Adding Metal Flake to the Paint

it's long been an unchallenged fact in the Paint On A Budget practice that you can't add metal flake or get a metallic finish on the acrylic enamel. I found this somewhat limiting and a nice challenge. So, I started experimenting on the Satellite hood which is being replaced by a Roadrunner bulge hood. So far, here's what I'm finding out (Pics will be posted later).

materials

Base paint
odorless mineral spirits
2 paint trays/ with high density roller each
.004 micronic metal flake
Starfire Acrylic Enamel Clearcoat.
an old spice/pepper can
a clean metal putty knife

Cost for the extra stuff:

.004 micronic metal flake: varies, I use flakes from http://www.paintwithpearl.com/flakestore.htm
and a four oz jar costs from 12.99 on up.



Starfire Acrylic Enamel Clearcoat: about forty bucks per gallon (more than you'll need)
odorless mineral spirits works well as a reducer for this clearcoat

http://www.paintforcars.com/clearcoats_aecc2.html


The following steps that I'm adding will be an addendum to the methods posted here, you simply get to the point where you've polished the final layer of paint and remove the swirls, getting it to the glassy gloss you want.

1. The next step is to clean the car with a mild dish detergent like Dawn liquid and water to remove any residue from the polish.

2, Wipe it down with a lint free towel (cloth diapers work well) dampened with mineral spirits.

3. Have your paint tray loaded up with a paint/mineral spirit mixture. Use the ratio you've been using, for me, it's 50/50.

4. Have another empty paint tray ready with a four inch high density foam roller, the spice/pepper can loaded up with the flakes, and the putty knife at the ready.

5. Horizontal areas: hoods, trunks, etc. begin by adding another layer of basepaint/mineral spirits to a section. I find that the crosshatching method of roller painting the best for this stage, it eliminates the tiger striping so many people have talked about. Crosshatching is simply painting in criss cros patterns, instead of vertical or horizontal alone. It's kind of like painting in the motion of a z pattern. Again, very light pressure, only the weight of the roller.

6. with your off hand, take the spice shaker and start lightly sprinkling the micro flake onto the new layer while it's wet. i usually hold it about 7 to ten inches off of the surface. it doesn't take much and if you do get large blotches, don't worry, it happens and it's easily remedied.

7. take the clean foam roller and again lightly roll the wet area with flakes in a crosshatch pattern. Should you get splotches, simply roll in that area a little longer and the flakes will easily disperse. It's okay, and necessary, that the new clean roller pick up some of the micro flakes.

8. Check the area for a relatively even dispersal of flakes, and repeat the process until you've finished with the area.

9. I like to take the clean roller that's now holding a lot of flakes, and crosshatch the entire panel again while wet, especially on any of the vertical areas. This acts as a little more leveling for the flakes.

10. Let dry like any layer, but don't wet sand when dry. The self leveling nature of this method actually helps with the flakes dispersing and settling.

11, Wait 18 to 24 hours, then mix up a batch of the clear coat with the same ratio you've been using on the paint, blow out the bubbles, and let dry. Wet sand if needed, polish for a gloss.

For verical areas, the clean roller helps a lot with the application of the flake, but the shaker has to be used with the putty knife. Shake a little flake onto the knife, then gently blow the flakes onto the vertical plane. Go back over it with the roller brush to disperse, and that's about it.

Awesome man. Thanks for your contribution, this is exactly what we need. Hope to see more people with your initiative join the forums! I moved it to the tech section, seemed to fit better there.

I'll post pics as soon as my daughter gets home from high school. I can't figure out how to turn her **** digital camera on!

hot dang


cant wait to see this.

I feel your pain on the camera thing.

Does the clear have more of a shine than the base coat does?

Thanks
Kevin

yes, it adds a lot of depth to the paint. I'm actually thinking of seeing how the roller method works with adding a candy to the clear. . ..

If it works, it should go something like this

1. Basecoat
2. Intermediate coat: final basecoat layer with flake (or two, the thinning with Mineral Spirits actually allows you to add another coat)
3. clearcoat over the metal flake
4. candy clear.

I do know that you can add another layer or two with the metal flake in the basecoat/fllake. From what I see, it adds a bit more depth to the flake and it's self leveling so that helps. As long as you get that final basecoat without flakes pretty glossy and scratch/swirl free, there's no need to even wetsand the intermediate coats with flake. The flakes are a good effect with this.

any more on this? pics? vids?

What about mixing the metallic flake in with the basecoat?

I've actually tested the metallic flake in the basecoat. If it's the final layer of paint you roll, it actually does work well. I used a fifty fifty ratio paint to thinner, added a tablespoon of micro flake, .004 micronic, the smallest flake in my color, and it leveled out well and you can see the flake. I still had to use a pepper shaker to help get an even distribution of the flake, but not as much as you'd think.

You can't sand this stage since it'll take the color of the flake down to the silver of the aluminum, but the flake actually does help hide any imperfections--I haven't had any yet--and it looks **** good. You will need an acrylic enamel clear coat over this so you can buff the shine into the surface.

I know, post the pics. I'm catching up on the bulge hood (I only bought a quart of paint and I've got the trunk, hood, and rear of the car finished) and will post the pics of the different layers and post a vid that shows the flakes the way they sit on the hood and trunk lid. It's Christmas, it's snowing, and I've been busy as heck.

What if you used a higher volume of mineral spirits to add more transparency to the coat, then added in metal flake to the batch. Would this allow depth and still let the color shine through? You could even go back over that coat with the same ratio without the metal flake and wetsand/buff to a shine. I would think that would make the metal flake appear deep in the paint. Just curious if that would work.

I did a test batch in black basecoat (fifty/fifty) and added emerald green flakes a few weeks ago. The green flakes are very easy to see even at this ratio, so thinning it more couldn't hurt.

Cool. Do you have any pictures of your experiments?

Matt wrote:Cool. Do you have any pictures of your experiments?

Yes, I'll post as soon as my daughter gets home. . .it's her camera.

ha

PICS PICS PICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my word..I am so excited...I cannot wait to try this!!!!

sounds like a cool idea, is it possible to mix it with the paint in the can or do you have to roll it on after? and pics plz

if this is possible..maybe a pearl finish is not to far away..

94honda wrote:if this is possible..maybe a pearl finish is not to far away..

or candy

candy would definitely tiger stripe i think. its a pain in the a$$ to spray and not stripe it

Pics Already!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just got a 81 Toyota pu with a REALY nice body on it.
I need to see how this looks as i want to paint it a bright blue w silver metal flake.or a satan blue.cant decide.

i would love to see the results of someone who has tried this.....very anxious....

Dave, pics of the metal flake....


Please !!!

Dave hasn't been online since Christmas. Someone else might have to experiment with it a little and post their results.

I have been reading through many threads and I found this posting which I thought should be added to this thread.

Dave74 wrote:The one knock against spraying are the city codes, some of us can't spray a car in their garage without getting a hefty fine for doing so in a residential area. The Iso's in the atomizers and hardeners are carcinogenic, and problematic. Rolling solves that problem and Rustoleum and the Brightside don't have iso's, so you're protecting your health as well.

It takes a lot of sanding, and some do overs, but it is well worth it. I'm finally getting mine finished...(after five years of.....medical bills, college tuition, and an ever diminishing budget). Rolled on is a source of pride.

Although I never got the metal flake to work right...thought I had it, but noooooooo...... never worked.