good morning you guys have helped me a lot with learning how to do a good paint job. I am doing paint as a hobby and have stepped up my game on each car or motorcycle I do. I am getting a 1973 240z ready to paint for my wife and she has made color choices that have me a bit puzzled. she wants gun metal gray with blue flake .004 and a lot of pearl. so how would you guys go about a job like this. thanks

first if it was me i would choose flake or pearl not both
second a good flake job is VERY expensive and i do not recommend to a beginner
flakes usually do not look good unless completely covered

something easy for you would be the gun metal with a little blue pearl sprayed over the top

PainterDave wrote:first if it was me i would choose flake or pearl not both
second a good flake job is VERY expensive and i do not recommend to a beginner
flakes usually do not look good unless completely covered

something easy for you would be the gun metal with a little blue pearl sprayed over the top

thank you I did not know there was a blue pearl.

I LOVE metal flake. Pearl, especially ice pearl and similar look good. But nothing does what real flake does in the sun.

The flake you are talking about is micro flake, and not that hard to work with. There is a ton of information on the web about how to spray it. In very basic terms... you spray the base as usual then apply a few coats of clear with the flake mixed in, then apply a few coat of just clear to bury the flake. Let that sit in the sun for a week or more. Then lightly sand to open the clear and and let it cure for another week or so. Then sand it flat and apply a couple more coats of clear. Ready for cut-n-buff.

Yes, it is expensive due to the cost and amount of materials needed. Yes, it takes more time and effort than a tri-coat. But nothing beats the sparkle and depth of a good flake job.

Order a small qnty of the flake you are thinking about using and try a few spray outs. Use something curved so you can get a better idea how it will look on the car.

You may find flake is not for you. Or you may find you love it.

BeoBob wrote:I LOVE metal flake. Pearl, especially ice pearl and similar look good. But nothing does what real flake does in the sun.

The flake you are talking about is micro flake, and not that hard to work with. There is a ton of information on the web about how to spray it. In very basic terms... you spray the base as usual then apply a few coats of clear with the flake mixed in, then apply a few coat of just clear to bury the flake. Let that sit in the sun for a week or more. Then lightly sand to open the clear and and let it cure for another week or so. Then sand it flat and apply a couple more coats of clear. Ready for cut-n-buff.

Yes, it is expensive due to the cost and amount of materials needed. Yes, it takes more time and effort than a tri-coat. But nothing beats the sparkle and depth of a good flake job.

Order a small qnty of the flake you are thinking about using and try a few spray outs. Use something curved so you can get a better idea how it will look on the car.

You may find flake is not for you. Or you may find you love it.

cool thanks I just did a motorcycle with the .004 flake mixed into the base coat. it was burgundy with silver flake. when sun light hits it its awesome. but I like what you are suggesting sounds like a plan that I would like to try.

Have you ever visited here.... www.paintwithpearl.com It is work a look. I use their raw stuff and make careful notes about my mixes. I use an intercoat clear for the base and then just experiment.....

Yep, flake can go in the basecoat. Works especially well if it's a translucent basecoat. Depends on what you are trying to achive.

If you do get into experimenting get some ********** intercoat clear. The stuff is crystal clear and it lays down flakes, pearls, wayyyyy....better than HOK intercoat or even their pearl carrier intercoat....

sorry darrel but dont ever do a full flake job with intercoat clears. maybe ok on some stripes or graphics. but a true flake job requires 100% coverage with flake and intercoat will crack getting it that thick. but if your goal is to put a little flake here and there it will work fine

Yep, I use it pretty much like you say there Dave, more accent stuff, no overall shoots. I like to do ghost effects, faux finishing, minor stripe accents, etc.