Hi,

Does anyone know if its possible (just in theory at this stage) to rub down bodywork to bare steel and apply a clear lacquer rather than paint??

Its not for the 7 by the way, for an old MG BGT...

Cheers,
Stu

Only problem is normal car lacquer is not entirely waterproof or gas tight so you will , very slowly get the metal underneath darkening and then rust appearing on the surface, it wil take time about 18months based on some stuff I made a few years ago. This will be worse with water based or acrylic lacquer, you might be able to find an epoxy based finish that would be more durable.

Caber

Clear powder coat springs to mind.....

It kinda assumes the panels under the paint are perfectly flat.

You would probably end up with a "rat look" MGB in a few months

Didn't realise you could get clear powder coat... interesting.

Cheers chaps, perhaps have to have a rethink... Thanks for the info though, very useful!

Stu

Clearcoat is paint just like any other, fully waterproof and durable, afterall it is applied to protect the very vunerable basecoats on cars.

The problem with direct application is that you would not be able to add any primers so cohesion would be a compromised.