painting roof w/candy type color

Dave C 5

Dave C 5

Member
i recently painted a chevelle with this "almost" candy. It is a bit translucent like a candy but not as bad. My problem is walking the length of the roof. I ended up having to spay 5 coats to even it out cause every start and stop showed a stripe. How do you all set up for this ? If I set up ladders with walk planks then the garage is full of ladders and I can't lean out across the roof w/out losing my balance. What's the method ? I thought about a 2 step ladder with a hoop to lean into but if I set up in the middle of the car then I can't reach windshield to back window in one stroke
 
in the 70's we would paint the roofs separately. would remove the wheels and set those tuna boats as low as possible without setting them on the hubs. i'm 6'6 and still hated them.
 
that's a good idea ! problem with the next car is he wants the same paint and the car is already lowered....might be able to get it down another 2-3 inches tho
 
i had a set of short stools . maybe 8-10 inches tall and 8ft long. they finally got too rickety to use. made them in the 70's and used them for about 20 years . great for laying top lines on a van .
 
did you step from stool to stool or run some 2x10's across them ?

opps ....never mind....I see you said they were 8 ft long
 
If it's not actually candy, in other words, if full coverage can be achieved with the color, the striping might be more due to incomplete coverage as much as it is to poor gun angle.

There are times when it's necessary to make a solid shade ground coat for highly transparent pearl colors. If it's real bad, I might even do the first coat with the solid, the second with a blend of the solid and the pearl, then two or more of the straight pearl color to get the right look.
 
thanks for the suggestion...it's not a true candy according to the paint supplier, it's more of a "hybrid" I guess. It's more translucent than regular but not as bad as candy. It's suppose to be shot over a white base. I suspect it is my angle of gun and that's why I was asking about painting the roof. Part of the problem was I was not told it was like a candy so I started shooting differently and from there it was very difficult to get everything even. He's bringing me another car and wants the same color so I just want to be ready....like I said....hard for me to walk the roof and get it even....i'll try some of shine's suggestions
 
Ok - have another question or observation - I'm wondering if it my gun or technique- I'm having a hard time getting even coverage . I'm trying like hell to stay same distance and same speed and I think I do pretty good but I get tiger stripes in my "candy base coats ". I use an lph400 and do fine with solid colors -3 coats). But I tried hok Kbc (their candy base) and it's taking like 5 coats to even it out ! Is it their paint ? I think I read Jim C says it doesn't cover well . I know I'm not a pro but the candie base shouldn't be much harder than a metallic - is there a gun that is better for metallics, pearls and candy ? I love my lph400 for clear but it's time to get a dedicated base gun - read a lot about guns on here but are there some that will improve my odds without breaking the bank AND is it the paint maybe (HOK) - very discouraged- have a guy that keeps bringing me cars and wanting these "specially " colors
 
Dave C 5 said:
Ok - have another question or observation - I'm wondering if it my gun or technique- I'm having a hard time getting even coverage . I'm trying like hell to stay same distance and same speed and I think I do pretty good but I get tiger stripes in my "candy base coats ". I use an lph400 and do fine with solid colors -3 coats). But I tried hok Kbc (their candy base) and it's taking like 5 coats to even it out ! Is it their paint ? I think I read Jim C says it doesn't cover well . I know I'm not a pro but the candie base shouldn't be much harder than a metallic - is there a gun that is better for metallics, pearls and candy ? I love my lph400 for clear but it's time to get a dedicated base gun - read a lot about guns on here but are there some that will improve my odds without breaking the bank AND is it the paint maybe (HOK) - very discouraged- have a guy that keeps bringing me cars and wanting these "specially " colors
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For fixing your stripes--have you ever dropped the pressure, pulled the gun back to about 15 inches or so and do a fast drop coat on the wet base you just sprayed (it's important that the base is still wet so it melts in)? It really evens things out. I'm not a pro either, I did some courses at a community college and then got my associates degree at the Barry School of Paint and Hard Knocks, but I know a lot of guys who use the LPH400 for base. I used one I was loaned. Not sure what cap you're using, but the purple cap is a good cap for metallics.
 
