This Mazda restoration by the team at Kartist took six weeks. During that time, the front half was converted to an S-14 front end with some rust removal done to other parts of the the vehicle. Once the vehicle was done it was covered with Transtar primer, No Mix Low VOC Basecoat, medium reducer and Euro Classic Clearcoat all supplied by Dura Chemicals.
On 05.19.11, In Custom Work, By Kartist
On 05.16.11, In Custom Work, By Kartist
The customer of this vehicle likes his music on the go but doesn’t like the cheap plastic holders, so this is what the team at Kartist created. The holder is made from fibreglass with a fine filed Apple symbol and topped with Transtar primer, No Mix Low VOC Basecoat and Euro Classic Clearcoat with some interior pieces to match.
On 05.12.11, In Custom Work, By Transtar Team
This project proves that Transtar products can be used on just about anything! This rocket was completed by the team at Wrecks R Us in Seymour, Missouri using only Transtar products! For the lettering and artwork on the side, they had custom-made stencils from Frogs, a sign shop located in Springfield, Missouri.
To get this patriotic look, Wrecks R Us used Transtar’s 2K Epoxy Primer (6131), Control Flow Seam Sealer (4198), Kwik Seal 2K Urethane Sealer (6221), No Mix® Low VOC Basecoat, No Mix® Low VOC Basecoat Blender, and Euro Classic Clearcoat (7021).
This rocket is one in a pair that will stand outside a fireworks warehouse and will be visible from the highway.
On 02.23.11, In Custom Work, By Opher Auto Wurx
After sitting outside for nearly 20 years, this 1979 Pontiac 10th Anniversary Trans Am received a fairly extensive restoration when it was discovered by its current owner.
Sheet metal replacement consisted of a driver-side door skin, driver-side door shell repair, a passenger-side quarter panel skin, and rear body panel repair. The bumpers and flares were repaired as well. All the body work was completed and the car was primed and blocked several times, to assure the body was straight. The car was repainted in its original two-tone color scheme and received an original style graphics kit.
Transtar products were used throughout the job due to their user friendliness. The Transtar products used on this project consisted of epoxy primer, Euro Classic Primer, Hydro Flex Waterborne Primer, No Mix Low VOC Basecoat, Euro Kwik Clear, SCAT Wax and Grease Remover, Urethane Grade Reducer, Kwik Seal 2k Urethane Sealer, Transtar Seam Sealer, and the complete Transtar Ultimate Finish System compounds and glazes. The results speak for themselves.
On 01.13.11, In Custom Work, By Opher Auto Wurx
Opher Auto Wurx, located in Lake Villa, Illinois, is a specialty restoration and collision shop. Opher Auto Wurx’s tallented staff is able to work with a full-blown frame off restoration, to a custom fabricated body panel, or to a run of the mill collision repair.
This 1973 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 received an extensive frame on restoration for an Opher Auto Wurx client. The car is an original numbers matching Z28 with a factory 4-speed transmission and factory air conditioning. 1973 was the first year the Z28 had the option of air conditioning and a 4-speed transmission.
Transtar products were used through out the entire project. The include SCAT Wax and Grease Remover, Epoxy Primer, Euro Classic Primer, No Mix basecoat, Urethane Grade Reducer, Euro Classic Clearcoats as well as Transtar seam sealers. “The quality and user friendliness are what makes Transtar products so great,” said Chris Mikos of Opher Auto Wurx.
Last month, Transtar was featured in an article on the front page of the Journal Inquirer, a daily newspaper covering most of north-central Connecticut. Transtar worked with Kar Kare in Ellington, CT to help restore a 1986 Iroc-Z Camaro for Staff Sgt. Shaun Thomas.
The article explains how Sgt. Thomas was redeployed back to Afghanistan last November and before he left, he asked his mother to sell his ’86 Camaro. His mother, who looks after his two young sons while he’s away, didn’t want to sell the car he had had since he was 20 and was rebuilding himself (it had been in an accident before his deployment).
Sgt. Thomas’ mother called up every shop in town until she reached Brian Deschaine at Kar Kare who found the story so moving, he and his crew decided to give back to a soldier who had given up so much for his country. When Transtar heard about this story from our local rep in the area, Mark Smith, we jumped at the chance to help out. We donated paint and primer so Kar Kare could give the soldier’s car a custom paint job.
Completely redone from the inside out, Sgt. Thomas’ old ’86 Camaro looks brand new thanks to the hard work and determination of his family, Kar Kare and everyone else who pitched in to help give something back to someone who has given us so much.
On 05.21.10, In News & Updates, By Transtar Team
On April 18, Transtar products were showcased on Two Guys Garage on The Speed Channel. The three-part show covered the build of a 1933 hot rod by the Factory Five. Transtar representative Scott Hanshaw takes viewers step-by-step through the entire coating process including prep sanding, primer, sealer and finally basecoat. To see this and other videos from Transtar, go to www.youtube.com/transtarauto.
