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Mixing my own paint instead of ordering matched cans changed my whole process
I used to order every color code custom from the supplier, $38 a can plus shipping, and wait 3 days for a fender repair. Then last month I had a 2017 silver Toyota Corolla and the match was off by a mile, so I started blending tints in the shop using leftover bases. I grabbed a scale, some mixing sticks, and a formula book my old boss left behind, and honestly it took two tries to get close. But now I can knock out a quarter panel same day without the shipping hold up, and I save about $60 a job on parts. The trick is writing down every mix ratio on the cup with a sharpie so you remember what worked. Anyone else been burned by pre-mixed cans and switched to custom mixing? What do you do for tricky metallic flake colors?
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logan6481mo ago
Man, I feel this one. I had a similar thing happen with a red Honda a while back where the "matched" can looked pink under the shop lights and I had to reshoot the whole door. What got me was the flake size on those silvers, some cars have fine flake and some have the big chunky stuff, and a formula book won't tell you which one is in the can. I started doing spray out cards on every mix and taping them to the wall with the ratio and date, so now I have a whole wall of test colors to compare against before I commit. For metallics I do a wet coat then a drop coat with the pressure turned way down and the gun farther back, that lays the flake down flat so it doesn't look blotchy. Still chasing a good match on some of these tri coats though, those things are a whole different animal.
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