Maybe sounds like a odd question . Going to be painting my car( black) in the near future. When going to car shows,swap meets etc I look at different car that are painted black .One would assume that black is black but there are different tints added that make black jump out at you. Those of you that have black cars what did you go with ?? Gene
Well when I can get it I really like DuPont Black Diamond Lucite. It is about midnight in the cypress swamp black. Most blacks are either red base or blue base. If I have to choose or can choose I prefer a black with a blue base to it. The red based blacks will look muddy (to me) in the proper light.
Two years ago, I decided to touch up a kind of an out of the way area on my black '51 Ford coupe. I hadn't given much thought to it, as I thought "black was black" I decided to be cautious, and painted a spot on the inside of the deck lid with a spray can of gloss black enamel. It was not a good match. I ended up buying about 6 different brands of "Gloss Black Enamel" spray cans and found one of them that matched pretty well. The spot repair turned out better than I hoped. You have to get down on your hands and knees and look real close to see my repair. I guess in the final analysis. the only thing that I can advise you on is that, yes, there are different shades 0f black. (Edit : Beaner, your post is so scientific, I almost want to delete mine!)
I did a repair for a guy on a '40 that had been pro painted. I used the leftover paint from the original paint job. Could definitely see a difference in the color (black). Different painters, different thinning can equal different color. Also on my avatar car I painted the body one day and the fenders another day. Same paint, same reducer, same painter. Definite difference in color. Go figure......
There's also tan brown toners they use too. Along with red toners will also look dirty and not true black looking. DuPont made a super jet black that I liked but I would add some blue toner to the color to make it even deeper black. It's hard to find a real deep dark black. Most like pork says they have different shades because of the colors they add. Also if your looking at color chip books at your local auto paint supply remember that most car makes try and have different colors of black white red ect ect. From one to another. Even a straight black toner is not true deep dark black. That's why I like old black acrylic lacquer. Nitrocellulose black lacquer was about the truest black there ever was. What I do is have them pull up the paint formula and look at the toner list. If it has brown or tan or yellow or red I don't have them mix it. I'm with porkn on the blue only shades of black. Be carefull with black that has purple toner in it to as if there's to much it will make it dirty/muddy looking too. Good luck
Regardless of what anyone tells you when it comes to blacks, you can not tell how black the coating is until you compare it side by side to another shade of black. Black is the most difficult pigment to make because from the way the pigment is milled, to the wetting agents can all give it gray tones, brown tones etc. A blue undertone gives it a sense of a deeper cleaner black, however the pigment itself needs that undertone naturally , adding a blue to it will dirty the black. As far as a number of shades of black, thousands of shades. You can have gray undertones, red or brown undertones, blue green undertones then there are 100s of different pigment manufacturers that all have a unique color position with their black pigments. I have people all the time that tell me oh look at this black, then I spray and it almost looks gray when compared to others. Even black tints on a mixing bank can have dirty flops etc. I can send you a list of deep blacks or the deepest black oem colors but I highly recommend not using economy blacks unless the gray is not a issue. The reason is to get the black to that deep blue undertone takes 3-10 times longer to manufacture , with a lot of trial and error. So that gets absorbed into the cost. Hope this helps Sent from my SM-N920V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Years ago I worked as a prepper, the painter taught me that black is not black. The simplest way to think of it is "brown Black" and "blue black". Some have a brownish tint in the son, but the blackest blacks tend to lean blue. Kind of like when an old lady dyes her hair black and it looks kinda blue.
A buddy of mine who is an excellent painter and an absolute master at color matching by eye told me once that black is one of the hardest colors to match.
Ordered a new 82 S-10 p.u., black, specified I didn't want that greasy looking glaze that dealers love to use on new cars. It came in and it looked like it had seen a ghost, so of course I complained, salesman said; you didn't want it detailed, I said WTF, it's a brand new truck. I just got the blank stare and shoulder shrug treatment. People would ask me why it didn't shine like other new black cars, all I could do was just shrug my shoulders. Then I ordered a black 84 S-10 Blazer, paint looked totally different, shiny and deep, just the way it's supposed to look, never could figure out why two GM factory black paint jobs two years apart, could look so different.
