painting kandy

danp76

Oldtimer
Hi guys, I'm new to any custom painting, I typically just do rather "simple" colors, and never tried spraying any wild kandy colors. I'm thinking of an orange kandy on a 71 Buick convertible, but not sure how they are to repair down the road. I'm guessing you can't panel paint, and must spray everything in one shot? I'm looking at some of the PPG Vibrance 2 series but boy talk about $$$$, cheaper alternatives that work well? Any tips/tricks would be appreciated! thanks guys!
 
dan, all the candys from all the manufacturers are the same so there is no need to buy anything expensive. the paint companies buy the dyes from the same manufacturer and just add it to their base and mark it up through the roof. if you get ppg's apple red candy it will be the same as hok's apple red. just get yourself a gallon of spi intercoat and whatever dye concentrate you want, hok, alsa, sem, etc. as for repairs....you cant. your not going to do a blend like with a regular basecoat. as for panel painting it.....maybe. i have done it many times on sportbikes but never anything like a door on the side of a car.
 
Hi Jim, and thank you for your always great information. So, how would you repair a candy in the event of a dent or a scratch? I'm wondering if it's worth fiddling with, they do look cool, but not sure if it's practical.
 
lol its definitely not a practical finish. you would need to repaint the whole panel or panels. what exactly you repaint and where you stop will be different with every repair. usually if i have a customer with a candy finish and they mess it up then its usually time to add some graphics to the job. thats the easiest way but doesnt always work out. its all a case by case basis. no method of repair will be the same from job to job.
 
Repairing candy on a car is extremely difficult to impossible. If you shot the original candy color and kept a detailed record of what exactly you did, temperature, number of coats, air pressure, how it was mixed, etc etc, then you might be able to repaint the side of something if it was needed, but if there are any blend areas you are always going be darker in the blend area and it usually sticks out like a sore thumb. Count on spraying the whole car if you have to repair a true candy finish. Definitely not practical on a car or truck.
 
Thank you Chris, I'm restoring a 71 Buick GS convertible, code 62, bittersweet mist metallic. I'm looking for a more exciting color, similar to original, but nicer looking. I'm up for ideas! I think a candy looks cool, but might be too much work and difficult to repair.
 
What color interior/top?
I couldn't find out what color this is, but for a brown, think it's one of the nicer ones... Audi R8

C03682B0-7B88-497C-B2C9-40A0DE948E02.jpeg


Lance
 
Thank you Strangersfaces, it will have a white pearl interior, black dash, and a white top. The original color is like a burnt orange color.
 
The candies/tri-stages that we see on new cars are often repaired at bodyshops everyday. How are the custom candies different, more pearls, etc? Would creating a let down panel and making a blend work? I'm finding some of the candy colors are quite nice looking.
 
well a tri-stage pearl is totally different than a candy. there are some oem colors that are done like a candy but its not the same. many metallic reds in oem are painted like a candy. they would be a metallic red almost the color of the final but then a very slight color is put over it. its usually clear binder with a touch of one of the toners mixed in. a custom candy is all dye base. no pigments added. the complete color or atleast 90% of it is made up by the dye you put over the metallic base. this gives alot of depth because you are looking through all that color with metallic underneath.
 
Oem "candy" procedure sounds like what i did on my black sapphire caddy.
Sides of car still had decent paint but ready to say goodbye. I blocked the clear & put 2 clear coats with maybe 16:1 clear/base mix, then 2 clear over that. Gave depth but do NOT do it with metallic base! I learned. Looks glitter bombed lol. No idea how long it'll last but looks good in sun...minus the glitter.
 
Mirror, which i had to base 1st after sanding pits out down to plastic. A side panel wouldn't match for a repair but this is seperated by chrome.
IMG_0488.PNG
IMG_0489.PNG
 
So, a true candy, is basically impossible to repair and touch up? By the sounds of it, the answer is yes. A factory "candy" isn't really a candy, is what it sounds like. Am I getting this right? I'm afraid of a scratch or ding down the road on my car, so unfortunately, repairs are out? thanks guys!
 
So, a true candy, is basically impossible to repair and touch up? By the sounds of it, the answer is yes. A factory "candy" isn't really a candy, is what it sounds like. Am I getting this right? I'm afraid of a scratch or ding down the road on my car, so unfortunately, repairs are out? thanks guys!
9AF22CF7-2008-4638-A85E-E1B42A629EF8.jpeg

Dan,

Imagine that each pass of candy color is one sheet of color transparancy, as shown above. Those sheets are on white base in this example, and different colors, but as can be seen, as one sheet (representing a layer of candy) is placed over previous sheet, color deepens/changes. With candy, though spraying same color, with each pass with the gun, the color will change. Assuming one can get the initial candy sprayed evenly over the entire car, it can look great.

Later, a dent happens and a repair is needed.... Spot repair is made, base painted, and then...., Even assuming you can mix the exact same proportions of candy dye and remember how many passes at what pressure and at from what distance the original was sprayed, the REPAIR may come out just as it was before, but at the same time, additional layers of candy stain are being added on top of the surrounding areas, and these will now be darker.

It's not impossible to repair candy, if one does an entire panel, has excellent lighting and experience doing so, but candy isn't really practical on a street car, where damage is likely to happen. It's your car, and if determined to do candy, have at it. It may come out great and I hope it does, just know going in that repairs will present a greater than normal challenge.

Lance
 
I'm doing a candy job right now that I literally spent a year trying to talk the guy out of. but he insisted. Street car.....Cant wait to hand him a repair bill after someone scratches it. Basically just started cutting the parts in last weekend.

Tested the color out on my snowblower to make sure it was exactly what he wanted!
 

Attachments

  • 20180318_095234.jpg
    20180318_095234.jpg
    82.6 KB · Views: 621
  • 20180317_204751.jpg
    20180317_204751.jpg
    107.1 KB · Views: 266
  • 20180318_130115.jpg
    20180318_130115.jpg
    101.1 KB · Views: 308
  • 20180318_095735.jpg
    20180318_095735.jpg
    105 KB · Views: 262
  • 20180318_111842.jpg
    20180318_111842.jpg
    162.6 KB · Views: 274
  • 20180319_212522.jpg
    20180319_212522.jpg
    128.7 KB · Views: 245
  • 20180319_200814.jpg
    20180319_200814.jpg
    78 KB · Views: 239
Orangejuiced86, that's a great orange color! What color/brand is it? How will you repair it if it needs repairing?
 
Back
Top