Centari paint

[SFI-Mike]

I am replacing the fenders in the next month. Since I am doing all the rest of the work on my car, I thought I would try to paint it as well. The worst that can happen is I have to strip down and have someone fix my work. I am planning on using Centari or its equivalent. What all do I need to buy from the supply house to do the job. I figured a gallon of paint will leave me with some "touch-up" reserve. Should I use a hardener? I have never painted before and think that a fender on a saw horse is a good place to start.

 

[INDSKYS]

FIRST U WILL NEED THE APPROPRIATE THINNER FOR THE TEMPERATURE U WILL BE PAINTING IN . YES USE THE GLOSS OVERALL HARDENER IT HELPS A LOT.IF YOUR FENDERS ARE BLACK ID SAND AND PRIME THEM WHATEVER COLOR PRIMER U PLAN TO USE ON THE REST OF THE CAR .OR THE FENDERS MAY NOT MATCH REST OF YOUR PAINT JOB.ULL NEED TACK RAGS ,STRAINER CUPS , A VISCOSITY CUP =VERY IMPORTANT !.PAINT STICKS,MASKING TAPE MASKING PAPER. AN EQUIPMENT CLEANER SOLVENT TO WASH GUN . AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE HIGHEST QUALITY GUN U CAN AFFORD .ALSO U WILL NEED SOME KINDA SOLVENT OR EQUIVALENT TO PREP PANELS FOR PAINT BY REMOVING ALL TRACES OF OILS ,CONTAMINANTS .HOPE I DIDNT LEAVE ANYTHING OUT.

 

[Lswhat]

umm the most important piece of equipment the resparatior u dont want to breath the paint.

 

[INDSKYS]

U GOT A POINT THERE LS LMAO. BUT THEN I LIVE ON THE EDGE HAHAHA .

 

[zookeeper]

I think it's a great idea to try painting your car yourself, and by using the right materials and tools, it will give you the best chance of turning out something you will be proud to show off. There's simply way too much info to be covered here, but here are some tips: first, why are you set on using Centari? Most all painting is done with basecoat/clearcoat systems these days and for good reason. It's easy to use since with the color all you need to worry about is even coverage. and with the clear, all you need to worry about is shine, and pretty much anything that happens with the clear can be fixed when you rub it out anyway. As far as paintguns go, try a Devilbiss Finishline 3 if you have a decent (at least capable of 14 cfm @ 40 lbs) compressor or a Sharpe Platinum LV if you have a smaller compressor. They are great guns and by simply swapping tip sizes you can spray anythng from primer to clears with them. Also, if you have the impression that you can paint your first car cheaply, forget it. The first one is spendy, but the second car you paint will be cheap because you already have bought the tools. You have to want to do it because you want to learn, otherwise you're better off paying someone else. Consider what it costs to buy a compressor, air plumbing (don't even THINK of using plastic pipe) a good wall regulator/filter unit, spraygun-quality hose, hi-flow fittings, a gun, a fresh air system to protect your lungs ( very necessary if you're painting and the paint is catalyzed with isocyanates) sanding blocks, paper, body tools, materials, etc, and it adds up in a hurry. But I'm in the middle of my first paint job and I love it! To really let you know what you're in for go, I recommend a couple of books both written by Jon Kosmoski. Kustom Painting Secrets and Advanced Custom Painting Techniques are excellent books geared towards beginners with great, easy to follow text and pictures. Kosmoski also sells a video that goes well with the first book and really explains the whole process from start to finish. Kosmoski is also the owner of House of Kolor and the books and videos show the use of his products so you don't need to rely on the counter guy's opinion at the local paint store. I buy all my House of Kolor products online at www.autobodydepot.com and get it much cheaper than I would paying full retail locally.Kevin Tetz sells a very good set of videos that are again done with the novice in mind as well as has an excellent website www.paintucation.com and you can read in the best message board on the planet. The people are extremely freindly and very willing to help newcomers. Hopefuly this can point you in the right direction, feel free to PM me with any specific questions.

 

[oboebrian]

INDSKYS brings up a lot of good points. I used a $40 harbor freight gun to paint my 72 (body and hood blackout). For Painting my lower mach 1 stripes (6 or so months after painting the car) I bought a Devilbiss Finishline III HVLP Gun. I have only used it once now and it is amazing.

With the cheapo HF gun there was a couple runs and tons of orange peel when the gun is adjusted as best as I could get it. It was very hard to clean up and tended to drip a lot (even with every joint having teflon tape on it).

