Swapped from single stage to base/clear on a 98 Civic last month

I've always done single stage on older cars because it's cheaper and faster. But I tried a PPG base/clear system on a silver 98 Civic and the difference in depth was NIGHT and DAY. The metallic actually pops now instead of looking flat. Cost me about $180 more in materials but the customer was thrilled and sent me two referrals. Anybody else made the switch and notice a big difference in final quality?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles7218h ago

Whoa wait... you spent $180 MORE on materials for a Civic? That's crazy. I mean I get wanting it to look good but that's like a whole other set of wheels or something. On a 98 Civic of all cars... I paint my own stuff in the garage and I'd never drop that kind of cash on a car that's barely worth more than that. But hey if it paid off with referrals then maybe you're onto something. Still though... silver metallic on a Civic. That's just wild to me.

jesse99413h ago

It's funny how we draw these invisible lines about what's "worth it" and what's not. People will spend two hundred bucks on dinner and never blink, but spend that same money making a used car look good and suddenly it's crazy talk. I see this all the time in other areas too, like how folks will pay top dollar for fancy coffee every morning but balk at spending ten bucks on a good tool that'll last twenty years. We've all got our own blind spots about where value lives. Your buddy probably thought he was nuts too until those referrals started rolling in. Sometimes the numbers don't tell the whole story.