Auto paint techniques, the...
...application of car paint colors. how they are made and mixed to match the auto paint on your vehicle and a short preliminary article on application of the car paint and auto paint techniques.
We will go into more depth on the paint application process on the next article >
car paint colors
The auto paint techniques you use ensure The Colors Are Perfectly Matched by Referring to A paint code on your car and then using the paint repair system information to exactly match whatever paint color your vehicle carries ,
This code is placarded somewhere on your vehicle - on the drivers or passenger door, under the hood even in a glove compartment! - If you can't find it phone your local dealer with the chassis or registration number.
the car paint color is mixed including all the metallic and pearlescent finishes.
The paint code for the car paint colors, I find on a placard attached to your vehicle will give me a recipe for your cars particular color!
depending on how small the amount needed to effect a repair these colours are mixed to 100th of a gram to achieve an exact match for your car.
Of course you will be purchasing your paint through a supplier so you might need a small amount mixed first as a trial .
the reason for the trial might not be obvious after all you have located the right paint code on the vehicle - what could possibly go wrong?
Well, when the pigments are mixed in the factory for the first car you have a color made up of several pigments.
Now imagine the basic ingredient of just one of those colors changed just a tadge, that change would very subtly change the finished colour on the new batch of vehicles. in a body shop we have color swatches to help pin down the exact color required for the vehicle we will be spraying. So please don't assume the original code will be correct.
this explains why the touch up car paint. you buy seldom matches your car. ( It was probably made for the original color aff the production line)
The Standard Auto Paint Techniques
The damaged area is prepared and cleaned, any dents and scratches are filled with a high quality body filler and after curing the hardened filler is smoothed away using various grades of abrasives and then finished with a wet and dry emery cloth until smooth enough to apply three coats or primer
after drying and sanding back to 2000 grit wet and dry .
Now we can go ahead and start the application of the newly prepared colour
The mix is now applied in several layers to blend the newly mixed paints on to the existing panel
A lacquer coat is finally added and cured diamond hard with a. infra red heat lamp ( which also serves to keep me warm in the winter!!!) The major part of the repair is now complete..
..and all that’s left to do is wait for the area to cool before cutting back the newly applied finish with a very fine sandpaper - Yes really!
After smoothing down the panel a cutting paste is applied to polish the panel using finer and finer grades until the repair area matches the original or existing finish giving the final original sparkle, this is best achieved with an electric mop or polisher. The auto paint techniques I use daily do require practice and I would suggest a Lot of practice before working on your BMW Z4 or even Fiat 500!
I have been asked on occasion what happens in the summer months when there are many insects about. Yes, they do land on the newly applied paint. But what do you do? I hear you ask... Well, I cure the paint and then knock them off at the ankles!!
This process takes only a few moments for you to read but I will spend between one and a half and five hours to complete the work (depending on the area of damage being repaired)
Lee Evans Parcel Force
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