Wow. This thread began 2+ years ago. I achieved some good results on the project, in part from all the great info in this thread. I moving on to another paint project now, mostly small gloss black parts but with the same time paint. I came back to this thread as a refresher. Thanks again to everyone for your valuable information.
Please Help , I recently purchused my paint for my 59 chevy pickup. After Buying the Centari White paint. I decided that I would like a Pearl Effect in my paint job . Is it possible to put some powered pearl in the centari paint to get a little effect? Or is it possible to clear coat it after wards with the pearl? If any one has any Ideas Please Help me Out! I've talked to a Few painters and They have told me I could do it both ways. And some have told me Not to Even Try it!! Please Give me Some Feed Back ! I've painted a few cars in my time but I'm far from being a Profesional. Thanks Al
I don't know about mixing pearl into the paint, but I have added pearl to Centari Clear back in the day. Maybe someone else can enlighten us
I would not do it. Centari is a pretty opaque color, and white is usually the most opaque. The pearl will get "lost" in the mix. Best to put your white on, mix some pearl in Centari clear, like Smokin said. Put a couple pearl coats on lightly...keeping the pearl flakes at random angles. Heavy coats will lay them flat, and you'll lose a lot of the effect. Then CAREFULLY put on 2-3 coats of pure clear. You don't want to reactivate your pearl coats, and let them flatten, so go lightly on a coat or 2 of just clear, then flowcoat another coat of 2 for your final finish. You'll probably have to sand and buff, as doing it in light coats will leave you with an orange peeled surface. It's tricky doing it with enamel, but can be done.
Thanks Fellas for your Help! The Next question is How much pearl to I put into the clear ? I like your input about angling the direction of the pearl. Is it like shooting the old Metal Flake paints Using Higher Gun Preasure To get it Bounce Back to the Surface? And how much clear do you think I'm gonna need? 1/2 gal ? Thanks Al
Hey, I second what Mark said above about Centari being very opaque, and how it will envelop pearl if intermixed! I'd go with the white as a base followed by 3-4 piss coats, much like you'd blend an acrylic enamel metalic job with the last two full or damn near straight clearcoats. If you shoot the pearl too wet it will bloch and mottle on you, and you can't sand that out! Still much easier than a true candy to shoot! " Swanky Devils C.C."
ipainted a drag boat with black shot it very hot 4 to 1 75 degree thinner50 times i shot color on that boat (black) wet sand 2000 paper last 3 coats was purple flip flop sand all 3 coats buffed it was beautiful it was like looking in a very black purple mirror 468 chev tunnel ram jet drive very nice ride got it finished(back together) some one came along with apocket full of money. it took 6 months to do that boat,not kidding it was beautiful takes time and talk to the old painters they been there done that time and and more time is what it takes my 2 cents lol
#1 do a test panel. Usually a couple teaspoons in a mixed quart is good for light colors, less for dark. But it also depends on how light you shoot the pearl coats, how slow your passes are, how close, etc. Too little= no pearl effect Too much=milky, cloudy, blotchy #2 I would use just slighhtly higher pressure and shoot from a little farther away, JUST for the pearl coats. Again, you wan tthe pearl to lay down standing up at all angles, NOT laying flat. #3 you need enough clear to protect the paint, 2-3 coats on the entire surface. I might put on 4, if it isn't laying down flat, so I have a little extra to sand and buff.
I Sure Do Thank You All For the Input. I've put a Lot of Time on This Ole Truck and Want it to Be Real Nice !I Don't Believe in The Deep Pocket Folks THat Hire it All Out. Even if It Doesn't Look Perfect I was the One that Did It.!. With All Your Help I Know it will Be Now ! Thanks Again Al
Several years back a freind of mine sprayed my 60 Chevy for me (as a favor) after i did all the prep and body work .This was Centari Enamel shot with a $10 cup gun from a garage sale ,and we sprayed it in 100 degree weather with medium temp reducer in a shop with open doors.Some times you get lucky .No orange peel ,trash ,anywhere ,and went on like glass without even mixing it properly in a ratio bucket.May have helped that the guy used to paint cars for a living ,lol.This is the way it went on with no color sanding or buffing...
I know this is an old thread, but I've really enjoyed reading your centauri stories. I'm restoring my biplane and have finished all the fabric work and today bought some Centauri for the metal work. I sprayed Centauri years ago on the same airplane but now I notice the ratio's are different. I'll be using a fairly cheap HVLP gun and spraying mainly small metal panels. I remember spraying three wet coats. Is that still the preferred method? Most of my work will be layed flat. Also, is there a preferred primer for Centauri. Thanks in advance. Here's my bird: I originally sprayed the whole plane, fabric and all in Centauri. It lasted 24 years. This time I went with a vinyl ketone based paint for the fabric and Centauri on metal and fiberglass. Steve G
I have found that when spraying small parts you can't beat Chromone that has not been thinned. It resists runing and has a gloss like a plastic part. It will fill small imperfections as well. Just spray with a little more air pressure and keep going around the part with simi dry coats until it has a very high gloss.
