Technical Have any of you used a tint in your clearcoat?

....and if you have, how did it turn out? Pros? Cons?

 

A couple of years ago I saw an episode of one of the TV car fab shows in which the demonstrated getting a candy apple red look by spraying a series of coats in which each coat was mixed with increasing percentage of clear coat; something like 20% to 100% in 20% steps, ending with 100% clear coat. Looked good. Easy to try out on scrap hood.

 

I've dome something similar. I sprayed metallic base to cover, then urethane clear with 25% of the metallic base mixed in. Then two coats of clear urethane. The effect is great depth in the paint and it looked great to me especially in the sun. This is commonly done to cheat or hide minor imperfection in the base metal. It hides sanding scratches and other imperfection common on heavily worked metal or rust repairs. The problem with this technique is if you ever need to do repairs it will difficult to duplicate the exact same look.

 

Came out bitching,

Tinted (dye in the clear ) is your basic candy paint jobs.
Today they call them tri-coats too.

 

I tried it years ago on my 48 Chev pickup, added some red pearl to the clear over a black base coat........Came out a deep burgundy when the sun hit it, looked black when it was not in the sun. My daughter tried to copy it by adding blue to the clear on her Jeep, but it just looked like a different shade of black.
basically we never had a formula, just poured some in and went with it. The red worked real well...................

 

If you do decide to do it.Keep in mind if you don't write down the amount of tint, and the number of coats, matching it later wont be fun.

 

Mixing clear into the base in exceeding greater quantities is a great way to do some jobs.
I've heard that called "clear reduction" technique. Very helpful if painting white base oat clear coat

 

That sounds like a great looking effect! Any pictures of that '48?

 

totally agree. we tried to paint a repair on my 55 BA Chevy and ended up repainting the entire area the repair was involved in. Aint easy for sure.

 

When using real paint, ie, acrylic lacquer I was always told to mix colour into the clear at ever reducing percentages until the last couple of coats were straight clear then if you felt real keen, one or two coats of straight thinner........lol...........now what is done with this new fangled plastic or pretend paint, ie, 2 pack......who knows........lol.........and I hear tell there's some such water colour around now..........sounds like voodoo to me............andyd

 

Here's that fender out side Only moments ago.
This thread prompted me to get it off the shelf again because I almost forgot how neat it is to play with it.

It's black as black can be, maybe even blacker and purer than any black I've seen unless the light hits it just right and then it pops candy apple red. The kind Of red on the candy apples i used to get at macey's when I was a kid.

 

That's how you blend a paint repair, happens all the time.

 

I've used red sunset pearl in the clear coat over a dove gray base coat on my 46 Ford convertible. Looked great in the sun light, otherwise it wasn't very noticeable.