How to Mix Custom Paint Colors At Home
Custom paint jobs are a lot more than just being able to pull the trigger on a paint gun. There’s a lot of time spent in preparing to paint and any of these steps can make or break a custom paint job. When you want to step out from a standard color and get something with metallic, candy, pearl, metal flake, or other effects you will not only need to get good at spraying but you’ll also need to learn how to custom mix paint. We decided to list below our top 5 tips for Custom Paint Mixing on a DIY paint job.
- Less is More- When putting additives into your custom mixed paint we suggest adding a little less than you think and doing a small spray out to be sure it is the look you’re after. Unless you’re painting a bass boat you may not want to dump the entire tub of metal flake into a paint! Additives can also drastically change the hue or “flop” in a color and may not give the look you’re after in the sunlight. When possible we suggest mixing large batches of paint into a mixing bucket/cup so you don’t have to remeasure or remix during a paint job. This will leave out any room for discrepancy in mix ratios.
- Fully Mix The Paint- When mixing in large ratios and using additives there may be settling of metal flake, candies, or other parts of the mixture. This means that you may get a different effect when spraying the paint with a settled bucket of paint. We’ve had great luck using our Mixing Wand in a drill to mix and blend customs paints in a quart or gallon can. If you have the paint mixed and sealed in a traditional paint can you can tap the lid shut and install it in our pneumatic paint shaker to fully shake the paint before spraying. No matter which method you do; make sure all of your paint is fully stired, mixed, and shaken before spraying.
- Document Mix Ratios- The biggest fear with custom mixed paint is when you may need to touch up or repair an area on the vehicle and you don’t have any extra paint left over. That’s why we suggest documenting both on the can and somewhere safe that can be kept with the vehicle records to assure even the next owner could mix up additional paint without a large hassle.
- Consider a Flow-Coat- Some custom paint colors are achieved by how you stack the colors or by adding a flow coat of clear coat before another layer or effect. With some pearls and effects you need to use a clear coat as a carrier for the effect in a flow coat on top of the base colors. Our Intercoat Clear is perfect for flow or carrier coats of clear to apply custom effects like pearls, translucent, or metal flake.
- Trust The Experts- Sometimes it’s easier to trust the experts and use a custom color designed by a manufacturer. Here at Eastwood took the guess work out of custom mixed paint and give you the ratio/mixtures when you order a custom color from our InterMix Paint System. When you order a full list of needed products are on the checkout page and you’re one click away from ordering everything you need to get that brilliant color you’ve picked out. As with any custom color you still want to adhere to the tips above, but this will save some of the guess work from nailing the color you want! To see all of our Paint Colors Visit Our Site HERE.