[QUOTE
Stay away from 2 stage systems (base coat / clear coat)
]
Scott, can you give the reason you don't like base/clear. I have a friend who used polyurethane enamel (Imron) on his plane. It looked great but now he has to repaint some hangar rash. He can't blend or match the product.
Thanks, Mark[/QUOTE]
What I actually said was ...
To anyone serious about a light weight paint finish, I would recommend the following...
Stay away from 2 stage systems (base coat / clear coat)
To a large degree 2 stage finish systems were designed to simplify field repairs (body shops, etc.).
There is nothing wrong with 2 stage on aircraft but I would never use them unless my goal was to build a trophy winning show plane.
They are more expensive, more work to apply, and in general are heavier (though that is still dependent on the skills and application choices made).
The thing that bothers me the most though (in my opinion) is that they also aren't as abrasion and chip resistant, or have as good of a resistance to damage by chemical exposure. This is in comparison to the polyurethanes that are popular for aircraft use (Imron, Jet Glo, etc.).
This comment is somewhat subject to how high a quality clear you are using, because there is a wide range available (using an inexpensive clear is not even worth the trouble, you definitely get what you pay for).
In my opinion, Single stage polyurethanes are the best overall paint choice (there is a reason private jets, etc., are not generally painted with 2 stage paint systems. I admit you are trading repairablity, and 2 stage is usually more forgiving for use by amateurs (fixing mess ups, etc.), but single stage would still be my personal choice.