Those who have tinted SPI white to GM Olympic white Really need help..

S

Scott M

Promoted Users
So I have a gallon of spi white. Wanted it close to Olympic white. So as per Barry's advice Had some ppg DBC tints mixed for a gallon formula. They just put the tints in a pint can for me to mix as they would not add them to the SPI base. So then tints came to 9oz. So I pulled 9oz of white out of the SPI base. Mixed it up ... Comes out as almost a pastel green. Definitly has a green hugh to it against anything white... Not the grayish white of normal I think. Even the tints just by themselves mixed have a green color to them... I asked Barry and he thinks they messed up the tints and that could very well be.. I have a couple of pics to show what is up.

I have some old DBC olympic white from the past that I used to compare. No matter how you look at it ,the SPI has some green in it.. Has that happened to others ?? or does the color have a green tint to it? Olympic seems more gray, which is what I'm going for and adding white to the current mixture seems to just make it a more lighter green, not gray. Any thoughts on how to fix this or what went wrong, because I have another gallon of SPI white wanting to tint to the Olympic, but need to keep track of tints in case I need some more for the future.. Sure could use some opinions on how to fix this , but keep in mind I'm not a paint tinter ... The last pic is the DBC can. The fist dot is the SPI I mixed , the second next to it is the DBC that I pulled out of the can just for reference.. In person it really looks green.
 

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DBC has an oxide red that's commonly used in reds. I can't remember the number, though. Some variants of Olympic White take a touch of that kind of red in them to kill that green cast. It's usually a very small amount. There are many variations of that color. Just pick up a little bit of that red and add very small amount in. The amount for a quart might be in the 1 gram or less range. If you don't have a paint scale, it's exceedingly unlikely that you'll be able to perfectly duplicate what you are doing a second time, especially since all the toners are already stirred in, if I understand your post.
 
TOOk a couple more pics just for reference out side. Used my original mirror .. Put a dot of it on the right side close to the edge.. I will have to say even the DBC olympic looks to be a slight green in the sun, but inside looks more gray so I could be seeing things..
 

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crashtech said:
DBC has an oxide red that's commonly used in reds. I can't remember the number, though. Some variants of Olympic White take a touch of that kind of red in them to kill that green cast. It's usually a very small amount. There are many variations of that color. Just pick up a little bit of that red and add very small amount in. The amount for a quart might be in the 1 gram or less range. If you don't have a paint scale, it's exceedingly unlikely that you'll be able to perfectly duplicate what you are doing a second time, especially since all the toners are already stirred in, if I understand your post.
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Ok , I see what you are saying.. That makes since and even Barry mentioned something about some red.. I just wanted to see if others had some experience with this.. According to the tint print out no red was added..

the formula is: DMD648 weak black 263.1g
DMD1613 weak blue 9.1g
DMD1602 GS yellow 8.7g
white was admitted and binders/clear

I have the actual printout mix sticker... with all the info, but it's just greek to me.. I do have a kitchen scale that does grams if that would work or get me close.. I'm not trying for perfect match just less green cast as you say. LIke you said I would like to be able to duplicate it if need be. How much red should I ask for you think to mix in. BTW I have two gallons total , just only mixed the one..
 
Been over 20 years since I mixed DBC, but most factory whites have blue, black, yellow and red oxide or magenta, in very small amounts. Nine ounces seems like too much, but maybe not. As Crash mentioned, there are several formulas for that code. That same paint code came out in 1988 and is still being used today! I can remember painting several trucks in the '90s that had a pink tint. Others were gray, some yellow, and some blue, compared to standard. Your tints that you got, have too much blue and possibly yellow, at least for the SPI base. The DBC base white toner may be a little stronger than the SPI color, or the jobber may have screwed up the toner mix. I, personally, would not attempt to tint without a scale, and start tinting much smaller amounts than the gallon.
 
How small does a scale have to go to measure out tints? I may be able to borrow one that's pretty accurate.. yes I should have gone smaller, however I did not know of different formulas for that color... It's the same formula I painted my Trans Am with and used for touch up on my truck.. From what I was told just have the ppg tints mixed and add to spi, so I took it for granted.. Should have started small..
 
texasking said:
Been over 20 years since I mixed DBC, but most factory whites have blue, black, yellow and red oxide or magenta, in very small amounts. Nine ounces seems like too much, but maybe not. As Crash mentioned, there are several formulas for that code. That same paint code came out in 1988 and is still being used today! I can remember painting several trucks in the '90s that had a pink tint. Others were gray, some yellow, and some blue, compared to standard. Your tints that you got, have too much blue and possibly yellow, at least for the SPI base. The DBC base white toner may be a little stronger than the SPI color, or the jobber may have screwed up the toner mix. I, personally, would not attempt to tint without a scale, and start tinting much smaller amounts than the gallon.
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Thanks for the info.. So let me ask this if there are different formulas for that paint code how would I know which formula to use??
 
