[sick472]

I have used a basecoat/clear, acrylic enamel single and the urethane single stage (I'm a novice at best when it comes to painting with only 4 vihicles under my belt). The acrylic and urethane act very similar with respect to prep, spraying, and fixes. Runs can be lightly sanded out and if you sand through the paint to the primer, that area can be resprayed and wetsanded and polished back out. The base coat portion of the base/clear method acts the same way with respect to fixes, but without the extra effort in making it shine after repsray. The clear coat is where the shine comes in. The runs in the clear can be fixed in a like fashion.

There is alot less work in the single stages because, if prepped and sprayed well, once the paint is sprayed on...your done. The base/clear project I did required wetsanding after the base and after the clear followed by a fair amount of buffing. Maybe I did it wrong or maybe the process has changed since the late 80's.

I like the the single stages because there is less elbow grease so long as you are not after the "deep" and/or metalic aspects that the base/clear process can yield. I beleive the base/clear process is less forgiving when it comes to fixing screw-ups, but the single stages are less work given you can prep accordingly and spray the paint on evenly and without runs.

Side Note: I have read that the urethanes can be worse when it come to the effects of breathing it. All paints are bad to breath, but the urethanes seem to have a worse reputation when you ask the weeser after the fact. So, any way you go, expect to get the proper respirators and ventilation in the shop.