I have heard quite a few stats on black recently as I research the paint job I want for my 34. I have read that black is 90% clear. Charley Hutton says that he adds a little blue or violet to make it look blacker. Charley also adds that he prefers a single stage, shooting the black straight in the first 2 coats then mixing 50/50 with clear on the next three to give it a more lacquer like appearance. He claims it adds depth and pigment and makes the paint look deeper and blacker. One of the more interesting ideas I have researched. I don't know first hand but I credit Charley as being an excellent painter and knowledgeable in his craft. I have seen his work in person and it is incredible. I cite this web page for my post, http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/paint-body/1407-the-perfect-black-paint-job/
Different Paint manufacturer from 1 year to the next. People think Paint that has oem approval means something, doesn't mean jack squat. Car companies go to the lower bidder, and charge Paint companies for the approval. The new 2016 corvette is a nasty gray black, and the nason omni dimension limco products of the world can even match it. Sent from my SM-N920V using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Ford paint code UA is a nice black, I use it on everything when I'm doing small projects on the side.
I painted all our frame and suspension in PPG jet black 2k ,it looks good. Had a few scratches and scrapes underneath and thought a rattle can of black plastikote would do it , it looked ok in the half light , but it's actually a dark grey, not even close to black. We are a little limited down here in rattle can choices of brands.
I agree with 51Box, I use DuPont 99A pitch black all the time, it's the best damn garage job paint there is, it's getting tough to locate in California, but what else would you expect from a state that elected an action movie star for a governor? Back to the paint, easy to mix, hard as nails, sprays real easy, this is a current shot of my super stock Camaro (sorry about that) this is a nearly 20 year old paint job, and I have to pit thing thing in the dirt all the time..
Thank so much for the replys. Well now you got me worried Most of you mentioned that black is the hardest color to match. That is the color I intended to paint my Model A. So now if I chip the paint ,have touch up to do or paint a add on I can,t match the paint ! Oh well still going to paint it black with a tint of blue. no body said life would be easy .... Gene
if your doing an all over just save the paint code or paint. i wouldn't worry about it.........focus on trying to keep it clean.
A trick with black lacquer that I learned from an old painter is to blow it over black primer. He said that all lacquer is translucent and the under coat effect how it turns out. Most people here will not grasp this concept because they look at the world through uneducated eyes but I'll throw this out there. Color is just the reflection of light, white is the perfect reflection of light, it absorbs no light at all and is the perfect mixture of all the colors in the spectrum. Black on the other hand is the absence of color. The more defined or absolute that black is the less light escapes until you finally reach the complete and utter absence of color. In order for a "black" paint job to sparkle and pop it must have some colored tint to it, otherwise it would just be dull (even if not flattened).
I only use Single Stage when it comes to Black. I have found that every clear made today muddies the color to some extent. I like PPG Concept DCC9000. I used to use Centari Single Stage Black, and before that R-M Super Max (I wish they still made this). I'm sure there are others that are good, this is just what I like and find it lays out very nice and is a true Blue Black.
I used PPG Concept Black, to shoot the dash and interior garnish rails of my 50 Merc, this paint does not require a clear coat and when color sanded and rubbed out it looks like a mile deep. This will be my choice when it comes time to paint my roadster. However, I was told I'm going to have to purchase it outside of So Cal now because of all the new rules there now requiring. I also had a buddy that just painted his Zephyr with PPG 2700 Black, it will require a clear coat but looked bad ass when done.
I painted my last car, FFR Cobra a Sherwin Williams "Deep Black". I've never seen a black that deep before. It kinda messed with your eyes. It was hard to focus on the paint since your eyes wanted to focus in on the background reflection. Many long hours of buffing with very bright lights to get it just right. Pictures just don't do it justice.
That is the beauty of driving a well done black vehicle, you are driving a never ending and constantly changing mural.
Factory paint jobs a DAY apart can be different. Its a constantly changing thing with the paint suppliers trying to make an acceptable product for the cheapest price. DuPont, BASF, PPG, Hemmelrath, and some others all have reps that work in the factories and try to get their products on line and in use. Both base coats and clear coats now days. Even from one batch to the next it can be different, leterally a matter of minutes. Its no wonder that it is very difficult to reproduce something to match years later. Not just black, but every color. I'm truly amazed that ANY backyard painter can get pretty close, its just a testament to the skill that some of them really have. Good Luck !
When you open a gallon of clear and it has a yellow cast to it , what you are seeing is the additive for UV protection and this will change the color of the base, which makes it harder to match some colors.
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