The Finishline 3 (FL3)gun is just amazing. I put it all together, ran some solvent (thinner) through it a couple times along with adjusting the regulator at the gun, inserted the EZ liner (a must have, it makes for very easy cleanup), put some paint in and adjusted the air/paint mixture and fan control for about 2 minutes. After all that I started spraying, and man the results were amazing.

The gun was very well balanced when full of paint, the paint laid down perfectly (very smooth and no orange peel at all). After painting I spent about 3-5 minutes total cleaning the gun back up.

The FL3 is not the most expensive gun out there, but it was a night and day difference over the cheapo or semi-decent guns. I bought mine from Len Stuart at the autobody store (www.autobodystore.com) for a great price and fast shipping. Spend a day or two and read through the message board on that site. If this is your first time painting invest in the Paintucation tapes (i have the entire set and they are immensly useful). Stuart also has a video tape but I havne't personally seen it to comment accurately abot it, but from his knowledge and experiance in painting and autobody I bet it's also first rate.

Here's some points to remeber/consider

1) spend the lil extra for a good or great quality paint and not knockoff cheapo brands. If you don't you'll probably regret it in a year or two when you have to repaint again.

2)take your time and prep the car very well, don't skimp on things. Paint and bodywork takes a lot of time and patience along with a lil bit of learned skill. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, but do take the time to learn, ask questions, and fix it before continuing on to actually painting the car.

3) You will have to create a clean paint booth. Whether it's a custom 2x4 frame with plastic sheeting and fans or cleaning out your garage it's important to have a clean work area. This is so dust and other contaminants (bird poop) doesn't get in your paint as it is sprayed or as it dries along with protectin other htings from overspray and health hazards. I helped mike out on here paint his 65 in his open driveway, but he can attest I wasn't happy about this.

I painted my 72 on a concrete slab surrounded by dirt and under a 12'x 20' enclosure that the sell at costco ($169). I did have a couple dirt specks in the paint even though i was anal about wetting down the slab and yard very well along with being analy retentive about cleaniness of the car and my clothes. Those came out with a little color sanding and buffing though. They can't be sanded out everytime (i.e. if it's stuck between the base and clear coats) so be very careful.

4) what system are you looking at (i.e. base/clear coat or single stage urethane). SSU is very hazardous due to isocyanides in the hardener and should be used with a fresh air system or approved respirator. Some clear coats are this way also. In some cities they will not allow you to paint a car with paint that has isocynides in it (or if you do you'llbe fined heavily). So check with your city/county. Along with buying a good quality gun, buy the best respirator you can buy that matches your intended use.

I have tons more tips just not the time to type them up (as i'm sure INDSKY's does)

 

[oboebrian]

Good points also zoo. BTW please don't tell me the comment on plastic piping comes from experiance?

I spent probably about $1600-2000 at least on painting tools and materials for my 72 (i haven't added it up lately and got a great deal on the paint). But the painting for my 65 (next job) is probably only going to cost me for the paint and sandpaper (tons cheaper this time around). One part of me hates doing the body work, the other part can't wait to do it. I've already gotten tons of comments on the paint which makes me feel great to say that I did it in my backyard.

This is the results difference between the HF and FL3 gun:

A picture of the reflction in the paint in a good result area:

FL3 reflection at night under low light conditions

 

[zookeeper]

Oboe, believe it or not, I originally bought my FL3 as a primer only gun. But after using it a few times, I came to the conclusion that it lays my "practice" paint down too nice, and will simply use it for everything until I get enough experience to notice the difference anyway. I will be buying a 1.3 tip for the clear from Len (same place I bought my wall regulator and my gun regulator for the FL3) for $25 rather than blow another $200+ for a paint/clear gun. From what I understand, the Finishline 2 was also a good gun, but contained some plastic parts, whereas the FL3 is all metal, plus has a 1 liter cup which should enough paint to one coat without stopping to refill. I agree with using the best material you can afford, which is why I went with House of Kolor instead of the low-end brand my local paint store recommended. By going online, I found that there isn't much difference price-wise, but the thought of disassembling my fastback again in 5 years to repaint due to fading or rock chipping/delaminating paint more than makes up for the couple hundred bucks extra. Plus, I can call House of Kolor's tech line and speak to a real painter to answer my questions, can you do that with "brand-X" paint? Plus since every counter man (person?) at every store has a different idea of what is the right product to use, or the right thinner, primer, etc, how can you rely on them for advice? But it's been a ball so far and I'm looking forward to finally getting my car painted, since this is something I've wanted to do for years, just never had the courage to try it before this. Now I wonder what the hell I was afraid of!