Two is better than one

Today the new bedside and wheel arch for the Toyota went into the booth for paint. You can see in the first two photos the parts after the application of the base coat.

JMC AutoworX, like most body shops, uses the modern two-stage paint system. The first stage, the base coat, is simply the color. It has little to no gloss and doesn’t age well in the environment. Left unprotected, the base coat would begin to deteriorate in only a few months if exposed to the elements. A good thing if you are building a rat rod but not such a good thing if you want your car finish to have some depth and gloss.

Which is where the second stage comes in. The next two pictures, numbers three and four, show what happens when the second stage, the clear coat, is applied. Notice how the color gains depth and gloss? Not only does the clear coat protect the more delicate base coat underneath, it also provides the zing! to the finish in the form of luster.

Now we just need to let these parts dry so we can handle them. After they dry we can pop the panel back on the truck, put the bumper and shell back on, and this truck will be ready for its next fishing trip.