going to repaint my 86se. i stopped in at NAPA and their Martin-Senour paint was about one-third the price of other brands. is the stuff any good?
has anyone ever used it?
thanks

M-S brand has been around a long time. Decent paint but not maybe the best... Good for basic work in solid colors. Holds up decent. I think they may have different grades of paint.... can't remember right now.

Depends how long you want to keep the car and what level of finish you want... If you are planing to keep it a long time or show the car then you might want to look at DuPont or one of the other brands.

DuPont has several brands... Basic stuff to premium. Dulux Centari Chromalusion Imron etc...

Imron polyurethane enamel has always been one of their top end paints. Very good finish and very tough paint. We used to use it on motor cycle frames because it would take the abuse from the front tire better. It's also one of the most expensive paints. Even in the early 80's the stuff was $100 a gallon. If I remember right, you need about 1/2-3/4 gallon to paint most small to intermediat size cars.

Chromalusion is one of their new paints. Haven't used it. As I remember it's one of those color shifting paints.

Good paints are, usually, also harder to spray. You don't give paints like Imron and Chromalusion to a novice. Definitely NOT DIY paints. If you use some of these paints wrong they will ruin the paint gun. I believe Imron is still a two part paint and if you don't shoot the cup and clean it within the alloted time, it will set like an epoxy. Once that happens it is VERY hard to get out of the gun. It can ruin the gun if not removed ASAP. Think Epoxy. (If you mix in too much hardener it will also ruin the gun...)

Trivia... DuPont was one of the companies originally involved in the Fiero project. Fiero body panels were still under test at DuPont Chestnut Run labs even after GM killed the project. I've actually seen some of the testing. The mixed materials of the Fiero body presented Very difficult paint problems to the entire industry. (Alass... CR labs no longer exist.... DuPont tore down all the buildings "Inside The Wire" in the mid 90's. I believe DuPont has moved all paint testing to the Experimental Station and a couple other facilities.)

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Screamin' Yellow Zonkers... If it's Screaming and Yellow, I aint eatin it.

thanks for your in-depth answer. i still have a week befor i go out and get my paint. the car will be used as a daily back and forth to work car, so maybe the more expensive paints are not for me.
thanks again...

NAPA sells Martin Senor paint which is owned by Sherwin Williams. When I had my NAPA dealership, most of the bodyshops love M/S paint. One of my 30+ year painter wouldn't use anything else. He switched from DuPont to Martin Senor. Of course you can ask 10 painters and get ten diff opinions.......LOL!

Phil

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87 FIERO GT 2.8 5spd
0-60 in 6.8 seconds!

I've used M-S paints. Other's experiences might be different, but I thought the paint was just fine. Price point is pretty good, as I remember. If you buy paint, tho, get the whole package from the same supplier, that is, buy M-S sealer, reducer, catalyst, and flex additive all from the same supplier.

Also, get more paint than you need. There's a price break at the one gallon point. Getting a gallon should leave you with about a quart extra--you'll have extra flex additive and reducer, too.

For the most part, car painting is not for the novice or the home garage paint shop. The stuff is, I'm sure you know, fairly toxic, the solvents can damage your liver and the catalyst contains cyanide compounds. Inhalation AND contact hazards!
Positive pressure respirator and a good filtering and exhaust system is a must.

If you beat the bushes, you may be able to find a friendly body shop that will either shoot the car for you or let you use the paint booth on a weekend. Ask the guy that does the painting, he (she) might be willing to come in on a Saturday to do the painting (for some $$$.) Neatness and experience REALLY COUNT!

i do have the car sanded down, it does look gray instead of black now.
painting the car myself is just something i want to do. i was going to use M/S primer-surfacer next do you think thats ok?
Do i need some sort of sealer on the car, or just the primer.
does the sealer go on first or after the primer is sanded down?
please help
THANKS...