[241comp]

I need to repaint my currently silver (and I'd like to keep it that way) VR-4. When I do, I'd like to add something special to it in the paint job. A couple of options I have considered so far include:

SpectraFlair:
http://www.sommers.com/SpectraFlair.html

Silver Pearl over Silver Metallic

Silver with light/thin Silver->Green kameleon coat over top

What do you guys think I should do? Or should I just paint it the same plain silver it is now?

 

[ADLER]

I love silver cars.
I like all of your ideas, just don't keep it standard silver if you repaint it!

 

[Richy T.]

JeremyG has that blue pearl coating over his white paint. I think that would look a lot sweeter than the "rainbow" coat on a silver car.

 

[Lord Warlock]

The kameleon color is actually a basecoat so it won't show silver through it, so painting it thinly over the top will not have the same effect. You could use an airbrush to do certain spots and it would be semi transparent though. Is ok to use for designs but wasn't designed to be used as a artwork color. HOK sells pearls that can be used for similar results. Normally you just add pearl to the same color paint as was used on the car, and do a specific area, and it will reflect light differently from various angles.
The spectra flair looks interesting to add something different to a silver paint job.

If you want to paint a thin coat of something over the silver, you may want to try HOK kandies as they were designed for that. But they are tricky to apply evenly.

 

[241comp]

Yeah, I know the Kameleon is supposed to be a basecoat, but my body-shop guy thought he could do a nice thin coat of it to give me more silver showing through. I'll run those other suggestions you gave by him and see what he thinks. I wish they had a silver base kameleon (instead of green base) so there was more silver and just a hint of green. My pastor just painted his car with it and it's sweet but too much green for me. Keep the ideas coming, I'd like to consider all options before I do anything....

 

[JeremyG]

Wow, I like that SpectraFlair stuff, it's not like the kamelion stuff, more like a pearl.

As Richy mentioned, I did a blue pearl over white. Some angles looks white, others an electric blue, and still others, a cream-ish color.

You can see the "best" of the color-change pics I have at this link:
http://members.cardomain.com/jeremyg

And ALL of my pics at www.3snationalgathering.com/ccow

In the last few months, people have done red pearl over a black basecoat, and red pearl over red basecoat, etc.

One misconception is that a certain color pearl must go over the same basecoat color. You CAN do that, but it's not required.

I like pearls mainly because the paint itself isn't as expensive as the kamelion stuff, and it's easier to match if you get in an accident later on.

I suggest going to an automotive paint store and asking for the sample sheets on DuPont pearl paints, there's 10 or 12 of them so you can look at all the effects. Other brands also have pearls, so ask for other samples as well!

I personally think a blue over silver, or even a red over silver would look sweet. Your paint guy can mix the pearl "light" so that it's not a HUGE effect (for example, mine is mixed at 70% of the maximum mixture). You can lessen the effect.

Jeremy

 

[241comp]

Wow, thanks for all the info / tips. Your car really looks great. What do you think a black/charcoal pearl over silver would look like? Just a thought... I also like the idea of a red - maybe a deep red.

 

[Lord Warlock]

Instead of the Kameleon, I'd go with a Kandy with some dry pearl added to the mix. I agree it doesn't have to be the same color pearl as the paint, but that is how you do "ghosting". I have at least 6 pearl pigments that can be added to paints, mainly for airbrush use, They make a silver-white pearl, as well as several near white or silver colors. Go to a paint shop and take a look at the color books for HOK paints. You can buy the pearls in small quantity from www.coastairbrush.com, they also sell all of the kandy and kameleon colors in small quantities.

One misconception is that a certain color pearl must go over the same basecoat color. You CAN do that, but it's not required.

On mine, the medium teal pearl basecoat color goes over a white basecoat in order to bring out the color. The darker a basecoat the darker the overall finish. And teal is pretty dark on its own, so with white it comes out a turquoise color as in my sig.

Just for informational purposes, Kameleon goes for about $500 a quart, and you need 4-6 quarts of it to paint a car. Tends to get a bit pricey. I wanted the blue-green kameleon but it wasn't available yet. That price (500) does not include the reducers and catalysts necessary to finish the paint, nor the clearcoat which costs close to 175 a gallon, plus catalyst (150) and reducer (50).

I did blue Kandy (with 3 different kameleon flakes) ghost flames on the hood, you can't even see them unless you are standing next to the car. Most people that have seen them like the more visible flames I did on the doors and trunklid where the base was black/teal/white then sprayed over with kandy Oriental blue.

The kandies are transparent and not hard to spray, just hard to match and achieve a thorough blending of color on the car. I'd leave it to a pro to do kandy finishes on the whole car.

LW

 

[241comp]

Is that the standard price for kameleon? When my autobody guy painted my last car (1940 Ford Tudor) I was looking at kameleon and he quoted me about $700 for paint total. I ended up with a Maroon / Gold Flame paint job anyway, but that price doesn't seem to match. Maybe he buys it in bulk at a discount.

 

[SM-4]

lord warlock sounds cool can you post some pics of your paint and flames?

 

[sopiaz57]

Hey

hey guys, how much is a good paint job (thinking maybe a midnight purple or something crazy) with a deep clearcoat, maybe 3 layer? Anyone know a good place in the PA, NJ, NY area??

p.s. not for my car either, i love the pearl white

 

[Lord Warlock]

lord warlock sounds cool can you post some pics of your paint and flames?

I should be able to post a few pics eventually. Right now I am having clearcoat "issues" that need to be worked out before I start posting pics of the car. I have a few attached to posts in the Turkey Rod Run thread. I'll take more when I re-do the rear fenders of the car, and complete the finish sanding and buffing of the front end. My Sig pic is actually the new color, the flames are not visible though. Getting the hood to show the flames is difficult.
Problem is that the weather has been too cold to spray paint recently. So I have had to wait for warmer weather...I don't have a paint shop and doing it in my garage usually results with a little dust in the paint that will have to be finish sanded out then buffed. The other bad part is that I have to drive the car to work every week, so I can only really spray on Friday and Saturday then leave sunday open to piece everything back together again for the following weeks work.

If you had a quote for 700 on a Kameleon paint job, that was an excellent deal. Not sure how he could paint it that cheap. I price my stuff at coastairbrush.com then go to the local paint distributer and have him match the prices. Some of the colors are cheaper than others, but they average 500 a quart, I saw a few listed for 375 a quart, but have no idea how he can paint a whole car with kameleon for 700. Unless he has some left over from a previous job and only plans on getting another quart or so. I imagine a pro painter could get by with 2 quarts of paint if he had to...but would not be the recommended amount by House of Kolor.