Bob McCall Company
At the Bob McCall Company in San Antonio, Texas, we refer Transtar primers and clearcoats for our custom built show cars and street rods. We use Transtar Epoxy because of its versatility. It may be used as a non-sanding DTM primer, a medium build surfacer or a tinted sealer, which may greatly enhance your final color. Euro Kwik Clearcoat is easy to use, repairable and provides a beautiful high gloss finish that maintains well.
Bob McCall Company
We have successfully used Transtar primers and clears with Du-Pont, PPG, Sherwin Williams and House of Colors systems to provide show quality custom automotive finishes. It’s nice to have the flexibility to use whatever color system my customer wants with user friendly and predictable Transtar primers and clears.
Bob McCall Company
To learn more about the Bob McCall Company, check out their website or Facebook page!
On 04.20.10, In Tips/Advice, By Transtar Team
As summer approaches, certain things come to mind: baseball, BBQs, picnics and usually, coping with the heat and humidity. This heat and humidity can have a damaging effect on your paint jobs. To ensure successful paint jobs in the summer heat, it will be important to adopt warm weather coping strategies in the shop.
Here are some common paint issues associated with warm weather:
Solvent popping: trapped solvent that eventually pops out of the film leaving a tiny blister with a hole in the middle.
Air entrapment: compressed air used to apply a coating gets trapped because the coating skins over too fast. The air eventually escapes the film but leaves pinholes on the surface.
Die back: a milder form of solvent popping that leaves a fuzzy appearance in the coating.
Orange Peel: poor flow due to fast solvent evaporation.
Proper choice of product(s) can greatly increase your chances of avoiding these issues and protecting your paint during the warm months.
For example: A shop uses Max Clearcoat (#7761 MTR) with 6800 Series Extra Solids Activator, Spot and Panel (#6874) in the winter and finds that they can do almost an entire paint job with no problems at all. However, as the temperature increases, they find they’re getting more orange peel, jobs ‘die-back’ a little and they’re starting to see pinholes, especially on horizontal surfaces.
The remedy: The strategy in warm temperatures is to slow down the solvent evaporation, slow down the reaction or slow both. In our example, the shop could move to 6800 Series Extra Solids Activators (#6894 or #6894HT) to slow down the solvent evaporation of the coating. They could also use some slow reducer like Zero VOC Urethane Grade Reducer (#6721-F). To slow down the reaction, they would need to change clearcoats to something like Kwik Gloss Acrylic Urethane Clearcoat (#6841).
Because no two shops are alike, no one solution will work for everyone. The process will always be a little bit of trial and error, but eventually, each shop will determine what combination of products will work best for them in the summer heat.
Have some tips on painting in the summer heat? We want to hear them!
On 03.15.10, In Restoration, By Scott Hanshaw
Having been around many different types of shops throughout my life, I’ve found it funny that as different as the shops can be, the issues and challenges are often the same. For my example, I want to talk about restoration shops. I have been in tons of shops that do quality restoration work and two things are always the same- the shop believes they do the best work on the planet and there is always that one car over in the corner. I’m not here to debate who does the best work, no, I wanna talk about that car in the corner.
Most restoration shops at one time or another have “that” car, that won’t go away. Maybe the car owner owes money and is slow to pay or the shop owner likes the project and doesn’t want to dump it and there it sits – forever. The guys in the shop don’t even notice it over time, but what about the new customers? What to they think of “that” car? Will their project join it in the corner? Is it a reflection of the shop’s effort or the car owners? One of my shops presented me with an idea, and I have passed it on to several others who really liked it. It’s simple – #7271 Transtar Euro Classic Primer. Black primer, to be specific.
“So what?” you say. Well, here’s the theory. With the craze of flat/hot rod black being in full force, many cars are now appearing in flat black- finished. So what this customer has done is started priming almost all projects in black primer. Except for white cars, of course. The thinking is that for long term projects the car looks closer to completion to potential customers, and employees as well. The energy level of employees stays up because the project doesn’t feel like such a mountain to hike. Plus, they also claim that they don’t need guide coat because the difference in sheen from sanded to sprayed is distinct.
Yes, this is a small detail, but don’t we always say it’s the little things that count? While this idea won’t change the world, it doesn’t have to, just your shop. Restoration jobs show customers your shop’s ability, and you want to produce a quality job. That takes a lot of hours, planning and skill. Why not try every angle and see if it makes a difference? It’s a restoration job, you’ve got time right? Maybe the project just looks better sitting in the shop. Maybe the employees stay more inspired to work efficiently. Maybe the car owner keeps more interest in it because it looks “close”. Maybe it will help keep it from becoming “that” car!
