House of Kolor, what do you think?...........

[FRITZ]

Just looking for input on what everyone thinks of House of Kolor products. paint, clears, primers. etc. all that stuff.
Did ya have a hard time using it, did ya have a good time using it. what you liked about it or didnt like.
I have used it, wasnt to happy with the clear but maybe it was just me. I love the pearl base colors.
lets hear your input!
FRITZ

[hotrodladycrusr]

I'm interested to hear what everyone has to say as well cuz Big Olds will be painted using HOK products.

Fritz, Please fill me, and my painter, in on your experience with the clear. What happened or didn't happen?

[Jester]

I think its too expensive for me to buy.....does that help any? http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[lownslow]

i LOVE their stuff........especially the clears......layed out like glass......super shiney and durable...........it is pretty much all i use now .......

[MikeO]

I love the stuff but I do think it is loosing quality from what it was it seems alot thinner than it used to be. What klear did you use I only use the UC 35 and think its GREAT

[chopolds]

I've been using it for over 20 years. Very durable, easy to use (technically), and looks great. I liked the 'old' clear more than the new one (UC-35), but I got used to the new one. Color choices are almost unlimited, due to mixing base coats, pearls, and topping with candies, flip-flop, etc. There are also lots of tricks you can do to make you paint different form any one else's. It really isn't that expensive, either, anymore. I priced out painting a 66 GTO with Ford's version of Candy Apple Red (I think it was called electric red) in Dupont paint and it was actually more expensive than using HOK's REAL Candy Red. AND the HOK looks much better, as it uses a real silver or gold metallic base, instead of a red pearl base....more glitter = more better.
I painted my 55 Olds in Candy Cobalt blue almost 20 years ago, and it still looks pretty good. The bodywork underneath is beginning to go bad before the paint. The car sat outside for a few years, when it wasn't in a garage (unattached), so it really WASN'T pampered!

[2tall2beahotrodder]

Chopolds.. You have a pic of it??? Dont think i ever saw it around...

[Nads]

I'm only familiar with House of DAP, Discount Auto Parts.

[FRITZ]

So if i use HOK, what primer should i use onmy fiberglass body
I did all the plastic work and shot it in a coat of polyester primer to keep my dirty finger prints off it.
FRITZ

[47lincsled]

Does house of kolor come in a rattle can? if not I won't be using it.

[TimBob]

I'm contemplating their Kandy Basecoat (KBC) for one of my cars. I agonize over these things, so I bought a pint and had a painter buddy spray a fender with combinations of two sealer colors and 3,4,and 5 coats of KBC. The idea with the KBC line is that the finished job looks like a real candy, but it's actually applied like a base/clear. It should take about the same skill as laying down any of the latest high-pearl factory colors. Here's what we learned:

- KBC isn't totally opaque, so the sealer color makes a difference (I used black and silver). But over a consistent sealer color, there is little color difference between 4 and 5 coats.

- The KBC was sprayed with a touch-up gun (good gun was broken), and it still didn't show any signs of the blotching or tiger stripes I've seen on some real candy jobs.

- PPG clearcoat worked fine, with PPG primer beneath. I talked to a few painters who have used HOK bases with PPG and Dupont clears. Never heard of any problems doing this, plus it's nice for the painter to work with a clear they're familiar with. Do a test piece though, because if you get compatibility problems the paint manuf won't help you.

- The cost of the KBC was actually less than the factory high-pearl paint my friend bought for his project.

- the <font color="red"> COLOR </font> is insane. I used Brandywine, and if I hold it next to any other reds it makes them look pink, orange, or brown. I saw cars with similar colors of HOK candy and PPG candy next to each other at a show, and there was no comparison. The PPG looked great on its own, but not next to the HOK. This pic of my fender doesn't do it justice:
http://images6.fotki.com/v75/photos/4/43402/249709/1555582_IMG-vi.jpg


Of course the true test will be painting the whole car, unfortunately that won't happen for a while http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif.

[praisethelowered]

That looks great!!!!


I am painting the interior and dash of a truck that color in a few weeks. I bought all the supplies yesterday.

