Newb needs paint advice.

[krep]

Hey ya'll, and greetings from Flint Michigan. I saw the street run on 475 and thought it was cool. I used to run my Mopars there before they opened that Fwy to traffic....lotsa fun...!:p

I play guitar in the bars on occaision, and ride my cycles as much as I can, like when I'm not at the gun range.:p

Anyway, I'm new here and have been turning wrenches since I was about 12. I can fix most anything, but still struggle with paint. My daughter bought a '890 Firebird GTA with no rust and a good solid engine (350 TPI). The paint is really faded bad (Florida car). I painted it with Centari Victory Red (code 22). It came out nice, but it just doesn't have the gloss that I see on other cars. Do I need to go to basecoat/clear coat paints to do this..?? If I do, do I need to sand the Centauri off and start again..? Also, if I do the base coat, do I need to put the gloss coat on the same say...please help.

[krep]

OK, I fat fingered the keyboard. It is an '89, and do I need to put the gloss/clear coat on the same day..?? If I should do this, what kind and manufacturer do you recommend. Can I just buff the Centauri and get it shinier..?

[68 nova 10.5]

OK, I fat fingered the keyboard. It is an '89, and do I need to put the gloss/clear coat on the same day..?? If I should do this, what kind and manufacturer do you recommend. Can I just buff the Centauri and get it shinier..?how old is the paint? if it is fresh i wouldnt rub it to hard if it is more than 6 months old you should be ok I would wet sand it with 1200 grit and rub it wirh a medium duty compound and then a polish somthing like finess it 2 from 3m i find it odd that it is not shiney to begin with i have sprayed quiet a few cars with centari it use to shine real nice as sprayed did you put extra hardener in it ? or spray it reduced with laquer thinner? anyways centari is an arcrylic enamel I really wouldnt recommend spraying urethane base/clear over it more so if it is recently painted ....................Hope this helps Glenn

[krep]

Glenn, thanks for the advice. Its been on the car long enough to buff and polish like you suggested. I am not saying it isn't shiney. But, there are a few areas where I got some orange peel (my fault). It just seems like it isn't as glossy as some cars I have seen. I would guess that everyone is using basecoat/clearcoat these days. I have used Imron in the past (my favorite) but it was several hundred dollars for a gallon at my local supplier. That's too rich for me.

By the way, that's fantastic Nova you got there...whew!:smt119

[mike gerlach]

Time you learn the art of wet-sand and buffing. Most GREAT paint jobs end with hours and hours of tedious wet-sanding and buffing.

[blown54]

you can make a single stage paint shine just as good as a base coat clear coat paint job. Mask your edges block with 1200-1500 medium compound then 3m finess it 2 or swirl remover.

[Bubstr]

As the guys above said, If applied properly sand and rub, polish and wax.
If you do decide to repaint you may have too much paint build in mils to expect a durable finish. But if it's not too thick, you can apply a waterborne sealer to over coat Centari. Du Pont makes a sealer that will isolate the Centari. I like Ditzler urethane 2 o3 stage paint because it is a little less aggressive in the solvents User friendly. Yes must be cleared with in window time on spec. sheet or sanded before clearing. If you like Imron you will like DDL Concept. Option 3 sand you Centari smooth and apply a coat of Centari clear, but you have to get it slick or you end up back at choice 1.

[HotRodRyan]

Time you learn the art of wet-sand and buffing. Most GREAT paint jobs end with hours and hours of tedious wet-sanding and buffing.

Theres alot of truth to this statement. Painting the car is prob. the easy quick part.

[krep]

So I will no doubt block sand by hand. The other material, can I do it by hand, or should I use a buffing wheel to make the compound work..??