Hi all -
have 85 camaro no effects
(I know little about paint and will have a pro paint the car eventually)

trying to decide on a medium grayish/silverpaint color and over several months have seen numerous possibilities on cars on the road. My problem is, (or one of the many) if I see a color on a nissan for example that may be the right shade of gray (say "platinum Graphite", or a Gunmetal gray metallic) it typically doesn't have the amount of flake and/or pearl effect that I would like- I would like a noticeable flake/pearl effect to make it different from the "paint code" mix.

I went to a ppg paint shop and got prices on the shopline brand, which I am going to use, period. AND I also looked at numerous "paint chips" in the books which I find are NO HELP to me.

I asked him if I gave him a paint code if he could see how much of metallic and/or pearl was in it- he said yes and I asked him if he could add amount to those ingrediants if I told him how much to add-he said he could, for a "tint" fee-BUT usually you would want to spray it out on something to see the how it comes out - Unfortunately, I haven't the money to pay for an experiment/ adjustment process.

So my questions are:
1. If I tell the paint store the paint code and ask him to add say 20% more metallic and/or 20 % more pearl than the original amount included in the base, is that a viable way to try to exhance the flake /pearl effect of the base?
2. if so, I'd like to get some opinions/suggestions from you painter experts who may have experimented with these ingredients as to what APPROXIMATE percentage of each I might try to enhance the paint, but not ruin it,
(as with the cost of the paint, this will be a once and for all decision and will not be in a position to pay a painter to "experiment" with this expensive stuff.)
thank-you as always for your input
tom1985

 

I would think that your approach to finding the "right" color you like will get costly.

Why not go to a few car/motorcycle shows and check out the custom paint jobs. If you see a color you like, inquire as to what paint was used, color mix, who did the paint, etc.

 

I've been doing that too for a couple years and narrowed in on the grayish color-The streets/parking lots are full of different grayish cars, but getting the exact paint code and "variant" if any on a particular car's color is not easy.I've found color I like, but not enough flake, or a similar, but a lttle too dark of grayish color with the right amount of flake. So I'm looking for what a painter might try doing with the standard new car color-However, thank-you for your reply paulo

also, as I mentioned there will be no way or money to experiment with this 1st-It would be taking a chance on someone's hopefully informed experience

 

I have been staring at this post for 20 minutes trying to think of a short answer and it would be alot easier to tell someone in person. Lol. PM me your number and a good time to call..I can help.

Ray.

 

you want a three stage paint job where the painter knows how to lay out the flake over the base in a clear base. those types of paint jobs cost well over 5k

 

Anytime you see a color you like but want to add more flake, the color/hue will change. That's why you must experiment.

 

It sounds like you want the darkness of the gray with the 'pop' of the silver but I don't think you'll find it. The black in gray formula tones down the pop of the silver metallic. Adding even a little more metallic or pearl will change the color and adding 20% more will turn it into a completely different color. The more you add, the more it will turn silver. You may have some luck adding more of a coarse metallic (477 or 479 in PPGs waterborne line, I don't know what they are in Shopline) the coarser metallic will pop more. I wouldn't recommend trying it though, keep in mind that its the full time job of paint code makers to come up with new and unique colors. If its not in the chip books then its probably just not possible.

 

Take a walk down car dealership row stopping at each one and look over the cars.
If you find one get the paint code.

At paint time my painter shot paint cards for me( I think the ones we used were 5in x 12in cards) slowly adding a little more pearl as he went along.

I picked the second card he sprayed.

My pearl was in the base so it was basically a base/clear that had a "rally red" darkened a little and crystal red pearl added.

Even though the painter (Mike) was a good friend of mine it still cost quite a bit.

I have a "prep to paint" thread showing some of what you can expect if you have a shop do it.

 

Thanks to all for your input
I spoke at length with manyaxes above (an experienced painter) and want to thank him again. He also, in the end, suggested a coarser metallic, which i think I'll likely go with if available.

The other thing I must say is that some of the grays are a little too dark for me and if a little more silver metallic (say 20% again) is added and lightens the color a little and adds more metallic, that would likely be OK as well. As ZsTransam said "It sounds like you want the darkness of the gray with the 'pop' of the silver" - I'd say that's about what I'm looking for - a medium gray which at different angles lightens to a lush looking silver highlight, and/or a bluish tint in some areas as the interior is a grayish blue pattern with a blue gray carpet and headliner. The dash and console are black.

The other thing I don't understand is "pearl" - somewhere I read that many metallic paints have some pearl in the formula? If so would that be a place to add? and if so, what "color" would that be in as part of the paint formula (as the metallic is usually in the silver part I've been told)

Here are a few I've been debating about- note that these are the most flattering pictures of the paint color, in other views or cars with the same color, the color looks considerable different, that's why I need to see the car in person.

Also, there's this thing about "variants" which I don't understand. It appears that the paint code is the same and there can be variants within the same paint code. If this is true, how do you go about getting the paint code AND variant off a new car for example. I would think there must be 2 codes then on some cars, but everything I see is 1 code?
thanks again for your assistance
tom1985

 

I always want to do something different or put extra whatever in the paint too. My advice is to buy some materials and experiment on some scrap metal or whatever you have lying around. you can custom mix and try different ways of doing it, and see what makes the results you want. The only thing about it is you will not ever be able to do any touch up work later because you can never duplicate it again. (at least I can't!)

 

Most often pearl is used to add sparkle to a color that you wouldn't want to add silver metallic to. Blue pearl is in metallic blue, red pearl is in metallic red, ect. Occasionally (but very rarely) there will be pearl in a silver color. I painted one yesterday, a Malibu with paint code WA636R 'switchblade silver'. It had maybe 5-10% fine white pearl in it. It just looked like plain old silver, so I didn't see the point of a silver paint code with pearl. There are a few darker grays that almost completely replace the silver metallic with white pearl. I if remember correctly, whatever dark gray is on the never Volkswagens is that way. It does give it a slightly different look, I like it a lot, but it won't make it pop in the sun as much because pearls are finer than coarse metallics. Adding coarser metallics is probably your best bet, but be aware that some coarse metallics are more translucent so there is a chance you'll have to put on more color than normal. 477 in my PPG line is really horrible for that. It looks fantastic but you'd need to put on twice as much paint for full coverage if that were your main toner.

As for variants, The manufactures don't seem too concerned about getting the paint exactly the same on every car. The differences in color between variants range from huge to so slight the average person may never notice. Most colors have 3 or 4 different variant chips but I've seen some with way more. Your painter should have chip decks with the most common variants in them, a paint supplier might have variant decks too, I've never asked. Value lines like Omni don't have variants, only the prime formula. I don't know how you'll do it this, but to pick the right variant a painter has to compare the chips directly against the car straight on and at angles in the sun. There is no variant code on the car, it has to be done by sight.

Hope that helps

 

As has been said several times, you need to do some experimenting. For example, if you add 20% more coarse matallic to the normal mix, you will end up with silver color with a gray tint.
Generally speaking, additions of tints are measured in grams, not percentages.