Hold On

Any time Joe. Next time your down, drop by the shop. Andrew would love to see you. I hope to have the car down there in next two weeks to start disassembly.

Red Flash

Here is a related questions for you paint people:

What was the orignal thickness on the original single stage and metalic paints?

What paint thickness would a gallon of paint yield assuming most goes on the car... ?

JHowell37

1. The original thickness was far thinner than what most body shops can apply, but thick enough to prevent premature failure due to the paint being too thin. Modern cars that are painted by robots have even thinner paint. As long as the paint is within the paint manufacturers film thickness guidelines, it's generally fine.

2. There are too many variables to give you a simple answer. Someone who paints more than me can probably provide a better answer, but as a general rule, when painting, you're not looking for film thickness, you're looking for full coverage. Film thickness is almost always a non-issue since the majority of cars being repainted are having paint applied over the factory finish. It doesn't become an issue until you've got a car that's been painted a time or two already.

The Fixer

Regarding the OP's question of how much:

Buy more, much more than you think you will use, if you need more (and you will) it is a hassle and may not match exactly.

If a DIYer, make sure you can mix at least 1.5 gallons, and even 2 if money isn't an issue in case you fudge something up because you will. And that is OK it is how we learn.

And then you have plenty if in the future you need to make a repair or paint a part like your strut brace etc..
Matt