Kind of paint

As I am close to painting the shell of my Cav. C6-174G, I was wondering what type of paint would be best. I am not looking for an original restoration paint job, but one that looks good. My question is, what type of paint to use and how much does the paint generally run and how much to get? I am close to finishing my prep work, just haven't had to much time to work on it. I would like to get it painted before it gets too cold. I will be painting in the shop where I work, which has some heat, but does not get to warm, though it doesn't get all that cold either, since we don't have really cold days in SC.

[loman4ec]

I use Dupont Ceniari. I don't know if that is spelled correctly. It normally takes about 2 quarts to paint a machine for my paint guy, but he uses alot of paint on my machines. I can't remember exactly how much it costs but I think it is somewhere aroung $150 a gallon for red. Also red will allways be the most expensive.

Loman is correct in my opinion, Centari being an Acrylic Enamel - automotive grade it is tough and will give a good single stage appearance like they were originally painted.
Your local paint shop can give you the right mixers for the temperature and humidity you expect to be painting in.

from Mike and Jerrys.com:
Centari Acrylic enamel offers long-lasting good looks on commercial vehicles, trucks, trailers and fleets – everywhere durability and performance are expected. Centari provides excellent flexibility, a high resistance to humidity and weathering, and very good chemical and abrasion resistance. Centari can be applied over all DuPont primer systems.

[Creighton]

Great Thread!

Couple of questions. Just gifted with a 1.5hp/4 gal. air compressor. Anybody have suggestions for which paint gun is best? Won't be painting the car or house just small parts and pieces.

What is the best way to get color matched/mixed with paint? I'm pondering a repaint/mod of the bottle door and would like to keep it close to the orginal shade on the shell.

Thanks for all the help over the years !!!
Creighton

[loman4ec]

Your compressor is way too small. You would be able to run an airbrush but that is about all. You might be able to use a touch up gun but I doubt it. PSi and HP don't have alot to do with it. The deciding factor is CFM. See what your compressor will do and look for a paint gun to match.

[Jim]

There was a similar discussion some time ago and one thing I would like to reiterate...

The final finish is only as good as the prep work! (ie. body work, primer, sealer etc...)
If there are ANY imperfections, they will be amplified once the top coat has been applied and more will begin to show as things settle over time...

Additionally, I recommend to anyone attempting to spray their first machine, practice on something metal other than the machine to get the feel for how the paint is applied, how much to apply at one time, and follow manufacturers directions to the "T" for the first few times until you get the "feel" for things... Especially be wary of painting vertical surfaces and corners where too much paint will yield results you're not looking for!

Lastly, I'm not trying to discourage anyone from attempting this themselves; just warning those of you that may have never utilized this type of equipment/paint systems before... Believe me, there's a lot of gratification knowing you accomplished a nice paint job to complete a restoration!

Oh yea, I'll throw in a plug for PPG products! Years ago, I did utilize DuPont products but switched for the better!

I'll agree with the compresser being on the "very small" side for painting but don't let that stop you.  Go ahead and get that first paint gun and if you're spraying enamel you don't need any special gun (IMO). Get a small size gun at Sears or local auto parts store the HVLP (Hi Volume Low Pressure) type with the cup on top, only because they are easier to use when you are almost out of paint and spraying is easier to control at lower pressures.

Keep in mind that painting is like opening the valve on your compressor to let the air out, how soon will it kick on? That's about the spray time you'll have until you must stop and wait for the compressor to shut off, all the while your sprayed paint is drying. . . so just do small parts first like you mentioned.

It is very very tricky as Jim points out to paint all the corners, edges, angles, etc.  and not get runs.  And enamel is not friendly to repairing runs and boo boo's as is the more expensive urethanes. Its easier to go hire a local body shop for the final spraying.

Thanks for all the input. Greatly appreciated!!! I have a good contact through a fellow employee at my place of employment. It so happens the secretary's mom and dad own a body shop. He has already looked at the coke machine and he quoted me a price of around $250 for all the paint I would need to paint it. He looked at the prep work I had done and said from his point of view, it looked really good. I was a little taken back on the price of the paint. Not knowing what the paint runs, I wanted some more opinions and expertise from others that are more familiar than I am. As I am new to this area of addiction. LOL My first coke machine and not my last. I already have made an offer on my 2nd machine. Just waiting on a response. The only info is what he could read. V165A. Once again, thanks for your input.

[Creighton]

Excellant Replys!!
Thanks to all. Does appear the compressor is not ideal. Will shop around and let everybody know what I find.
Thanks again!!
Creighton

How many coats of paint do you recommend?