Ok this ones mine,All my cars are centari.On tip size to the gun A 1.3 .Tried the 1.6 and I got better results with the 1.4 I recommend a 1.3 ....And lots of heat to let the enamel flow.............
I agree..... Sounds like we had the same Dad..... Use to do the same thing exept he would say " burn it in"........ I can also remember him spraying Imron with NO reducer...... Would put the can on a hot plate and warn it up till it "flowed" ........ Ahhh the good old days.... Miss you Pops........
Not to steer this topic off in any manner, but I painted with Centari back in the early 90's. My results with it were really good at that time and the paint was fairly cheap back then. Not sure if it has changed or not as far as mixing requirements, but I used a Sata HVLP gun at the time and 25 psi. The HVLP guns were new back then, so I rapidly went back to using my old Sears gun and just felt better with the feel of it in my hands and knowing how it operated. The Sears gun was great until it got near empty and started slinging paint spatter. Still, I liked it better than the brand new Sata for a long time. No painting at temps lower than 72 degrees, but no problems with the paint. It glossed real nice in my project car and was easy to work with at that time. Maybe I was just lucky, but I never had orange peel problems with it. Its been way too long ago to remember the exact part to part mix, so I'll not try to guess on it. I was thinking one to one, but don't believe me on that, as my memory may be off. Any rate, I am in the process of trying to find something similar as a single stage paint that requires little to apply and have good results. I am almost tempted to shoot it on with a Preval system, instead of a gun, as I don't have all that much to be done on the project. It is to go on a motorcycle and sidecar. I am trying to find a match for a standard Marathon Checker Cab yellow or taxi cab yellow. Anyone able to suggest an easy to obtain paint and color chip for this application? Should I check out SherwinWilliams, NAPA or what? I am looking for a single stage paint (no clear coat required), that has a gloss to it. I have a sidecar rig that I use with my dogs all the time. I am thinking of painting it up in a dog taxi theme. I was looking at Eastwood and saw a color called chrome yellow, but I believe the actual stock taxi color is more of a harvest gold type of yellow or a yellow with a slight bit of orange mixed in. Any suggestions? Thanks. What it looks like now: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/6518875911/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/6518876787/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/7706325208/ Some ideas only for the taxi theme: The color that is shown in the pic there is basically what I am searching for. http://www.flickr.com/photos/a1930ford/sets/72157630888572870/ Sorry to get off topic a bit, but I am looking for a single stage paint very similar to the Centari paint discussed in trying to put together this project in the next few months. I liked working with Dupont paint in the past, but it has been a long time back. Thanks.
Checker Cabs has their own corporate colors. Just ask your paint jobber for their paint and he will mix it for you. Next time you need a touch up the color will match better. Dave.
Been a while since I used Centari. I never got a "spray and walk" finish with it but with a littler color sanding and buffing it looked good (for the time.) All we had before that a Acrylic Lacquer. Centari was a godsend back then. I might have missed it but are you painting straight color or metallic? Color sanding single stage metallic is a problem.
I am a professional painter. -----Go to a slower reducer. Cut your spray pattern down just a little, slow your pass down. Make sure you overlap is in the center of your last pass. Look at the paint and spray with what you see. you may want to overlap to smooth it out. Do it right and you will be able to walk away. That's what makes a great painter. Have fun! Remember, mistakes are costly. _____________________________________________________ " Real Hot Rods don't have fenders"
I sold Centari and HVLP guns for years. I would say crank up your air, with Centari generally a tack coat goes on first, then open her up and put your next coat on heavier. I have rarely seen it run.
I used centaur and Martin Senour back in the 1960 and 70's I liked Martin Senour the best, I always thinned more than what they said and my paint jobs were very flat. I painted in Florida and the humidity and Temps were high so I used slow thinner. Never cut and buffed an acrylic enamel paint, I was always told you couldn't sand enamel without ruining it. At 78 years old I'm fixing to paint my wife's truck with acrylic enamel, let you know how it turns out.
Last thing I paint went by “ new mixing” formulas ,paint looked terrible . Allowed it harden a couple of days light scuff and reshot it “old mixing formula “ looks like a pro painted it . I think you’re a bit cool on temps for super nice flow out also .
I used one temperature range slower (hotter) reducer and up to 10 percent more reducer to insure it flows out. Leave 10 minutes more time before re-oat and be accurate in your application as sags come easily.
Lay it on, practice on getting a run in it then back off just a teeny bit to NOT get a run, there's your setting. Spray speed impt., keep it steady. and..if you manage to do this a couple of heavy coats is all you'll need on it, no more. A good enamel job done right doesn't need sanding and maybe a good wax job 3 months later. Don't think so? ask the old painter with no hair who never had base/clear stuff to work with.
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