TriCoat advice

[pgtips]

Hi,

I'm more a regular in the bay section but recently fell for a 71 superbug. I have a paint specific Q which I hope someone might be able to help with. These forums are like a all knowing dad so fingers xd

I need to paint my 71 bug and want a vibrant red, the original pepper red is nice but I want something more vibrant. A metallic red.

So i started to look and found metallic red is not as common as I would have thought, and it is, as i have learnt, a tricoat colour, also found in pearl paints.

I was advised this would not be the most practical option on a car so I went back to searching for a red i liked but every metallic came up as a tricoat, and on cars they can still be limited. There are some nice ones out there but nothing lept out at me

So i figured if i was going to have a tricoat then it would not hurt to look at motorbike colour schemes as well, and they really have some vibrant colours.

I eventually found a Kawasaki colour I really liked but I am being steered away from it because apparently it has ink in the top coat of the three and this is very difficult to match, the logic is bike panels are smaller so they just paint the whole lot to match it, a car is a different ball game.

Its a huge area I am scratching the surface of and I was told it might be very difficult if the bike manufacturers stop the colours i.e a short shelf life and when pumped into a paint machine it came up "respray only" and I was told thats not a great thing and painting the car this colour would be a pain both now and in the future.

So I want back to the drawing board searching but can only find 'flat' reds which don't inspire me.

But I don't know what to do, I don't want a ton of problems relating to the paint and I don't know enough about paint and paint techniques to work out the best way forward.

My ideal would be the Kawasaki paint (red 5008M) water based, and suffer the few chips that might come along over say 6 or 7 years (chips will be small so any close red will improve it) and when it comes to it get the whole car resprayed if it needs it. Ideally I need something that will work on a day to day basis, is bike paint so different to car paint?

But is this a lost cause, am I being too naive about the whole thing? Is there more to it than I realise.

Any steer, guidance or advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm learning but nowhere near enough to make an informed decision. I am not satisfied with 2 stage non metallic paints but will accept it if i have to.

Many thanks in advance

PG

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1975 1.8l FI Auto Westy - Subaru converted
1971 356 kit 1600 TP - semi/stickshift
1971 1302 LS - semi/stickshift

Trim ring info here -> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559668
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=451210
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479721

[eyetzr]

I would start with the shop that is going to spray your car...Doing it yourself hmmmmm tri stage paint is just that, ground coat, mid coat, clear coat. Ground coat could be your metallics & or pearls, mid coat color & clear is that. The paint is tricky to touch up, stone chips, scratches, etc all hurt a bit. The repair would have to be a complete front end (stone chips), scratch on side would mean a blend job on the whole side. I have cheated a 3 stage paint job, but again if it gets damaged you have to start over again. There are some great 2 stage paint colors out there & they can be made hotter or cooler by a good mixologist.
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I think he meant "rare", as in "not well-done"

[pgtips]

Hi, got a paint shop doing it, well beyond my ability but i'll have a google for mixologist, that might get me somewhere

PG
_________________
1975 1.8l FI Auto Westy - Subaru converted
1971 356 kit 1600 TP - semi/stickshift
1971 1302 LS - semi/stickshift

Trim ring info here -> http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=559668
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=451210
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=479721

[eyetzr]

If you are having a body shop do the paint work ask to speak to the guy who is mixing the paint. He should be able to tweak your formula to give you a brighter or .... color.
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I think he meant "rare", as in "not well-done"

[Bobnotch]

[kman]

All the red tri-coats come up as full respray only because it is difficult to match and blend but not impossible. Someone with a lot of experience who knows what they are doing can do it. None of the red I know of are metallics, they are pearls so don't describe them as metallics. The order of painting is 1st the basecoat which would be one formula as an opaque red that is sprayed until full covererage. The 2nd layers are a midcoat as a different formula which for reds is a pearl translucent with a tinge of red. Multiple coats are applied until you either match the preexisting paint or get the look you want. Than the clear coats.

Sprayouts that have 2,3,4,and 5 layers of midcoat are highly recomended to do in advance to help get the look you want.

Added to the difficulty is the the way you spay the midcoat can effect the look of the final product.

Edit: some/most? Tri-coat red formulas have an opaque/red pearl coat as the 1st layer, a red translucent for the midcoats, then clear.

Confused yet? Good, me too.

[pgtips]

[Mike Fisher]

Go to your local Auto Paint dealer and get them to find/order the Kawasaki red. If they can't get it you'll have to pick a red off their paint charts & add some flake to it. Clear is vital for a good paint job especially with flake. Rocks will usually just chip the clear and leave the red underneath & BC/CC is easy to spot repair!
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https://imgur.com/user/FisherSquareback/posts
69 FI/AT square Daily Driver
66 sunroof,67,70,71,71,71AT,72,72AT,73 Parts
two 57 oval ragtops sold
'68 Karmann Ghia sold

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