Dave C 5 said:
. I know I'm not a pro but the candie base shouldn't be much harder than a metallic - is there a gun that is better for metallics, pearls and candy ?
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Candys are much harder to spray than a metallic exactly for the reason you are experiencing. It takes experience to be able to keep your overlap exactly the same. Pass after pass. Overlap is critical when shooting candy. You've got to draw imaginary straight lines on the car and follow them not the panels. Walk (spray) the entire side, never panel paint, and keep your overlap 75%. Don't expect your first candy job to look like what you see in magazines, it takes practice/experience to get the hang of it. If you are new to shooting candy try over-reducing the candy. Thin it out, spray more coats. That makes it a little easier if you don't have proper overlap in places when you are shooting it.
Just to be clear doing what Lizer described will help when you have mottling or tiger striping in a metallic. It won't help with dark/light striping issues with candy coats. It will only darken everything up but the striping will still be there and it wont match the rest of the vehicle

Your clear gun will work fine for spraying candys.
 
Thank you for the replies - I'm sure a lot of it is technique but I also think the HOK kbc line doesn't cover well - it's suppose to be more like a base but took 6 coats to even out - thanks everyone!
 
kbc doesnt cover well at all. its just candy dye with some pearl added to it. the whole point of a candy is that it is transparent. never put that over white or silver. like crash said, you want to have a regular opaque metallic mixed in a similar shade to you kbc. put that down first then the kbc on top. that is going to eliminate much of the blotchiness. actually i believe thats what it says in the tech manual and chip book. they have kbc candy red over a metallic brick red base. if you dont do that your going to have trouble when you pull it out in the sun. youll see right through it.
 
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well....it's already painted and going to be cleared this weekend, I've shined halogen lights at it from every angle and it appears to be finally evened out. Guess I should have read closer BUT they say in their advertisement that it's like a base coat and covers in 3 coats.....i'll know better next time.
 
I browsed the replies and all good. On candies especially, I speed up and have at least a 75% pattern overlap instead of the 50/50 overlap that everyone is taught spraying OE colors and clear. Faster, with a lot of overlap has more uniform coverage. Just remember to start your first pass nearly off the panel or it will be light!
 
Dave C 5 said:
well....it's already painted and going to be cleared this weekend, I've shined halogen lights at it from every angle and it appears to be finally evened out. Guess I should have read closer BUT they say in their advertisement that it's like a base coat and covers in 3 coats.....i'll know better next time.
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I personally wouldn't feel comfortable going ahead with clear until actually seeing it out in the sun. Being able to see it in natural sunlight while standing back 10 or 20 feet reveals a lot and that IS how you're going to be seeing the car once finished.
 
dave.....there is nothing hok that covers in 3 coats. that tech manual your reading must be really old before valspar got a hold of them lol
 
Guy that i use to work for way back when was telling me one day about a car they had painted red. Looked good inside but when they pulled it outside he said they could see the primer thru the paint. They had to sand and respray. This was a regular red not a custom color. Another guy that is now retired had it happen to him on a black car. So it can happen.
 
After giving it more thought yesterday - I took it down off the jack stands and rolled it outside WITH the customer there - went all over that car and neither of us could find blotching or stripping . I ended up using 6 quarts on this 67 chevelle .Was at 5 pm so I guess with clear coat and high noon sun there could be something change but he's good with me going forward- thanks for everyone's comments and help !!
 
great. better safe than sorry. well worth every minute you spent to double check that, especially with the customer there.

another trick many may not know. if you have a sun gun or equivalent dont walk in your booth and just shine it at the car. turn all the lights off in the booth or shop so its totally dark and walk around the car with the sun gun. you will see all kinds of stuff come out. sounds kinda strange to do it in the dark but its the best way to check if the paint is thin or if you have any blotchy areas and mottling.
 
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