Painting process - a little long

I am going to be painting my '61 F-100 using House of Kolor paints. It will be painted with 3 different colors: Rootbeer(UK07) for the main color of the truck with Tangerine(UK08) flames along the front of the hood and partially onto the sides of the cab and then the flames will be tipped in Pagan Gold(UK12)

As I have thought about the process I believe it will be as follows and please correct me if there is another way or something else I should consider:

The truck is already primered with Laquer primer.

I will be using the Galaxy Grey BC-03 for the basecoat - 3 coats. Sanding between each coat, covering the entire body.

Should I start from the front, masking off the flame pattern and then paint the Tangerine first, and then while it is still masked, paint the Pagan Gold tips, then remove the tape. Let that dry down. Then paint the Rootbeer?

Or should I paint the Rootbeer color first since it will be the primary color for the bed, most of the cab and the background for the flames, then paint the flames?

Obviously once all the graphics are done, and sanded smooth I will coat the entire body with 2 to 3 coats of UC35 clear sanding between each coat.

According to the notes on Kandy paints, it will need 6 coats to get the color as dark as what is shown. Should I sand between those coats too?

I will be adding .008 flakes to match each color, to the clear with a 1.5 hvlp gun

Any thoughts on the process or other things I should do are most welcome. Thanks in advance for your advise!

Jim

 

Eh-hrmm...you dont sand between basecoats!

 

First, you are going to love the House of Color paint. It is very forgiving. I sprayed some candy this summer in less than perfect conditions and it came out perfectly (for me).
I always paint the whole vehicle color first before flames. I usually do not sand between coats, ( and never the candy). Good move adding flake to the clear, it will help hide any variations with the candy. A couple of plain clear topcoats, sand and buff and good to go!
Post your results.

 

paint first then flame, otherwise you'll have a difficult time making the flames in negative

 

Jim, pick up a book. John kosmoskis, got a good one, if u like House of kolor.
With talk like that, leave the gun in the box till u get more info.

 

you know that painting the tanjerine over the root beer it is a very suttle effect

 

shanesflames - I am in the process of getting more info and thanks for the tip on the book. I just looked it up and will be getting a copy. I've done some basic painting before, but nowhere near this elaborate.

jersey fink - hense the gold tips I might do some ghost flame effects if its that subtle though

 

I would put the flake down before the candy myself. IMHO flake over the top of the candy kills the candy effect, flake under enhances the candy, makes it pop.

 

Unless you do a lighter base under the tangerine....


Body color base first...do NOT sand between coats, then intercoat clear with your first flake color, then the rootbeer candy, do NOT sand the candy, then you may want to shoot an intercoat clear to protect what you've already done....I would. Next up, I would mask the flames and ghost (outline lightly) them with a light base (galaxy grey, maybe ?), then the next color of flake in intercoat clear, then lay down your tangerine, and tip them in the gold. Then...remove all the masking, and clear it all. At this point, you can decide if you want to sand to rid yourself of edges, and reclear once more, or if you are ready to cut and polish....good luck, and remember your recoat times, it'd be a shame to go through all that work only to have it fall off in a couple of years....

 

Sound like a killer combo! I'd rethink puttin all that over laquer primer.. Jus my opinion!

 

All GREAT info guys! The more I read of your ideas and comments, the more I realize this will be a monumental undertaking for me. Nothin like jumpin in with both feet...and then some... lol

just one favor...when you see me drowning in paint, somebody call 911, OK?

one question though - from what metalman and abomb said, and let me lay this down so I get it straight (sorry for the newb inept questions)

so I have the galaxy grey basecoat down on the whole truck
where I would be painting the rootbeer candy, I would first lay down a clear(or intercoat) with the rootbeer flake, then lay down the rootbeer candy?

then with the tangerine...
mask the flames, then lay down a coat of the galaxy grey again (or the orion silver, its a bit lighter), then the tangerine flake in an intercoat, then the tangerine candy?

Gawd I need a 3 musketeers with all this candy talk!!! sheeesh

 

what kind of primer would you use olddrags? I want to make sure I do this right from step one

 

If you are new at this then you may want to consider letting your basecoat dry before your clearcoat (or whatever you are placing over it). I have found through experience that I cannot control my environment sufficiently (read, no spray booth) and I usually have some nibs in the basecoat that I don't want to clear over the top of. I don't think that I would sand fresh candy though...but a light scuff to remove the nibs and to expose any other defects that may have gotten through works well for me. A little extra work but the final product is well worth it.
As for primer, I have used many HOK products but since they stopped selling KP-21 I have moved to SEM Metalock...it is a direct to metal primer, thinned a little it is a surfacer, thinned more it is a sealer. Less than half the price of HOK, flows like a dream and sands even better. I pay less than $100 for a gallon with a qt of catalyst included in the kit.

 

Jim, I'd have to consider a catalysed primer/sealer, especially considering the time and expence your putting into this job! ^^^ CharlieLed ^ has some good ideas there!

 

Charlie,
I was under the assumption that I should use the same products throughout the job, such as a HOK primer. The SEM would be ok with HOk on top of it then?

