House of Kolor Kuestions

[Humboldt Cat]

Got the H.O.K catalog in the mail- their Digital Paintbooth CD looks great, but WAY to rich for my blood.
Have any of y'all used it? Worth the dough?
I had some particular eurathane burgundy set to get at a local paint shop, but now I wondering about HOK (PPG's Omni is the original choice). But now I'm thinking of HOK stuff like Shimrin Brandywine, a candy base coat. Is Brandywine like burgundy (if so, is it on the red or purple side o' burgundy)?
Cool catalog, except the Manufacturer of Fantastic Finishes doesn't show the actual shades in the catalog.
One last question- would candy be dandy as a eurathane with clear coat?

[ray]

the little that i know about paint, says forget the cd business. the software etc. may be the greatest thing on earth, but monitors vary, and computer graphics still leave something to be desired.

its hard enough picking paint colors with the actual paint chips!

[Humboldt Cat]

Didn't mean to lambast HOK, just thought shades would help. They could stand not to have a triple figure price for their CD. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

[kyle paul]

a homboldt cat i not sure my self but i no i guy with good prices on house of color and he can probaly answer any paint questions and get u good prices he near san francisco his shop is ab supply and his name steve heres his number if u wanna call him 408 205 6300 and i think this is his fax 510 706 3200 he also has best prices on 3m products give him a call kyle

[Lionheart]

Jon Kosmoski was the founder of HOK and he was a leader in designing kustom kolors back when laquer was the hot ticket. He stepped up to the plate and became a leader when it came to urathane catalized paints, also.


For example, When it come to candy colors, the shade depends alot on the color of the ground coat because the candy has very little pigment. Ghost flames are done with the color of the ground coat being different then the rest of the car and the same candy color shot over the complete layout.


I'm sure HOK would give you a heads up on how to get your desired shade. They rank high on the list of Kustom Paints.

[Humboldt Cat]

Thanks for the feedback, speedy I'll definitely call him with some questions.
Mmmmm: kandy...

[chopolds]

HOK used to be the highest quality paint available. I still use it, and except for the switch to a low VOC clear, it's still about the same. Expensive, but worth it.
That said, it is not a paint for an amateur to be playing with. It IS expensive, and candy is the most difficult paint to put on correctly. It takes a special technique, excellant gun control, and intense concentration. If you think you are interested, buy the video of painting candy and watch it 3 times!
I've never seen the CD, so can't comment on it. HOK Brandywine candy is about the prettiest color made. It has a much warmer, 'golder' tone than the burgundy. Again, the color is VERY different when put over different color bases (Shimrin metallic base coats). Personal opinion...it looks best over the gold base. The color also gets darker with more coats, but you start to lose the base coat 'metallic-ness' with more coats, so they are not desireable. 3-6 coats is recommended.
The Candy urethanes are great paints, but even more difficult to spray than the lacquers. But they are very durable, and will last MUCH longer than lacquer, as does regular uro paint. Better chemical resistance, abrasion resistance, and holds it's color and shine much longer. I've been using it (uro candy) for almost 20 years, and my first 2 cars I shot in it still look good!
A note: if you want to do uro, use it all the way though, Shimrin base, uro candy, uro clear. Candy lacquer is easier to shoot, but you really shouldn't put a uro clear over it, according to instructions (and some experience!) It 'can' be done, but if you don't do it right, you can have delamination problems (clear peeling off).
You mentioned Brandywine Shimrin. Do you mean HOK's candy base coat paints? The ones that simulate candy, but are only base and clear? If so, the colors are similar to the regular candies, but lack the true depth of a candy finish. You can play around with them and get an acceptable finish, but it takes some time and extra material ($$$) to get it right! They are also much easier to spray out, so they're better for beginners.

[hotrodladycrusr]

I have seen the program in action from the CD you are referring to and i must add, it's awesome. Very expensive, I agree. I got the feeling it's geared toward shop owners, not the do it yourself guy thats going to paint one car.

The guy who designed it, sold it to HOK and demos it at the different car shows/trade shows is a personal friend and HAMB member. Since he's not on everyday, I'll email him a link to this thread and ask him to answer some of the questions regarding the program. I beleive I remember him mentioning to me there will be a less expensive consumer version of the program out very soon. Maybe he'll give us more details of that too.

[Taildraggin]

I painted my dash in H O K candy basecote, not to difficult to apply with great results.

[50mercfan]

i've been told that hok clear looks much better than a normal paint. is that true? and can you use it over another brand of paint?

[toad32]

Ok, where to start with the CD. To start of with, YES I am the one who worked on it for House of Kolor and I am the one that demos it at most of the shows. Currently it is priced at 299.00 not 499.00 they had a price drop about 2 weeks ago. The program is intended for guys who dont know how to use photoshop. It is basically a push button dummied down photoshop type of application. It is so incredibly quick and easy to layout color choices and ideas. With that said it still has lots of power. You can change main colors, add graphics (flames, twotones, graphical elements), pinstripe, fade paint, draw on the vehicle. You can control the placement of the graphics(3 layers currently) and control the positioning, fade and colors(2) of fade paints as well. All graphics have drop shadow options(you control placement, opacity, softness) as well as pinstripes as well(you control width and color). You can even draw directly on the car. What makes this different from Paint or Photoshop is that all the highlights reflections and shadows stay on the car while you are working. It truly does look like paint and not just some color shaped like a car. Now what ray said is true... this is not a color matching system, but a color design system. It is intended to help make color range choices. Do I want a green 37 or a blue 37? How about flames? Flames with a fade? Once you have some colors on the car that you like we will point you to the chip book and those specific colors. Monitors and printers will never show true paint color. Your monitor only has 3 colors to try and make them up and then you can adjust the color, tint, brightness..... see where I am going. But you can still get a very good idea of color and how it affects a car. We will have new stuff after the first of the year that has a different target. The current version is aimed at the shops and the guys doing lots of custom painting. When you are done with your design you can print out a copy that will include all the colors chosen as well as basecoats, intercoats, topcoats and clears.
The software is database driven, meaning that you cannot upload your own car, you have to pick from the cars that we have converted. I am posting a link to a small portion of what the software can do. You need flash and it is around 1.8megs so download if you like.

http://www.cyberods.com/graphic1.html

Hope you guys like it and if you have any suggestion I dont want to hear it....just kiddin!!!! please let me know what you think. And look for some really cool stuff after the first of the year.

Toad32

[50mercfan]

toad that shit is too cool! anyway to put your own car in?

[hotrodladycrusr]

Thanks for sharing all that with us Carter. Glad to hear they dropped the price some. This will make it a whole lot more affordable for the smaller shops. You coming to Detroit for the Autorama by any chance?

[ray]

thanks for expaining the intended application toad! sounds cool, waiting for it to load...

[toad32]

Just as another follow up here is another flash demo.

http://www.virtuwheel.com/demotruck.html

Toad32

[Deuce Rails]

[ QUOTE ]
toad that shit is too cool! anyway to put your own car in?

[/ QUOTE ]

Read Toad's whole post:

[ QUOTE ]
The software is database driven, meaning that you cannot upload your own car, you have to pick from the cars that we have converted.

[/ QUOTE ]

[hotrodladycrusr]

Just a heads up. This paint program of Carter's was just on American Thunder on Speed. Carter was explaining it at a bike show. Since I'm east coast time, those further west can catch the show, later on today, if your interested.

[ESnacky6]

Just curious, but do you have a list of the cars/trucks
that are on the program..??

That would make or break the descision for me personally...

Neat program though..!!