Hi Guys,

Doing a front fairing for a friend. He is adamant that we use an exact match paint and will supply Colorite for me. The safe side of me thinks that I should have him buy their reducer and hardener and catalyst. Is that really necessary though or could I use my PPG Omni stuff I already have and save him some $$. I've never used Colorite, so I feel I should use all of their line. Thoughts?

I only say this from a Murphy's Law type thing.... if you use your stuff with the Colorite and YOU have any problems what and WHO will HE blame as the problem? I see that magic word "exact" in your description already..... I see this as more of a potential PEOPLE problem than a chemistry compatibility problem....

DarrelK wrote:I only say this from a Murphy's Law type thing.... if you use your stuff with the Colorite and YOU have any problems what and WHO will HE blame as the problem? I see that magic word "exact" in your description already..... I see this as more of a potential PEOPLE problem than a chemistry compatibility problem....

I hear what you ae saying. I've done other paint for him a few years ago and he is a long time friend--he is very reasonable and I am doing it as a favor for costs. I don't foresee a problem and he understands that new paint will not match 100% with the old. I'd feel bad if using my stuff with the Colorite paint gave less than decent results. Personally, I am going to suggest going with everything from Colorite.

There is a common misconception out there that all paint from a given manufacturer for any specific colour code is going to be the same, i.e. that colours from different brands are not the same. Not true at all.

I could mix two batches of the same colour from my system and have them come out slightly different, I could use a different variant or just not be quite as accurate when weighing out, Or one of the tinters could be a bit older. Or I could use a different gun or technique.

The ONLY way to get an accurate match is to spray out cards and then adjust if necessary.

It sounds like the paint is a solid, direct gloss. If so, your hardeners and reducers may not be compatible. In this respect you should use components from the Colorite system.

Using customer supplied products is a practice that is fraught with risk. Generally I won't do it unless I can be sure of what it is. The risks with basecoat are less, but even then I'd be getting the TDS for the basecoat and checking carefully. No warranty.

NFT5 wrote:
The ONLY way to get an accurate match is to spray out cards and then adjust if necessary.

It sounds like the paint is a solid, direct gloss. If so, your hardeners and reducers may not be compatible. In this respect you should use components from the Colorite system.

Using customer supplied products is a practice that is fraught with risk. Generally I won't do it unless I can be sure of what it is. The risks with basecoat are less, but even then I'd be getting the TDS for the basecoat and checking carefully. No warranty.

All good points. As for a match, it is only a front fairling, the front fender is the closest piece so we can accept some variance. My friend is going to have me do the ordering of whatever paint we use so I will know what I am getting. I think I have him convinced to let me take a side panel and look over some chips to get a close match--I've had good luck doing that over the years.

i had a job just like yours several years ago a guy called and want a rear tail part sprayed and had the paint ( colorite ) i said sure i'll help you out. now i'm the second person to try this, the first person couldn't get the paint to mix. the colorite can said lacquer base coat, i tried lacquer reducer and it just curdled the paint. i tried Nason base coat reducer and same thing. i call Colorite and and tell them i think it wasn't mixed properly and or mis labeled. a guy there the manager i believe told me i didn't know what i was doing and several other derogatory remarks. he finally told me he was NOT going to mix me another pint of that color and hung up. i wouldn't use colorite on a tricycle if they gave me the paint. here's my advice to you GET ALL THE MATERIALS YOU NEED FROM COLORITE ! get there info sheet also, and cross your fingers. good luck, its always these good buddy jobs that go horribly wrong.

did you try and get the color from PPG or some other brand that you normally use?
Jay D.

badsix wrote:i had a job just like yours several years ago a guy called and want a rear tail part sprayed and had the paint ( colorite ) i said sure i'll help you out. now i'm the second person to try this, the first person couldn't get the paint to mix. the colorite can said lacquer base coat, i tried lacquer reducer and it just curdled the paint. i tried Nason base coat reducer and same thing. i call Colorite and and tell them i think it wasn't mixed properly and or mis labeled. a guy there the manager i believe told me i didn't know what i was doing and several other derogatory remarks. he finally told me he was NOT going to mix me another pint of that color and hung up. i wouldn't use colorite on a tricycle if they gave me the paint. here's my advice to you GET ALL THE MATERIALS YOU NEED FROM COLORITE ! get there info sheet also, and cross your fingers. good luck, its always these good buddy jobs that go horribly wrong.

did you try and get the color from PPG or some other brand that you normally use?
Jay D.

This is very good to know. Maybe they are O.K. if all you want is a rattle can job but anything else sounds like an expensive gamble. My friend gave me the go ahead to take a panel and match it the best I can with paint chips at my supplier--which I have done in the past with acceptable results.

I will not let anybody else pick my materials for me. Personally, I will turn down the job and have done so in the past, when people insist on supplying the paint.

Once you get a paint system you are experienced and happy with, why experiment on a vehicle you are doing for someone else? If it is your project and you want to try a new brand of paint go ahead but when working on someone else's vehicle??

Jay D.

Rebel Racing wrote:

badsix wrote:i had a job just like yours several years ago a guy called and want a rear tail part sprayed and had the paint ( colorite ) i said sure i'll help you out. now i'm the second person to try this, the first person couldn't get the paint to mix. the colorite can said lacquer base coat, i tried lacquer reducer and it just curdled the paint. i tried Nason base coat reducer and same thing. i call Colorite and and tell them i think it wasn't mixed properly and or mis labeled. a guy there the manager i believe told me i didn't know what i was doing and several other derogatory remarks. he finally told me he was NOT going to mix me another pint of that color and hung up. i wouldn't use colorite on a tricycle if they gave me the paint. here's my advice to you GET ALL THE MATERIALS YOU NEED FROM COLORITE ! get there info sheet also, and cross your fingers. good luck, its always these good buddy jobs that go horribly wrong.

did you try and get the color from PPG or some other brand that you normally use?
Jay D.

This is very good to know. Maybe they are O.K. if all you want is a rattle can job but anything else sounds like an expensive gamble. My friend gave me the go ahead to take a panel and match it the best I can with paint chips at my supplier--which I have done in the past with acceptable results.

YOUR A SMART MAN!
Jay D.