Candy vs Pearl?

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PostPosted: Fri Dec 10, 2021 1:37 pm
Hi Guys,

Just curious, is there a big difference between Candy and Pearl? Reason I ask is that I watched a video from Tony's Painting in the U.K. and his application for candy was exactly the way I laid Pearl last month. I know not to put a lot of faith in videos but he seemed to describe it in good detail and seemed to know what he was talking about. Just wondering what if any differences there are.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:26 am
Pearl is just like metallic, but made from flakes of mica rather than aluminium. Can be used alone in a base coat or mixed with metallic for a different effect. There are different kinds of pearls, depending on the size and reflectivity of the flakes, just as there are with metallics. Typically pearls are just clear coated but they can also be used as a base under a candy, which is a tinted clear that goes over the top. Of course lots of variations in application, under/over mid-coats and base coats, but the actual spraying is just like any base, unless you're going for a specific look like a shadow chrome where the metallic (or pearl) is barely dusted over a solid colour base.
Chris



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 9:16 am
My specialty is custom paint. Pearl and Candy are completely, totally different. In composition, in spraying, and most importantly, in looks.
As NFT5 said, pearl is similar to metallic, just colored mica flakes, instead of a silver, or gold flake. Well, that is one type of pearl. There is also "interference" pearl, or flip-flop (as in the old daze). These mica flakes are almost transparent. But when light hits them in a certain angle, they reflect a color. Most often seen of white vehicles, reflecting a gold hue. But they also come in other colors, red, blue, green, purple, orange. These are applied OVER a base color (usually white, sometimes black, but can be any color). Clearcoat is always used to protect the pearl coat. The color pearls can be shot over, or mixed into base colors.
Candy is a WHOLE nuther story! Candy is the tinted clear that is sprayed as a second stage, usually over a metallic base. But some use pearl or solid colors as a base also. The most glamorous finish, is over a larger than usual metallic base. You can put it over metalflake, as well. Candy is always a 3 stage operation. It comes in a huge variety of colors. You can make your own candy by mixing candy concentrate with clear, to make stronger or weaker versions, for different effects (I use double strength candy to shoot door jambs and edges, for less paint thickness). You can also mix different color candies to make new colors.
More coats of candy give you darker colors, but only to a point. More coats will diminish the effect of the metallics underneath. Darker bases, also give you darker versions of the color. Hard to get a light version of candy, due to the need to get a certain amount of coats on the surface to get an even color...which brings us to:
Candy is very difficult to paint. Since it's transparent, the more paint you put on, the darker it gets. If you spray your patterns too close together, or far apart, you can get "tiger stripes". If you slow your pass, even for a second, you'll get a darker blotch. Your spray technique must be PERFECT to shoot Candy! Everything ! Distance, speed, angle, gun set-up, everything! Super difficult to touch up when damaged, for the same reasons. Either blending the color, or doing a whole panel.
Now, the factory has been doing 3 stage paint on some vehicles. Not quite exactly like candy, though. I call then cheater candies. They use a pearl base, the same color as the mid or candy coat. So it's easier to get even coverage of color. But they do NOT have the spectacular look of a true candy over a metallic base.
Now, House of Kolor also sells a Kandy Basecoat (KBC series). Thes are regular basecoats, that are formulated to match the COLOR of their candy paints. The slightly candy-ish looks come from them using the same color pearl, in the basecoat. So, it kind-of looks like a transparent finish coloring the metallic underbase. But has NO depth of finish, like candy does.
You'll see lots of confusion over candy and pearl effects, mostly due to people using combinations of BOTH for custom finishes. Also, because some folks really don't know any better. Or are seeking to sell a different (or inferior) product to unwary customers.



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:32 pm
Thanks Chop for typing that up. It was very interesting! And stuff like this makes playing with paint fun.



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 2:54 pm
NFT5 wrote:Typically pearls are just clear coated but they can also be used as a base under a candy, which is a tinted clear that goes over the top.
O.K. so the 2 stage pearl that I shot before the clear was more of a candy? What I shot had a first coat of more of a bronze and the second part was very red, then I cleared it--it looked like a subdued candy apple. In your opinion, was that more of a candy job? I'm curious, is the application similar?

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 3:17 pm
What I said in my earlier post was a simplistic answer to your original question. Chopolds expanded on that with an excellent explanation.

Sounds like what you sprayed was a factory style candy ("cheater" in chopold's words), with clear over the top.
Chris



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 11, 2021 4:55 pm
NFT5 wrote:What I said in my earlier post was a simplistic answer to your original question. Chopolds expanded on that with an excellent explanation.

Sounds like what you sprayed was a factory style candy ("cheater" in chopold's words), with clear over the top.
Yes, it was factory code and "candy" was in it's name. I just seen Chopolds post and will read it now. Thanks guys!! I really like learning about new skills that (hopefully) I can attain.

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