Colored clear coat or single stage paint?

[Goodloe3]

Hey guys. I bought a trunk lid off of a '94 Pontiac Bonneville at a junk yard to practice on. I washed and clayed it for starters. Next I started wet sanding to learn the technique. As soon as I started, I noticed the "clear coat sludge" that should be milky white, was actually blue, the color of the paint. I'm wondering if the car was painted with single stage paint or the clear is gone.
As I continued with the process, compounding, polishing, finishing, I noticed the paint also came off on the pads. But the process yielded great results. Crisp, clear reflections. Looks great.
How can I tell if the clear coat was gone, hence the blue sludge. Or was it single stage paint?

 

[termigator]

I'm betting it's probably single stage paint. If there was a clearcoat and it has failed, I'm sure you would still have it in some areas. IMO, unless it was done on purpose, it's quite impossible for the clearcoat to be totally gone from the entire hood.

 

[Goodloe3]

That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure how glossy a single stage could get without special techniques and products. Could it get glossy with the same products we use on base clear paint systems?

 

[termigator]

Yes. From what I've seen and read on these forums, SS paints can look just as good as clearcoats and you can use the same stuff that you use for clearcoats.

 

[Goodloe3]

Cool. Thanks a lot.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

A '94 Bonneville would have had base/clear from the factory; my bet is you've got a repaint, and likely a cheap one (think Maaco).