Thread: Painting candy colors

Tweet

I am restoreing my 1946 Ford pickup. I would like to know how mix and spray candy colors. I have never mixed or sprayed candy's before. What type primer do i use, ect.

Originally posted by rrm99a
I am restoreing my 1946 Ford pickup. I would like to know how mix and spray candy colors. I have never mixed or sprayed candy's before. What type primer do i use, ect.

it's difficult to learn on a web forum. My advise would be Read Read Read then Practice, Practice, Practice.
I like House of Kolor for custom paint products.
www.houseofkolor.com

The main thing to remember is kandies are translucent. So, you have to lay down uniform coats to get an even color. Paint from the front of the car to the back in 1 stroke. Uniform overlap, uniform gun speed uniform distance to the car surface. It's easier to do than to explain with a keyboard .......... and it's not easy to do. sooo, that's why I say practice, practice, practice.

Spraytech can explain it better. Did I mention it pays to practice.

Thanks for your help.

First of all how much painting have you done ?

From your post I take it not much.( dont take this wrong, as I am not trying to flame you )
Its not for a beginner , as you have to know what your doing before you can have a Kandy job look right !

House of Kolor sells every product needed to achieve a Kandy Paint Job, and it wont be cheap !

If you dont know how a Tri-Stage is sprayed I wouldnt mess with it , as it will most likely cost you more then its worth. As it requiers excellent gun control . Each layer gets darker with each pass of the gun, so once you pull the trigger to spray color , you have to walk the whole side of vehicle and not let go , as overlapping will cause dark and light areas.
Plus you need to spray it in a cross hatch pattern to eliminate tiger stripes, and blotching.
Smaller parts like motor cycle tanks, fenders .ect. are much easer to spray Kandy. as it doesnt show streaks as bad.
Plus once its done it cant be spotted in , well It can be spotted but you will see the repaired area. and it cant be Butt matched either.

Kandys are not for the beginning painter , trust me , as I have sprayed color for 30 years .


Spray

Thanks a lot spray tech. Your right, I have never sprayed Kandy. Can you spray fenders, hood, cab, one at a time?

If you want it all to look the same it all needs to be sprayed at once, whether its apart or together.
and you need to keep track of every coat on every part , if you miss one part and start putting it together and get it in the sun , you will find out real quick it doesnt match.

Your a brave Man if your going to spend lots of money and try spraying a Kandy not ever spraying it, because if its not right, it all has to be done over.
Theres nothing worse then a bad kandy job .
I wish you well on trying it on your own, as it wont be easy.

You might go to a good book store and look in the Automotive area and see if there are any books on custom painting , You need to get an idea on what your up againts if your painting skills arent top notch.

Spray

If you're dead set on spraying it yourself, a dark basecoat may be a *little easier. Spray the base black or black mettalic. (For example) Maroon kandy over black base for black cherry. Candies need flawless bodywork to look right. Do yo have bodywork experience?

•not much easier, just a little.

Sounds discouraging HUH? It's not impossible, improbable maybe, but not impossible. Try it , nothing ventured nothing gained. Do some small jobs or test panels to see if you can develop a knack for spraying Kandies. Get comfortable spraying the stuff before you spend time and the big bucks for enough material to do an entire vehicle. Keep us posted...

As a refinishing tech of 30+ years I have to admit that you have picked the hardest one to master for your first.
First make sure that you have 1500.00 in the bank for your materials.........if your real careful, and REAL lucky you may get to keep some of that- but that is what it'll cost you to do it twice.
Do you like sanding? I hope so, if you have a friend that has some years of painting experience that can stand in the booth with you then it will give you an even chance to get a good finish.
I would practice a LOT first- as much as you can afford, before you start on your truck........Good Luck & let us know how you do.
P.S. My suggestion would be to get a pro to shoot it for you........but then it just wouldn't be the same.......would it? I hope you the best.....