[chopolds]

Rat-Rodder...Can't post from work, but if you haven't seen the Olds, hate to say, you haven' been around very long! It's been everywhere!
Fritz, you really can't go wrong with HOK's epoxy primer. I'd use EP-2 on 'glass..excellent adhesion, also has good filling qualities, unlike some epoxies, sands pretty easily, as well. KP-2 is their quicker cure primer, works well, too, if you're in a hurry, but the EP is better. It is competitively priced, too, again, have found Dupont 2 part primers, as well as DP-90 to be more expensive.
47licn...nope, this is GOOD paint, ain't in spray cans.
TimBob...KBC is a nice shortcut, but as you compared PPG to KBC, if you saw HOK's 'real' candy next to the Basecoat candy, you'd see a big difference as well. While KBC is the same color as real candy, it doesn't have the depth, or sparkle of the real deal. You can cheat a bit and make it look more like true candy, but without the critical paint skills needed to lay candy on, by putting a coat or 2 or 3 of real candy OVER the KBC. I like to add just a pinch of ultra mini flake in the candy when doing this to add the needed sparkle, to add the glitter, to go along with the depth. The 'only' downside is that the color does get darker with added coats of candy.

[FRITZ]

Chopolds;
Thanks for all the info. interesting.
im thinking id like to paint the "Roswell Rod" with all House of Kolor products. I usually only used their paint, pimer and clear i always used Dupont or Sherwin-Williams.

Im trying to figure how much stuff i'll need to paint my Bubble top. I ned enough stuff to prime the body (i guess about the size of a 66 chevelle) and chassie plus componets
block sand em smooth with 180 then prime em all again and sand them with 400 for paint.

I usually just keep running to the store when i need whatever but i can get a great deal on HOK stuff but a one time buy so im trying to not get more then i really need, Ya know
FRITZ

[Taildraggin]

I used the Kandy base coat for the dash on my Poncho.
Easy to apply and i was pleased with the results.
Just gotta do the rest of the car now http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[hotrodladycrusr]

Fritz, HOK has a program that not only allows you to see your car with different color paint, flames, etc, but gives you a list of what products you need for the job you want to accomplish. HAMB's very own Toad32 wrote the program, sold it to HOK and is demonstrating it at the different car shows all over the country for them. The program use to be very expensive to purchase, it was geared toward shop owners but they have since made a personal version thats around $50 I think. Might be worth the investment.

House of Kolor (http://www.houseofkolor.com/hok/index.jsp)

If you have any specific questions regarding the program and how it works, feel free to ask away. I'm emailing this thread to Carter (Toad32) so he can answer them.


TimBob, that fender looks awesome! I know I made the right choice now in paint manufactures. Thanks to everyone for sharing all your hints and experiences

[TimBob]

chopolds, thanks for the tips, I'm still in the research phase and am taking as much advice as I can get. Actually those two cars I was comparing both used real candy. I haven't had a chance to compare the look of HOK KBC to a real HOK candy, but I trust what you said. I'll just have to be careful who I park next to http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

I'm planning on driving my car a lot, so I've been looking for candy-like effect without the risks of a true candy. I hate how rock chips stand out on candy paint, almost as bad as a mis-matched touch-up. So for my purposes KBC seems to be the way to go, maybe with your tricks on top.

(FRITZ, sorry I didn't clue in earlier that you were looking for whole-system HOK opinions. Can't help there - I'll stop now.)

Cheers

[Nads]

Hey Fritz what were using when you did those spectacular jobs on your bikes?

[FRITZ]

Nads,
heck I always used what was around. I always had a bad habit of cross mixing diff. companys stuff. adding pearl and flake to what I had. House of Kolor pearl base coats are up there on my fav. list, but stright colors and clear i used dupont or sherwin-williams. I only asked about using house of kolor from start to finish on a job Because they offered to be the paint sponser for the "Roswell Rod" I asked just to get a grip on what everyone else thought and what not about there stuff.
FRITZ

[Tuck]

I just want to chime in here on HOK's expensive price reputation...

In the last two years Valspar has dropped the price on HOK signifigantly... and if you compare prices with PPG you'll notice its cheaper to buy HOK.

The average price per quart is under 30buxx. thats 85 buxx a gallon average for there beautiful base coats...

I think there product line rules although I would tend to lean with fritz on the clears. I dont like em....

I like to use PPG's 2042 clear with DCX8 not DCX71... that clear is awesome and I've never had any problems with it.

Although I hate to intermix product lines... I think PPG's clear is far superior... and on the product line compatibility... theyre clears are made out of the same stuff...

So all in all... I love HOK.

Tuck

[ESnacky6]

What I think H.O.K. of products:

not cheap in price, but excellent stuff..!!
If you want a quality custom paint job,
use the very best product you can afford...
(or can't afford, haha..!! You only live once..!!!)

here's some H.O.K. Candy, Metalflake, &amp; Pearl Ice....