Best method of blending metallic

[RaceDiagnostics]

I did this with a £20 mini gun a year ago.

I sanded with 1000 grit a long way back from the repair area first then masked up the car.

A few coats of base coat applied with gun facing away from the masking, the colour match looked good.

Masked up again a bit further back with a soft edge.

Two coats of clear again spraying away from the masking, it had a bit of orange peel but nothing that couldn't be easily sanded out. I hit the dry edge with a bit of blending solvent but not sure that it was a good idea as it almost created a run that I needed to take off with a tungsten stone.

There was still a bit of a dry edge around the edge of the new clear that doesn't show up in the picture but after sanding and polishing it was perfect.

One year on it still looks perfect.

 

[Edward Yemm]

I’m wondering if that dry edge will sand and polish up ok on mine. Ill give it a go tomorrow, 2 days after spraying, then if it does, I’ll leave it for now. I can tackle the colour patchiness near the arch some other time. I’ve still got the right hand side of the car to re paint and the rear bumper. It’s a lot of work. I’m hoping to get it back on the road soon.

 

[Edward Yemm]

I should have masked up the upper panel in line with the sanded area when I did my base. I had to spray the underside of the arch and when I did, base landed miles up the panel.

 

[Edward Yemm]

Thanks for showing the process on your car. I can try only spraying clear over a sanded patch next time then sand and polish the soft edge in.

 

[norsa]

So the ghosting is the overspray edge?[/QUOTE
No. As I said, it's a reaction with the substrate. 3.5 is seconds (has nobody explained drip test?) DG direct gloss coloured or clear

 

[Edward Yemm]

The orange bit is ghosting or the yellow bit? I know about the viscosity test and have the Ford#4 cups that turned up recently, if drip test is that?

 

[Edward Yemm]

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Forgot to say it.

 

[norsa]

Yellow looks like the gun isn't set up. Orange looks like ghosting or another term pros use, not holding out but not too easy to see from a pic.

 

[norsa]

I explained drip test just now. Ford B cup is viscosity test.

 

[Edward Yemm]

I watched some videos to do with the drip test. One was showing spraying with fan horizontal and watching the drips running down to make sure everything is uniform. The other is lifting a paint stick out of a pot of paint to check the consistency. Haven’t found one where people time it yet. I just had a go with one of the pots of leftover base. I stir the paint then pick up the mixing stick. Depending on the amount of paint in each pot it takes 2-2.5 seconds for the steady stream that’s running off the stick to start to drip instead. Think I’ve got it right? I have 4 pots of mixed base coat sat around. The manufacturer says that the shelf life when mixed is 24 hours. It seems like a waste if I don’t use these leftovers up. One of them I put into my suction feed gun to test spraying with that. The base clouded upon spraying. It wasn’t damp in the garage. It could have been a pool of lacquer thinner that was left in the bottom of the suction cup, from cleaning, that was the cause. It’s probably best I don’t use that one in case the low quality thinner affects my finish by causing clouding again.

 

[carbon]

The product info from mipa has the viscosity measured with a din 4 cup which is slightly different to a ford 4 cup. I’ve included a pdf conversion chart

 

[Edward Yemm]

The product info from mipa has the viscosity measured with a din 4 cup which is slightly different to a ford 4 cup. I’ve included a pdf conversion chart

Ok. So mine will be 2 seconds or so slower.

 

[norsa]

I watched some videos to do with the drip test. One was showing spraying with fan horizontal and watching the drips running down to make sure everything is uniform. The other is lifting a paint stick out of a pot of paint to check the consistency. Haven’t found one where people time it yet. I just had a go with one of the pots of leftover base. I stir the paint then pick up the mixing stick. Depending on the amount of paint in each pot it takes 2-2.5 seconds for the steady stream that’s running off the stick to start to drip instead. Think I’ve got it right? I have 4 pots of mixed base coat sat around. The manufacturer says that the shelf life when mixed is 24 hours. It seems like a waste if I don’t use these leftovers up. One of them I put into my suction feed gun to test spraying with that. The base clouded upon spraying. It wasn’t damp in the garage. It could have been a pool of lacquer thinner that was left in the bottom of the suction cup, from cleaning, that was the cause. It’s probably best I don’t use that one in case the low quality thinner affects my finish by causing clouding again.

You have it right there. I dip the stick about 1.5" then count. O and 1 and 2 and drip. It's a very good guide to start your gun set up.

 

[Edward Yemm]

If I use base coat that’s been sat around mixed in a sealed container is there a risk it will fail in future? Some companies sell you mixed base coat. If Technico said not good after 24 hours is it worth the risk using up some of the old stuff?

 

[norsa]

I have mixed base that I wouldn't hesitate to use after months. Obviously in sealed tins and obviously the metallic needs to be agitated well before filtered and drip tested. I can only believe companies put a use by date on solvent based paint is to boost sales.

 

[RaceDiagnostics]

Me too, I always save my base coat left overs out of the gun and have reused it months, if not years later.

 

[carbon]

Ok. So mine will be 2 seconds or so slower.

19 seconds din 4 is 22 seconds through a Ford 4 cup

 

[Edward Yemm]

The top end of the blend was a seamless success. Ignore the areas still needing polishing.

 

[Edward Yemm]

But the bottom....... Oh dear! Let’s just say it’s going to have to be a job for another day. The edge of the base coat is visible. I wish I’d have flicked it out a bit more. The lacquer was sprayed up near a tape line but when I peeled the tape away there was an edge that will not blend at all for some reason? Should have flicked that out past the tape line as well when I got near to it. And that scratch. Something must have been stuck in a microfibre cloth I went to use. I think I will buy some of those very smooth polishing cloths to use instead. Hope their smooth texture will stop debris getting caught and hidden.

 

[Edward Yemm]

The Metallics seem to stand out more on the bottom bit when you look at it from a certain angle. But then when you move level with the two sides the metallic in the second photo looks good on both sides? I wish I’d flicked all paint out a lot further than I did.