that a year before I sold it so I don't have any long term experience with it. That was five years ago and it kind of sounds like a lot of people's bad experiences were from a long time ago and I didn't know if they might have improved it at all.

(and yes, the incremental cost is minor compared to the overall project, but it is about $350 more total)

Just a side note: I'm not trying to do a "cheap" job and I'm not lobbying to get anyone to buy into saying it's ok to use a cheaper paint. But the option was offered up to me by my supplier and I feel it's my responsibility to at least check it out and get my facts straight before offering up the choice to the owner. Based on what I've been reading, I'm going to recommend going with the PPG.
 
I have found front ends painted with PPG DBC by a local shop to be rather susceptible to stone chipping. I know the painter, and know he does not use activator in the base. I would consider activating the base to be mandatory with DBC or any other basecoat for that matter, to help make it stronger and more flexible.

EDIT: I realized I did not specify DBC... that is the one I am talking about, PPG's premium solvent borne basecoat.
 
Omni plus covers better than regular MBC. USE SPI reducer. Activate it for sure, lifespan won't be as good as a premium line-why I don't know but it's just not as good. Ask a PPG rep, I've been told it should last three years before it starts to deteriorate.
 
Well thanks to the input here and the owner having good sense, I'll be shooting the PPG. And yes crashtech, I will be activating the DBC. I did so on my hot rod and not a paint chip (yet) after 6000 miles and no fenders.

IMG_20140114_204900_966.jpg
 
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