Clearcoat Acrylic Paintjob bad or good?

[karnage]

So im in the market looking to buy a rolling shell or a stock car and rip out all the parts and put some better stuff in. Only thing im concerned about really is the paintjob (don't want to have to respray it) and the body being straight and the car still being licensed.

So i've come across a car that would suit me, its a rolling shell and the bloke has painted it himself. So im a bit skeptical on how good this paintjob is.. I have yet to see the car yet as it's quite far from me.

I asked about the paintjob and he said its a clearcoat acrylic. Could anyone tell me if this is good/bad, its just been done so im guessing it will look pretty good but I don't want a car thats going to peel and flake and start to look crap in a few years time. I was told 2 pack paint is generally better than acrylic but just wanted your opinions, I have no idea about painting so I don't know what questions to ask to find out if hes done it right or if its crap.

Advice/Opinions would be much appreciated :)

[2jzlux]

I had a car painted in acrylic and after 10 years it still looks good.
At the time i did it so i could get the finish like glass with no peel but these days you can get 2 pack just as flat.
I think acrylic chips easier as i think its a softer paint where as the 2 pack clear coat is quite hard.
It mainly comes down to the preperation the surface has had before painting.
Painting in acrylic these days is for backyard jobs so you can cut back all the shit you get in the paint.

[karnage]

Was your car always garaged and was it driven a decent bit?

What sort of things could I ask about the preparation to find out if its been done properly or if its just been a quick job so he can get rid of the car..

[DrNick]

I resprayed one of my cars with acrylic about 5 years ago and it has been in the sun and rain every day since then and still looks great. The only issues in the paint are around the hatch and that is solely due to the fact that I didn't mask things up properly around the edges so they began to flake. But it was my first full respray and I'm very happy with how it lasted.

That being said, since acrylic resprays are the domain of backyarders, it also means there is a high risk of a dodgy job with poor prepwork. Unfortunately this will often only show up after a couple of seasons. You will have to make a judgement call on it when you see the car in person. But pay very close attention to the seams, under the bonnet and around doorhandles and window trims, as that is likely to be the areas which were not finished well if the car wasnt stripped back fully.