 

I found the kit online for $87

 

and yes Charlie, I understand about the "not so controlled environment"

 

yea, you really should not spray over that laquer primer, could come back to bite you in the ass after all that hard work and money. block it all off and reprime it with a good 2 part urethane primer, re block it and seal it before your basecoat. being your first candy job, maybe you should think about buying the dvd they sell and watch it before diving in, could save you alot of grief in the long run. it will show you how you need to walk the whole side of the car instead panel painting and how to use the intercoat clears and so on. very informative and educational at the same time. good luck and keep us posted.

 

I second that. UK Urethane over Lacquer is not good. Lacquer primer is basicly talcum powder mixed with resin and other binding agents. Urethanes have a problem adhering to lacquer.[ REASON: Lacquer is called a living paint ] It breathes. Urethane and Enamel do not. so when you spray them over Lacquers they eventually delaminate. I know it's been done and I've even done it myself many years ago. I know from experience they don't live long.
You should have used a Urethane primer to start with. since you have lacquer primer ( hoping you haven't bought any colors yet ) you should go with the H.O.K. lacquer candys and Lacquer clear. H.O.K. and others do make a Urethane clear they say can be sprayed over Lacquer but again don't live long. trust me I know. Another thing DO NOT USE "KANDY INTENSIFIERS" as top coat colors. I've never done it but a squid wana-be painted three cars here and within a year the color was gone leaving the base on all three.
Now with all this being said. Is this you first rodeo?? because if it is you might want to have someone with candy experience paint it or pick a basecoat/ cleacoat color for you to spray. Candys are transparent, the more coats the darker it gets. you can't spray candys like the base. I've seen so many candy jobs with a darker shade around the 1/4 to door and door to fender. right where they over lapped their coats. do it once and there is no turning back.
I'm not trying to scare you but with the cost of all the paint you've listed it would be a shame the have the job go sideways on you.

 

LMAO!!!!!! Man I type slow. I started with olddrags first post and mine was posted 8 down. LOL.

 

its no big deal to me to get the truck body back to bare metal, especially with the time and money this job will eat. I would just as soon, start from scratch and do it right from the start.

with regard to the dvd, I am definately going to be investing in some instructional media. I think $30 or $40 in books or other media is a good investment considering the cost of the job in time and $

as far as candy experience, I have done small jobs with candys...like my daughter's baseball helmet and bike paint jobs, but they will be pretty insignificant compared to this

I'm not scared or nervous about doing this job...so far I've tackled a lot of things I've never done before on this build already and have come out fine

 

JimV, just take you time and you'll do fine! Keep us updated on your progress!

 

Tech post.

 

Right on!!!!!!!!!! We're all here to help. back to bare metal is the best. readin and watchin is all good. but jumping in on all fours is how you learn.

More power to ya.


DENVER'S CHOPPERS Preserving a Piece of History.

 

I've used HOK's Kandy concentrates with Spies Hecker intercoat clear and clear coat with out any fading issues, but Spies has very good UV protection in their clears. just my $.02

x3 on not using urethane paint of lacquer primer. Huge waste of time and money. It will come off in sheets sooner or later.

 

Definately keep everyone updated and I'll take some more pics in the process. I've got the next couple months slated for engine rebuilding, but while I'm waiting for parts and such, I'll be getting the body down to bare metal again and getting some primer. Its starting to get a bit warmer so weather shouldn't be an issue (fingers crossed behind back) hopefully

I most certainly appreciate everyone's advise and knowledge! You guys ROCK!!!

 

Here's a truck I painted last year for a customer...steel bed, fiberglass fenders, and Rhino lining on the running boards. All got primed/sealed with SEM Metalock, basecoat with PPG, and clearcoated with HOK UC-35. I have also sprayed HOK PBC basecoats over the SEM with excellent results. The beauty of these newer products is that they are catalyzed so when they are dry they are pretty much impervious to other solvents.

 

Beautiful work Charlie! Thanks again for your help!

 

By the way, do you happen to know where this guy got that tail gate skin or tail gate? I haven't seen them with that big a script before.

 

I need to post some photos of a HOK black kandy tangerine job I did eons ago. This was black base, then graphics in silver, then overall silver-white pearl (subtle flake) then more graphics done with differing coats of Kandy Tangerine, then buried in Clear.

I wish you had the chance to play around with different bases under your two Kandy colors to get a better idea what the different combinations look like. Any metallic shade of silver or gold work great as base coats, and solid colors as black, white, yellow, etc. too if you top that with flake or pearl. Think of Kandy as just tinted clear. The more coats the darker it gets. This is your paint job and you can do it any way you like.

But, as was already stated, putting the tangerine over the root beer will make it darker. I don't think that's what you want. The two choices I can think of to lighten your flames would be:
1.) Shoot entire car base, flake, and root beer. Tape off flames. Shoot flames by first laying down another layer of base, then flake, then tangerine then tipped with pagan gold. You could use a different base to lighten, darken, tint your tangerine. Clear entire car. What I don't like about this is that you are wasting the root beer, etc. under the flames and build extra mil thickness.
Or
2.) Tape off flames first. Shoot flames first by laying down a layer of base, then flake, then tangerine , tipped with pagan gold. Mask off flames, shoot remainder of car base, flake, and root beer. Clear entire car. There is no overlap of the two colors. This is trickier and more labor, but saves on root beer and since there is no overlap doesn't build the extra mil thickness.

There are a zillion subtle tricks to working with Kandies. Study every photo you can find and see if you can figure out how to reproduce those effects.