Making the switch... New paint lines.

Chad.S

Chad.S

Oldtimer
We have been working on switching paint lines for a little bit and the first line has been delivered.

We managed to get all of the Pro-Spray toners off the machine and about half of the machine stocked with the new line, I am hoping to be up and running again on Monday as long as software cooperates, Pro-Spray was a battle getting set up so I hope it goes smoother with this line.

This does mean that I can't mix any more Pro-Spray, we have had a good run with this paint line and have had a lot of success but with the company being purchased I knew it was now time to look into other options.

The first line is a company called Automotive Art, Barry referred the line to me and since I've done some research and talked to other jobbers that carry the line and the reviews were really good. The only bad news I have heard of the line is the fact that their color library on older colors isn't as strong. One jobber I talked to carried both Pro-Spray and Automotive Art and said he always goes to Automotive Art first as they prefer the line. This made me feel like I was making the right decision.

The brand name is Automotive Art and the base coat line is labeled as Moto-Base. Really anxious to start working with it.
 
Interesting, this is actually the first time I have heard of Automotive Art. Taking a look at their product line now.
 
There is a jobber in my area that sells it. I painted a complete car in Fiat PR1, later on had a Fiat come in for repairs, and the car was PR1. When both cars where outside, there was a big difference in the colour. There red covered good, but the black seems a little brownish in the sun.
 
chevy_power427 said:
There is a jobber in my area that sells it. I painted a complete car in Fiat PR1, later on had a Fiat come in for repairs, and the car was PR1. When both cars where outside, there was a big difference in the colour. There red covered good, but the black seems a little brownish in the sun.
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I am most likely not going to carry the factory pack black. I removed it from my opening order. Was the Fiat a newer color or a older Fiat. They have a weak database with older colors. Mostly anything older than 80's.

We've mixed a few colors already and so far matches have been good, however it has only been newer GM vehicles.
 
crashtech said:
Interesting, this is actually the first time I have heard of Automotive Art. Taking a look at their product line now.
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Barry suggested this line, and then I called a few users and heard really good reviews so it motivated me to give it a try.
 
It was the newer Fiat 500. For a full respray, its not too bad, unless the person goes mental comparing the colour. There are many things we see the customers dont.
 
Never heard of the Automotive Art. Hope you have good luck with it! I had a feeling this was going to happen with Pro-Spray. Such a shame because like you, I had really great luck with it.
 
chevy_power427 said:
It was the newer Fiat 500. For a full respray, its not too bad, unless the person goes mental comparing the colour. There are many things we see the customers dont.
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I know exactly what you are saying. Getting perfect color matches can drive a person crazy.
 
I think you will start to hear more of them, they just recently started working with a warehouse, so this will get it out there more. It has only been a week and so far we have been really happy with the line. Color matches and coverage has been good. The navigator they have also seems to work better than the one Pro-Spray had as well.
 
The other paint line we chose to go with is Wanda, it is now in stock but we can't mix just yet, they sent me everything but the database, so I am still pretty limited.
Hopefully ready to go next week with this line as well. I talked to Jim C. and he seems to love this line and he kinda persuaded me a little bit to go with this line as my second line over the others I was looking at.

It sounds like this line also has a very extensive database with the older colors, which was a key factor to me.. I'm anxious to look up some colors and see what they have to work with.
 
[quote name=''68 Coronet R/T' timestamp='1440205609']Which of the two lines will be closest to the Pro Spray?[/quote]
I'm not really sure, I haven't mixed any Wanda yet, but so far I am liking the Moto-Base. Seems to cover really good.
 
Since Wanda is owned by Akzo, it uses the same color database as Sikkens and Lesonal. I have a feeling you will eventually be selling and preferring the Wanda more in due time. I still use Wanda from time to time on these all overs. The last one I did was a 71 resto mod Cuda in Hemi Orange. Sikkens has a code for it, but it is a tri-stage. Been that way forever. The top layer is just binder with some metallic mixed in. Wanda has the code that is a standard basecoat, so that's what I use when I spray that color and the match is really dang close to original.

