Paint (21)
Future Cure Paint Booths, the nation’s largest OEM paint booth manufacturer east of the Mississippi, has announced their alignment with Nitro Heat, a California-based manufacturer of industrial and automotive nitrogen generator systems.
“Future Cure, with its 25-year history of providing quality, mid-priced paint booths is proud to be involved with this innovative technology,” said Tom Beck, President of Future Cure. “And Nitro Heat’s design best meets our business model of ‘Quality at Affordable Pricing.’”
Cutting Edge Shop Knows Value of Tsunami Regenerative Dryer
Written by Ed AttanasioIt’s a fairly simple rule in the body shop game—Dry is good and wet is bad. Wet compressed air is the painter’s worst nightmare and many have had bad dreams about unwanted water vapor ruining their day. On the other hand, dry, clean outgoing air is beneficial to any task performed in a body repair facility. Moisture is the enemy and if it’s living in your compressed air, you’re in deep trouble.
By always keeping his eyes open for new equipment, products, technology and practices that will make his a leading shop in his region, Barry Burkholder, the owner of Barry’s Paint Shop in Ephrata, PA, was excited when he saw his first Tsunami Regenerative Dryer, made by Suburban Manufacturing in Monticello, MN.
Crazy Painter Mitch Kelly, Father & Son Keep on Truckin’ in SoCal
Written by Melanie AndersonTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Crazy Painters Mitch Kelly, 53, his father Tom Kelly, 73, and son Thomas Kelly, 22, might be a little crazy with the schedule they keep. Based out of Bellflower, CA, the three-generation trio don’t have much free time between painting custom hot rods, Harleys, semi tractor trailers, race haulers, motor homes and, recently, even a plane.
Owners of Kelly & Son The Crazy Painters, Mitch and his dad Tom still have yet to add “& Grandson” to the sign, but the younger generation is holding his own with his computer-generated design and logo work.
You might say painting is in their blood. Mitch’s great great grandfather was striping horse-drawn wagons on the Ford line before motors were even invented. Tom Kelly’s grandfather did pinstriping back in the ‘40s, and Tom, who started in the business at age 13, is well-known for working with Von Dutch as well as Ed ‘Big Daddy’ Roth. Mitch also started in the business at age 13, painting wheels for his dad. Mitch says his dad and grandfather named the shop “Crazy Painters” because of the airbrush work they did back in the ‘50s involved a lot of monsters, flames and ‘crazy’ graphics and lettering.
Third Generation Custom Painter Was Born Into the Business
Written by Melanie AndersonTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Darryl Hollenbeck, 45, of Vintage Color Studio in Concord, CA, is a third generation custom painter and car restorer. His grandfather owned one of the first body shops in Oakland back in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s and later sold his shop to Hollenbeck’s uncle. Darryl’s father worked in the shop as well, with Darryl joining the family business at age 21.
With 25 years experience, Hollenbeck has owned Vintage Color Studio restoring hot rods and custom cars for the past 10 years. Most of the vintage cars he works on date back to the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s, with the ‘newest’ car he’s ever worked on being a 1966 Shelby Mustang.
“I love cars. I was born into it,” said Hollenbeck. “I love the challenge of taking something old and rusty and turning it into something beautiful and award-winning.”
Custom Shop Masters Pro-Spray to Make an Artistic Statement
Written by Ed AttanasioTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
While most teenagers were playing Little League and going to summer camp, John Wargo, the owner of The Custom Shop in Flanagan, IL, spent his spare time restoring and painting cars. Now 43 and a highly-acclaimed car fabricator, builder and painter, Wargo uses Pro-Spray paint on all his creations, many of which appear at major car shows nationwide and sell for as much as $80,000.
Every year, he wins an average of 25 best paint awards for his show cars. And even though he’s worked on literally hundreds of cars and motorcycles during his highly successful career, Wargo still vividly remembers the first vehicle he ever painted.
Renowned Painter Mickey Harris Co-Designed the SATAgraph 4
Written by Ed AttanasioTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
If you know anything at all about airbrush art, you’re familiar with Mickey Harris. He’s a household name in the airbrush world, known most for his military art, but also renowned for his realistic style, his patriotic zeal and his willing to use his art to raise money for charity and just makes people happy. By teaching other fledgling artists about airbrush techniques and creating breathtaking scenes that have appeared at car shows all over the globe, Harris is enjoying his busy life as a painter, consultant, artist, teacher, inventor and mentor.
Harris, 56, has been painting for 34 years and has produced thousands of murals on metal, including cars, trucks, motorcycles and assorted mediums. He embarked on a career as an airbrush artist at the age of 19, in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, painting on T-shirts to learn the trade. After absorbing as much as he possibly could about airbrush art and refining his skills, Harris made a significant impact on the car paint art industry and today he is considered one of the finest airbrush artists in the entire world.
