Hi guys been awhile since i posted, but i have a project i am helping a buddy out with. Seeing my years in the body/paint world is still a pin prick to some of you guys out their. My buddy is having this paint job re created on his new/old OT 67 impala to recreate the purple one below. I will be painting this, but need help selecting colors from a few extra people with a good eye. Secondly going about this spray job i have a little info from an old panel we had sanded down. Looks to be sprayed a purple then flames painted silver with either a pearl with reducer sprayed over it, or base mixed in clear? I have done one ghost flame job in my career and that was on a motor cycle tank but went a different route than done on this car. Also i went on house of kolor for a few minutes to start searching for colors her is what i found so far. ANY HELP GREATLY APPRECIATED!
I'm not going to even bother to try to select a color because until you spray a panel and hold it next to the car, you're pissing in the wind and hoping for the best. I tried to do the same with HOK. We had a chip chart and wanted to respray my '57, and the goal was to use a nicer version of the color that was there so we wouldn't have to jamb the car out. I took a fender skirt outside, held it up to the chip chart, and found a color that was super close, KBC15 teal. We ordered it up and went forward. Here is the color we tried to match, and the car pre-makeover (circa 2003) This is the color as it looked on the car As you can see, not even friggin close. A beautiful color and a pleasant surprise, yes. But a match, no. You can see in the portion of this picture in the direct sunlight the color will lighten up a bit, but even still. Again, these colors looked very close on the chip chart. So the bottom line is, you're going to need to either order samples, spray a few test panels, or forego the task of trying to match the colors exactly. Personally, I'd go with the latter, as IMHO, that paint/wheel combo is the custom car equivalent of linoleum tile and formica countertops. It sucks the car got hit, but as one door closes, another one opens, and this a great opportunity to update a dated style. You can keep the colors in the same family, but then you wouldn't be tasked with matching them precisely.
To me it looks like they put a red "interference" pearl coat over the purple for the flames. Also called Flip Flop Pearl, if done right, you don't see it in the dark, or under some lighting, but when the light is at the right angle, it lights up. You have to experiment to get the right mix of pearl to clear, and amount of coats to get it right. Too little, and you don't see it, too much and it's there all the time, or gets 'milky' looking. Joe, your car would be very close to that color, if it was over a white sealer, and Bill throttled the fluid down a bit, or put on less coats. But it would have been harder to get even coverage with such a translucent color.
A verbose and ornate way of saying he has a small amount of experience in comparison to many on this board. Use the other definition of "prick" and it makes more sense.
Exactly this car would look like a borderline deep purple/black at night and you could barely see the flames. He is insisting the paint job be the same or pretty close to matching colors.
Only one sure way to find out, who did the first paint job? If they will even reveal how they did it. Custom Painters sometimes are like women who won't give you their recipes!
As a custom painter with over 40 years of experience, Walk away from the project! You just stated that the customer is insisting that you match someone else process but neither you or your customer know the process . You will never match it. Either have him choose new colors and repaint it complete or cut your losses and save your self a lot of head aches!! Life is to short, Larry
^^^^^^^^ what he said... Questions: Could someone match (get close) this paint job? Yes. With a "pin pricks" experience? Probably not. The flame layout will take some skill and talent... not too easy. Having laid out quite a few flame jobs it's not easy as it looks... Paint sequence and technique takes experience... Purples, reds and related hues are expensive... Time? It'll take what it takes. Friend's expectations? Too high... I'd pass on this job unless your friend is willing to accept the outcome...
The Jalopy Journal