My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
 
jeremyb;n75794 said:
My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
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Jeremy, it always blows me away the quality of your paint jobs, among many other experienced painters in here as well. Don't mean to hijack this tread but I can't help it and I have to ask, is that Universal clear with very slow reducer plus some magic retarder that you use?
 
jeremyb said:
Since Wanda is owned by Akzo, it uses the same color database as Sikkens and Lesonal. I have a feeling you will eventually be selling and preferring the Wanda more in due time. I still use Wanda from time to time on these all overs. The last one I did was a 71 resto mod Cuda in Hemi Orange. Sikkens has a code for it, but it is a tri-stage. Been that way forever. The top layer is just binder with some metallic mixed in. Wanda has the code that is a standard basecoat, so that's what I use when I spray that color and the match is really dang close to original.

My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
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Well that's good to hear, on older colors I am almost going to have to go with Wanda, Moto-Base is pretty limited with anything older than 1980.
 
Jorge M. said:
jeremyb;n75794 said:
My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
Click to expand...


Jeremy, it always blows me away the quality of your paint jobs, among many other experienced painters in here as well. Don't mean to hijack this tread but I can't help it and I have to ask, is that Universal clear with very slow reducer plus some magic retarder that you use?
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Honestly, you can make just about any clear shine good with a great gun and a great buffer right out of the door. Lol. It's all the hours and hours and hours before the paint is even sprayed is what makes it look good on the car. I'm mostly using all Sikkens products now but I do have a job coming in next week where I'll be using Universal clear. I always use the very slow activator with Universal.
 
jeremyb said:
Since Wanda is owned by Akzo, it uses the same color database as Sikkens and Lesonal. I have a feeling you will eventually be selling and preferring the Wanda more in due time. I still use Wanda from time to time on these all overs. The last one I did was a 71 resto mod Cuda in Hemi Orange. Sikkens has a code for it, but it is a tri-stage. Been that way forever. The top layer is just binder with some metallic mixed in. Wanda has the code that is a standard basecoat, so that's what I use when I spray that color and the match is really dang close to original.

My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
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There has only been a few occasions where I haven't been able to pull an old car color. I've been hearing rumblings that Akzo is starting to open up the Wanda line to a little more tech support. Their color lab is great for cross referencing numbers. See if you can get a hold on some of the old color map books. They no longer produce them but you can ask around to see if you can find them. Those things are a life safer for color matching on something that you don't have a code for.
 
ill say it again, the best thing i ever did was get rid of diamont and go with wanda. 1/3 the cost and i actually like it better. it way better for masking, 2 tones, graphics, all that kind of stuff. covers as well or better. the little bit of color matching i do has always been right on the money. i have zero complaints with it. i dont use their primers or clears though. i use spi reducer in the base and all spi primers and clears. i have been told the wanda reducer is super fast so the spi really works great with it. from an inside source i have been told that wanda is the old sikkens autobase which was their premium line before autobase plus. this is why all the sikkens color tools and formulas work with it. if thats true or not i dont know but the source is pretty reliable.
 
I sprayed Wanda base just once it had no problems with the paint. The jobber who sells it? Now that's a different story, he's a class A jerk. I get better service ordering from some place in Michigan. LOL
 
jeremyb said:
Since Wanda is owned by Akzo, it uses the same color database as Sikkens and Lesonal. I have a feeling you will eventually be selling and preferring the Wanda more in due time. I still use Wanda from time to time on these all overs. The last one I did was a 71 resto mod Cuda in Hemi Orange. Sikkens has a code for it, but it is a tri-stage. Been that way forever. The top layer is just binder with some metallic mixed in. Wanda has the code that is a standard basecoat, so that's what I use when I spray that color and the match is really dang close to original.

My only gripe with Wanda is their limited selection of clears and primers, BUT you have that covered with SPI. These 2 products work really well together.
Click to expand...
That's good advice, are they just old Akzo Nobel books? They sent some variant box but they kind of reminded me of the original Pro-Spray color box which I wasn't to impressed with. The Moto-Base variant navigator has been very helpful so far.
I hope they do open it up for more tech support / color support because that seems to be the biggest complaint I see.
They haven't even told me anybody to get into contact with for questions.
 
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