newb..custom paint question/advice

Discuss custom painting, artwork and airbrushing



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PostPosted: Thu May 15, 2014 12:33 pm
Hi I'm in the process of shooting a personal project of my own and need some advice on what or more of how to go about it. I've never used pearls before, I've sprayed many bikes before and a few cars but basic. What I want to accomplish is a deep deep sapphire blue with a gleam when the light hits it but look black in the shadows. I've asked a few people I work with and know that paint and they all give separate advice and ways to do it. I want to try pearl. Can anyone help me out with the steps and good advice. My plan is to shoot a satin black base, then shoot 2-3 coats of pearl in a mid coat or carrier lay some graphics shoot some Moore pearl then either candy or just clear. Any help with wich base I should Change or what type of color or type of pearl I should go with. Thanks newby.

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PostPosted: Thu May 15, 2014 8:35 pm
I don't think the pearl itself is going to give you 'deep sapphire blue', it will be overwhelmed by the black base.

Deep blue is going to look black in dark light, anyway.

You are correct - always put the pearl additive in a mid-coat (clear base) like PPG DBC-500. The trick is to make sure you very carefully measure or weigh the amount of pearl additive per quart/pint of mid-coat so you have consistency -- and mix the stuff really well. "Less is more" with pearl, so don't overdo it.

I'd be inclined to try the sapphire blue base with a complementary blue pearl additive. And shoot some practice panels first, to make sure you test what the final result is going to look like.

Pearl over graphics is ok but I'm really not sure about candy flakes over graphics unless you are talking about just a fine metallic flake. Careful with that though because you can end up with a "sparkly" looking car and lose the effect of the graphics.



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PostPosted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:39 am
Thanks I appreciate the help. So what your saying is I should go with a pearl base coat or mix the pearl powder to a base coat (same thing) then lay the tape, shoot a different pearl mixed with a mid coat and layer it then clear it. I was going to use a transparent candy to cover and then clear but I wasn't sure if it would be needed and I wasntvsure the blue pearl would show up that great when light hits it. So what should o use for a base ?

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PostPosted: Fri May 16, 2014 11:45 am
ah, when you said 'candy' I figured you meant a flake but if you are talking about candy dyes that's a little different. Personally I'd stay away from that as you already have a pretty complex recipe brewing and those dyes can bleed real easy on you.

I was saying to go with a traditional base coat in the color you are looking for - then do the pearl additive in a mid-coat of clear base (e.g. DBC-500). Do your graphics on top of that then clear it.

A lot of these choices are more art than science so that's why I said get a couple of scrap panels and test your process out first -- keep a notebook handy and write everything down.



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PostPosted: Fri May 23, 2014 6:23 am
you could try a black base and a nice candy blue over the top, that will give you a dark appearance but a nice blue when the sun hits it, if your planning on graphics in the mix also, go a black base, inter coat clear (so if you stuff up your graphics you can scuff them off without damaging the black), graphics, more inter coat clear to seal up the graphics then the candy over the top then seal it all up with a good 2k clear, if your graphics are pretty thick, you could 2k clear over them, let it cure, then block it back nice and smooth to get rid of the build the graphics has left you, then candy over the top and more 2k clear, its lot of build and not really ideal so use high quality materials that are mad for it, some off the shelf stuff is made for only a few coats (oem repairs and simple painting), custom paint like HOK (just to name 1, there are a few companies out there that make specialty paints) is made for it, just let everything flash off really good!!
krem

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