Well I have had my out back chewed for not posting enough so here goes a long one!
I am at the point now of getting all my ducts in a row, for paint and final assembly with one more body repair on the right lower door,to res-kin the lower 8 or 9 inches. I have more pics to post in the rebuild gallery, I will try to get that done this week. I also have to finish the lowering of the rear and am looking for some black powder coat lake pipes.
Paint, this is going to be my first time doing a pearl paint,my son and I have chosen a light blue from martin senior( napa ) store in our home town. I was told by the young man who mixes the paint that one gallon would be enough, I thought that was going to be short but I suppose its a 50/50 mix, I have not had a chance to talk to him yet so all is second hand info threw my son.
Any pros can just chime in here to let me know of your suggestions on the painting and if you have used this paint, pros and cons are welcome and as always greatly appreciated. JNT

 

All depends on the gun. A HVLP gun has an eff of 70-90%, uses less paint. If your using a conventional gun, these have a max eff of 30-35%.

 

Not sure about their paint, but if you want to be frustrated , just buy their 3 part clear that they sell. I paint for a living, and normally use PPG clears. The guy at NAPA talked me into using a quart of their clear. I expected with any new product ,that it would take a couple of adjustments to get it just right. I followed their sheets on application,and wound up waiting till the next morning and sanding the bike tins I had cleared with it ,and used my PPG. When I shot it, I immediately got solvent pop. In other words, I had little craters all over my work. I had some pretty detailed airbrush work under it too. I had to be very careful as not to sand into my work. I did everything right, and had the dealer scratching his head. After several emails to the manufacturer, I was told I got a bad batch. I then told him that I was sure some other folks got the same batch I did. I would assume that the paint you are using has two colors and a reducer. Normally you shoot the white on first, then shoot the clear looking pearl color that sort of tints the white. But, I'm not sure. I have used Car Quest pearl Paints.(Dupont) It is a 3 compnent system. White , colored pearl, and reducer.

 

Martin Senour is just rebranded Sherwin Williams which is a decent paint line, not my personal favorite but I have used it in the past with pretty good results. My question though is are you painting a true pearl paintjob being a 3 stage system or is it just Pearl blue ? There's a huge difference. My other suggestion is that being it's a light blue, make sure you use a light colored sealer, you'll get better coverage that way and won't have as much blushing when it comes time to clear. The one thing I will say about Napa's paint is that it doesn't have the best coverage and tends to be a bit transparent but you should have more than enough basecoat.

 

I do have the HVLP gun not top of the line but it works, I shot the interior and after several coats it began to cover.

 

I used this paint on the interior and the clear was one to one with thiner the only trouble was me trying to get it to wet so i have some sanding and retuching of clear

 

I will have to get with the dealer to find out,I am glad you put all this in to your question now I can ask him I realy am ignorant about this paint that they sell today. After painting the interior I could not beleive how fast it flashed and I was able to clear coat. thanks for you input I will let you know in a few days. JNT

 

Not a three stage system, the mica is mixed into the paint then clear coat. He did say you could mix it into the clear but he suggests the paint mix then clear, for flames, or other graphics.

 

Being a basecoat it will flash fast which is a good thing since it doesn't have the tendency to fisheye as bad if you have mild contamination and it will help a bit in keeping it from occuring in your clear. The majority of the paint systems out there have some problems with coverage especially on the lighter blues and such, the one key is that you are dealing with an effect paint and I'm sure it's a metallic as well so even though it looks like you're not getting the best coverage, don't get in a hurry and think that hammering it on heavier will help because you'll only give yourself more work in the long run. Get your gun set up properly and take your time. Once all is said and done, you'll have a nice clean finish that you're proud of.

 

Thanks Indy, I had along talk with the paint mixer at napa today, he said that making sure of consistent distance and working it like a candy paint, you know no pooling. I told him how surprised I was with the flash time on this paint, he informed me that the next one we will use has the same characteristics of the midnight charcoal we used on the interior. I am seeing just how the body boys are able to put the cars out so fast,no more 24 hour drying time. JNT

 

Yep, that and figuring in heated paint booths and you get even better dry times, but when doing custom work you still have time constraints to deal with. I know myself personally when putting on shelby stripes and such I prefer to put down the base color, then clear it. The following day I'll wetsand the entire car, layout my stripes then clear it again. Doing it this way I've found adds more depth and a better effect with the stripes, almost bringing them out of the paint job rather than just laying on it. It takes more time yes but to me it's worth it in the end.

 

When I get my base coat painted , I always shoot 2 coats of clear over the stuff, before any opf my art work goes onto it. It just makes for a better finish. Looks like you are headed the right direction. Like the above mentioned, don't get in hurry with this opr any paint for that matter. Be sure to send photos.