Black Paint

[exeric]

My first "restoration" was on a '41EL. I used foofoo can Krylon on the primary cover and it looked great until gas drooled on it. Then you could tell I used Krylon red primer under the black. Then you could tell I painted over a reproduction chrome primary cover. You get what you pay for when it comes to paint.

[D.Mac]

You Guys are right about the spray can paint not being as tough. The engine enamel holds up better than regular spray cans to fluids, but it is not as hard as commercial paint for sure. It is easy to touch-up though. Like you said, you get what you pay for. As a Scotsman though, I've a reputation to uphold!

[LJH]

I had some parts that, I needed to paint. Went down to the local Dupont automotive
paint supplier. 1 gallon, Centari 99A - $130.00, 1 pint hardner - $68.00
1 pint (mid temp reducer) - $16.00 Are these normal prices? or was, I getting
a "special" discount LJH

[cdndewey]

We use this stuff at work called Clove-athane (industrial) . It's a 2 part stuff that is quite durable. It is shiny so I don't know where it would fit in with a resto, but I did a bunch of parts, frame included for my 78 FLH and am going to use it on my 47 EL for a bunch of the black gloss parts. My buddies have done a 47 frame and seat pan and 49 frame and crash bars and the they look good.

[PRG]

Howdy LJH.

Haven't bought Dupont in over 20 years, but if it'll make you feel better, I paid $250 for gallon of just untinted Glasurit standard primer - won't get into the prices for to-color-sample 22 line High Solids for the the two-tone final finish - on this 1941 Indian Four resto.

[bodnarjw]

I have to put my two cents in for Matrix. Great paint and so tuff you can beat it with a hammer. I think the key to making it not look over restored is to do minimal prep work. For example, Harley left all the brazing **** and runs everywhere on the frame. Who am I to remove it or sand it smooth. Sand blast, light coat of primer, light coat of Matix gloss black and she's good to go.

[Chris Haynes]

Not all black paint looks the same. I need to set up an assembly line in my hobbit to paint everything from triple trees to oil tanks. I really don’t want to clean out that gun twenty-five times. Two days everything gets painted (Get a chance to try out my new Susie home maker self cleaning oven). Harley Vivid black is much too glossy and it’s a two stage system to boot. What would be the proper shade for these items? Does someone have a paint code? PPG, DuPont. Bob L

As you can see by the below chart Vivid Black was not for frames. Frames were painted High Gloss Black. Is High Gloss Black glossier than Vivid Black? One might suspect so.

[silentgreyfello]

Centari black with hardner is the best. If it comes out too shiney or imperfections in the paint, wait a day, scuff with 1200 grit and buff with rubbing compound until you get the sheen you want. 0000 steel wool can also be used in the hard to hit areas.

When mixing Centari, don't use the 8:2:1 ratio (8 parts paint, 2 parts reducer, 1 part hardner). You will get orange peel. Back before the enviros went nuts, Centari recommended 8:4:1. They had to change to meet the EPA requirements. I think you'll find better results at that mixture. Depending on temperature, I have used as high as 8:6:1. First coat is a tack coat... very light. That is also the coat where orange peel starts to develop. The only coat that you should try to get a wet look is the last coat, however if you fog your coats too much, it will give you a rough surface. There is no substitute for practice.

[kval]

Centari black with hardner is the best.
When mixing Centari, don't use the 8:2:1 ratio (8 parts paint, 2 parts reducer, 1 part hardner). There is no substitute for practice.

Silentgeryfello
help me out here
the person that showed me how to paint said to use 3:2:1(3 parts paint, 2 parts reducer, 1 part hardner).
that is how I have been doing it and YES I keep trying, until I get it right

[silentgreyfello]

Kevin, That is WAY too much hardner. Again, Dupont recommends 8:2:1, but I think you will have better luck with the 8:4:1. Centari is always 8 parts paint to one part harder. Anything stronger than that is a waste of money. More is not always better... you just need the chemical reaction to take place. Best of luck!

[flat-happy]

i think the side of the 8 got worn off at some point making it look like a 3 ----with that much hardener it would chip so easy you wouldn't be able to assemble the parts

[kval]

Silentgreyfello
thanks, next time I will try 8:4:1 and I cheated and only used less the 1/2 hardner(that stuff is expensive) so it actually was 3:2:0.5 still learning this paint thing

[Robert Luland]

Kevin the price of paint is astinomical! I’m partial to Dupont Vari-Prime. This is one of the best primers I’ve ever used. It’s a wash and a self etcher in one. I’ve been using this since the mid-eighties. This stuff will cut right though light rust. As of last week. $190.00 per gallon without the activator. PPG does not offer a equivalent. If ya go with them. You got to do it in two steps. I thank you for the recommendation but found a quart of PPG Deltron acrylic epoxy on the shelf and the only thing I needed was $20 bucks in reducer to use it. Just trying to get this stuff out the door. The tree huggers have killed the painting industry. Bob L