From Hot Wheels to Hot Rods: Kindig-It Designer Works for Fun
Written by Melanie AndersonTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Kindig-It-Designs owner Dave Kindig started drawing cars when he was five years old. Self-taught in all aspects of custom car building, Kindig laughingly says, “I have a design and engineering degree from Legos and Hot Wheels.”
Today, Kindig-It-Designs employs 17 people after 14 years in business in Salt Lake City, UT. Kindig, 42, is a custom car builder, designer and painter. “We do all aspects in-house—everything from design, chassis engineering, body and paint, sheet metal fabrication, electronics, audio, graphics and custom suspensions,” he said. Kindig described his shop as a one-stop custom and restoration facility.
“Our forte is not just street rods, or one style of car,” Kindig said. “We do cars from any era. We prefer to do customizing. We work on late model vehicles as well as the earlier muscle cars and street rods back from the early ‘30s.” On average, the shop is working on about 34 cars at any given time, many of which are long-term projects.
Mitch Lanzini Extends his Art from Toy Cars to Overhaulin’
Written by Melanie AndersonTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Custom painter Mitch Lanzini of Lanzini Body Works in Huntington Beach, CA, began his career polishing and showing off his toy cars. As a kid, for Lanzini the Batmobile on TV exemplified hot rods and custom cars, and by high school he was using cans of spray paint on bicycles and motorcycles. At 21, he customized his first vehicle, his own Datsun truck, that earned him his first magazine cover. Today, Mitch, 54, has more than 30 years experience in the business, has been featured on many more magazine covers, and has owned Lanzini Body Works with his wife, Tara, for 20 years.
You could say Mitch was born to be an artist. His grandfather Angelo Lanzini was a renowned painter and sculptor in Italy. “Mitch comes from a long line of artists in his family,” said Tara. “It’s in his blood. His grandfather painted portraits for two U.S. presidents and was commissioned to paint the Pope’s portrait which still hangs in the Vatican today. Angelo’s three sons, including Mitch’s dad, were all artists too.”
Like a typical body shop, Lanzini Body Works does collision repair and exterior custom painting work in a 4,500 square-foot space. What’s not so usual is some of the other work they do, like custom painting interior pieces for a prototype airplane that will be featured in the Hamburg Air Show in Germany in March. Other custom painting and designing jobs have included ambulances, surf boards, guitars, race cars, bowling pins, motorcycles, kids’ pedal cars and their own line of roller derby skate wheels.
Custom Painter Aaron Wachholz Paints Cars, Boats & Bikes
Written by Melanie AndersonTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
Customer painter Aaron Wachholz, owner of X-treme Paint Auto Body & Marine in Wyoming, MN, began his career nearly a quarter century ago when he was in the Navy, painting and repairing the landing and captain boats aboard the ship. After his stint in the Navy, he worked at two body shops and eventually started doing his own custom work as well as custom painting new conversion vans that were sold on dealership lots.
Wachholz, 43, started X-treme Paint Auto Body & Marine 16 years ago and now has four employees. The services provided by his business include custom painted graphics, custom airbrushing and murals, auto body collision and frame repair, fiberglass and aluminum boat repair and custom motorcycle painting. The shop serves the North Twin City Metro area with quality collision repair and custom paint with award winning unique designs. Awards include: DuPont Top Gun: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003; Donnie Smith Custom Bike Show: Best Paint 2009, Best in Class 2009, Best in Class, 2006; as well as several local car and bike show custom paint awards.
Jon Kosmoski—Painting Legend Uses SATA Guns Exclusively
Written by Ed AttanasioTo view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
He’s an artist, a painter, a car customizer, an automotive builder, a teacher, the author of five books, a paint manufacturer and the creator of a stunning finish for hundreds of breathtaking vehicles and thousands of custom motorcycles, including eight cars and six motorcycles featured at SEMA shows. His name is Jon Kosmoski, the founder of the House of Kolor® in Minneapolis, MN, and even though he’s 75, the man still builds incredible cars and travels throughout the country to teach new and veteran painters how to do it Kosmoski-style.
Kosmoski’s current role and impressive legacy in the automotive painting industry through seven decades starting in the late ‘50s has earned him titles of “master,” “legend” and “icon.” Companies all over the world clamor to work with Kosmoski through either sponsorships or other projects, and that’s why SATA, the premier manufacturer of paint spray guns, is proud to say that this amazing painter uses its products and no other.
House of Kolor® Colors Automotive World for 56 Years
Written by Melanie AndersonBack in 1956, House of Kolor®, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was founded by world-renowned custom painter, Jon Kosmoski, and 56 years later, is still a strong player in the world of automotive color.
House of Kolor produces basecoats, surfacers, primers, sealers, thinners, reducers, dry pearls and flakes and other specialty products. The company is known in particular for its premium custom finishes.
To view a pdf file of this article with photos, click HERE.