Like Crash and TK said, doing that without a scale and access to the toners in the can is suicide. Before you ruin the 2nd gallon. get some of the red oxide toner and take 8 ounces of the untinted Spi white and 4 ounces of the tinted white, mix together and add just a couple of drops....literally of the red to the mix. Mix thoroughly and see where you are. If you are making progress then progressively add some more like above. If not add a couple more drops. 25 drops or so is roughly a gram depending on the toner. That's a guess based on dripping from a mixing bank toner can with a mixing lid. 2-3 drops -.1 gram so 25-30 drops would be roughly 1 gram. Be conservative and sneak up on it.
 
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To achieve a reproducible mix, you need a scale that can measure tenths of a gram. But now that the toners are mixed together in some white, I fail to see how an accurate accounting of those can be made, scale or not.
 
Ok so am I basicly screwed for the one gallon if I want consistency ? Because I need the two gallons to shoot my truck and any future touch ups. So I can try to play with the red toner in a quart and see where it goes, but that still leaves me with an incorrect formula from the tints they gave me if that's the case.. .. Still waiting to hear if anyone has tinted the SPI white to this color with success. I really appreciate the all the suggestions and help fellas.


The plan originally was to mix each gallon individually to check for proper match and then dump them into a bucket to make it consistent in case they were just slightly off each. Like I said wasn't going for a perfect match just no green.. I went in this knowing it may be off some..
 
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I don't know anyone who has made Olympic White out of SPI White, but I've done lots of things like it, and it is totally doable if one has access to an accurate scale. Even without a scale it's doable, just not as easy and not really reproducible.

If what you made is not already too dark, a tiny amount of oxide red will make a dramatic difference. Possibly there is even a DBC variant that has a red in it. I would want to see the variants for guidance, but I don't have access to that system.

I don't know if there are a lot of guys here on the forums using DBC anymore. It's super expensive, and many of the colors don't cover all that well.
 
crashtech said:
I don't know anyone who has made Olympic White out of SPI White, but I've done lots of things like it, and it is totally doable if one has access to an accurate scale. Even without a scale it's doable, just not as easy and not really reproducible.

If what you made is not already too dark, a tiny amount of oxide red will make a dramatic difference. Possibly there is even a DBC variant that has a red in it. I would want to see the variants for guidance, but I don't have access to that system.

I don't know if there are a lot of guys here on the forums using DBC anymore. It's super expensive, and many of the colors don't cover all that well.
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Yes I went with the DBC because Barry said to use high quality toners. We Don't have alot of the high end brands that some of you have. I'm in Alaska , only so many choices.. The problem from the get go might be that the DBC formula that my local place has might not have the red in it's formula.. or like mentioned may the DBC white toner is a little stronger than the SPI base white??
 
I would imagine your local place has several different formulas for wa8624. I would also imagine that at least one is redder than the prime formula they probably gave you the toners for. Ask if they would put the toners, in a pint can, for 8 ounces of the redder formula. Put 8 ounces of the SPI in the can and stir it well. Check the color and see if it is what you want. If it is, you will have a reproducible formula. You could use the first tinted gallon for coverage. Get some red oxide and tint it closer to your final color, if you want.
 
texasking said:
I would imagine your local place has several different formulas for wa8624. I would also imagine that at least one is redder than the prime formula they probably gave you the toners for. Ask if they would put the toners, in a pint can, for 8 ounces of the redder formula. Put 8 ounces of the SPI in the can and stir it well. Check the color and see if it is what you want. If it is, you will have a reproducible formula. You could use the first tinted gallon for coverage. Get some red oxide and tint it closer to your final color, if you want.
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Yes thanks I did think about. Using the other wrong color base for first coat then what I'm happy with for second.. Just makes it a little more of a pain to shoot. So I did manage to find the tint ratio on my old can of DBC. Some of it is covered.. You may have been right about the yellow .. On this can it's like half the amount. Also below it is something that was a 1.1 g (maybe the red you speak of).. The others are hard to tell. It was mixed about 12 years ago so might be an older formula for gallon. Just guessing..

So I did some digging on this sticker.. looks like the top is the:
DMD1684 white
DMD648 weak black
DMD1602 GS yellow 3.5g
DMD??? blue or red 1.1g ??
DBX 1689 clear

Either way the formula on the can seems quite different than the one they gave me.. and that can is a mix for Olympic white. Guess I'll find out more at the paint shop today..
 

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Thanks for the help guys, im glad he posted as I felt terrible for him.
Did you take a little out of the untinted and mix 50/50 with the wrong one, also? As pointed out here, red may be your friend.
The first step if you are not a tinter is the equal mix or may require
A different ratio 25/75 etc.
 
Barry said:
Thanks for the help guys, im glad he posted as I felt terrible for him.
Did you take a little out of the untinted and mix 50/50 with the wrong one, also? As pointed out here, red may be your friend.
The first step if you are not a tinter is the equal mix or may require
A different ratio 25/75 etc.
Click to expand...
I did do that on a vey small scale on a index card. Basicly a finger dot of each and mixed it. It just made it a lighter/whiter green. No matter how I did the ratio it was always the green cast looming. A little more gray in it and I would be happy. So I hope the red does the trick.
 
A drop of black to white makes gray but be careful.
Example 300 gallons of gray epoxy.
43 gallons of white
1.012 gallon of black.

In other words, drop at a time off paint stick and super mix before adding more.
 
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