| How-To - Paint and Body Red Camaro, orange Camaro, blue Mustang-is this you? We look at 5,000 cars during
the Car Craft Summer Nats alone, so we've seen every type of paint job imaginable. The musclecar hobby is making a huge comeback since the import scene ebbed a bit, so that means more competition at car shows for that glittering trophy (if you are into that sort of thing) and more guys vying for that crowd of dudes offering street cred. Pete Santini has been painting cars since the late '70s. Inspired by the choppers of that era, his art is
combination hot rod and outlaw biker. His office has several cool helmets and tanks on display. The shop is smeared with color. Last summer the things that got the most attention, aside from ludicrous power from surging big-blocks, were interesting and different applications of hot rodding mainstays, most notably custom paint. Now let's not get crazy here; we're not talking full candy glitter and murals of nekkid Aztec warriors enjoying the
lamentations of the women. We are suggesting you use techniques from other motor-vehicle cultures in small doses to sweeten up your ride. Just don't overdo it. Since we've only heard of such techniques and never really tried them, we called Pete Santini of Santini Paint and Body Werkes in Westminster, California, to get a lesson on something that isn't just a coat of base and a coat of clear. Please use sparingly. What about
metallics?The difference between metallic paint and metalflake, as Santini puts it, is "the difference between fine sugar and the chunky healthy stuff." If you want to see stuff in the paint, use metalflake; if you want a little more shine, use metallic. "If you want chocolate milk, put chocolate in the milk," says Santini. PressuresWe asked if there are special air-pressure considerations when shooting flake. Santini says that he likes to run
25-30 psi at the trigger, which translates to 6-8 at the fluid tip. You can regulate the pressure using the trigger. Using less air keeps the flake from bouncing and tumbling on the surface. Here is a tech tip from Santini. Tape off the driprail so it doesn't get shot with the metalflake topcoat. The paint is thick, making it nearly impossible to get the molding back on without mangling it.
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House of Kolor MF-2 Silver Mini Flake, 3 oz.
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Little Daddy Roth Surflite Silver Flake
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House of Kolor Shimrin Orion Silver base, qt.
41.99*
House of Kolor UFC-35 Flo-Klear, 1 gal.
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SATAjet 3000 paint gun
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*prices quoted from Eastwood
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Santini usually uses a silver basecoat under a silver flake regardless of what the final color is going to be. The neutral silver base allows for any candy topcoat without affecting the final color. Whatever the color, the topcoat has to be translucent or you won't see the flake. Duh! The tape stripes are for the nekkid ladies Santini will add later, but this is a family magazine.
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Mr Doofus Wants to Know - Metallic vs Metal Flake
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Mr Doofus Wants to Know - Metallic vs Metal Flake
My apologies for a completely stupid question but what qualifies as metal flake paint? Is a color called 'metallic gray' a metal flake paint or is it really a metallic - one of those real shiny, metal looking surfaces? The surface in question is '92 Taurus I would like to repaint. The original factory dark gray paint has very subtle highlights in it and I can't tell if this is a metal flake or not. A body shop I took it to called it a metallic gray. Can anyone shed light on this for me? Are there gradations of metal flake finishes? (fine to coarse) The only metal flake finishes I have been around were the ones from the '70's that had these big, huge flakes embedded in the finish.
If this is a fine metal flake are there any special precautions for spraying using a conventional gun, not HVLP? Thanks!
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Its kind of subjective. I always called a paint metal flake if I could distinguish between each individual flake. If not, I called it metallic. I have sprayed both with a conventional gun, with an agitator cup, of course. As far as precautions, follow the recommendations of the paint manufacturer with regard to breathing protection, etc.
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I would get the
paint code and start from there. Color flop, gun set up,
and gun technique are issues you must consider. You will probably want
to do a let down panel just to see what you are going to get. Matching metallic seperates the scuff, tape, shoot boys from the pros. Good luck!
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Thanks for the responses. So, if the original finish appears to have very minute, fine, sparkly particles then it it likely a metallic finish? Color flop? Is this a desirable thing or a bad ending?
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Yeah, that is what I would call it. I con't remember Ford using a grey on the Taurus that wasn't metallic, but if they did, I would have been so traumatized by the battleship look, I would have buried it in the cobwebs of my mind.... lol
Still kicking!!
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Metal flake has very obvous flakes of metal. There are no car manufacturers who put metal flake on a production car because there are too many steps involved in applying it and there is a heavy duty sanding needed before the final clear coats. Would cost a mint at the factory. At least I am aware of no one who puts it out on a stock vehicle. You can stand back and see metal flake sparkle from a distance. You definitely have metallic.
Last edited by Fordlover1951; 07-14-2004 at 10:37 PM.
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Color flop refers to the fact that metallics and pearls will
exhibit
different shades when viewed from different angles. This must be
factored in to the color matching process. It is controlled
somewhat by mixing, agitating, and gun angles, pressure and volume.
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Thanks all for taking the time to reply and enlighten - much appreciated.
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