Paint

[brainbug007]

Sorry if this has already been covered but I couldn't really find what I was looking for. I'm hoping to order my grp soon and I'm trying to sort out colors. I want to do the side & back of my roadster in ali with the nosecone, arches, bonnet, & scuttle in grp. So my dilema is finding paint that I can use on the metal that I can RAL match to the grp. The only metal specific paint I can find really is hammerite but that doesn't give you a RAL value. So can I use an acrylic spray can on top of an etch primer (acrylic sprays seem to be easier to get as a specific RAL) and then use a lacquer of some sort on top to give it a nice gloss and protect it? Or is there a better way to do this that I'm unaware of?

[spud69]

Originally Posted by brainbug007

Sorry if this has already been covered but I couldn't really find what I was looking for. I'm hoping to order my grp soon and I'm trying to sort out colors. I want to do the side & back of my roadster in ali with the nosecone, arches, bonnet, & scuttle in grp. So my dilema is finding paint that I can use on the metal that I can RAL match to the grp. The only metal specific paint I can find really is hammerite but that doesn't give you a RAL value. So can I use an acrylic spray can on top of an etch primer (acrylic sprays seem to be easier to get as a specific RAL) and then use a lacquer of some sort on top to give it a nice gloss and protect it? Or is there a better way to do this that I'm unaware of?

If you go to your local automotive paint supplier they can mix to RAL colours, usually in spray cans. I pay about £10 a tin of mixed spray paint - sorry but no paint is cheap anymore.

Cheers....AndyH

[adrianreeve]

Find your local automotive paint supplier, give him the RAL number, and he'll mix you up as much water based car paint as you need. In fact, some shops will still sell RAL colours in cellulose, as it is classed as an industrial finish. With the right etch primer underneath, you can use the same topcoat on Ali and GRP

Cheers

Adrian

[Twin]

I've heard POR15 paint is top notch!

I'm not sure if you can get a RAL colour though! if anyone can i'd be interested too

[brainbug007]

Ok so being a total nub here, is the stuff they mix up at the autofactors the same as acrylic paint or something else? Also would I still need a clear coat of some kind to put over the top of it?

[baz-r]

i sold all sorts of paint when i sold welding stuff
almost any paint can be mixed to bs or ral colours
the match will be close but dont expect to be perfect up close with one right next to the other.
truck and coatch boys would buy 1 or 2 pack polyurthane paint for bodywork as it give high shine, keeps shine and is fairly hard and applys just as car paints (2 pack has isocyanate and need air feed masks)
epoxys are good for chassis and stuff but all chalk over time so no good for bodywork

[robo]

Had the same problem with paint colour match against a gel colour and it took a couple of goes to get right.I was kicking off at the paint supplier about it when the paint rep came in and he explained that the only way to get a good match would be to give him a sample < an off cut of the grp>to get spectrum analysed. Came back with the perfect match so it can be done.

The tints are added by weight and if the paint supplier does not move much of a certain colour that tint will become more concentrated over time which is where most of the colour mismatches come from.

Bob

[baz-r]

Originally Posted by robo

Had the same problem with paint colour match against a gel colour and it took a couple of goes to get right.I was kicking off at the paint supplier about it when the paint rep came in and he explained that the only way to get a good match would be to give him a sample < an off cut of the grp>to get spectrum analysed. Came back with the perfect match so it can be done.

The tints are added by weight and if the paint supplier does not move much of a certain colour that tint will become more concentrated over time which is where most of the colour mismatches come from.

Bob

that and you will never know your grp gel is spot on for colour
i had a customer kick off once and what he was matching it to didnt match my ral chips

[brainbug007]

Nice one thanks for the advice guys, it sounds like polyurthane is the stuff to get. Do you think it will take as much as 1 spray can per side plus another for the rear tub or will I need more/less than that?

Also what you're saying about paint being left for too long at stockists is a good point robo. I'd like to go with one of the darker blues and was planning on using one that saturn have listed as in stock normally (http://www.saturnsportscars.co.uk/ral.php). Something like Ultramarine Blue, Cobalt Blue, or Night Blue. One thing I've noticed is when comparing saturn's color chart to say an acrylic spray paint chart, they look completely different shades in some cases! Any idea which one of these would be better to go for from a matching standpoint and also from the point robo mentioned around paint for sitting around for too long?

[davedew]

I used 2 x 500ml cans of black just doing my grp dash panel until I was happy that the finish / depth of colour was correct.

I would have though you will struggle to get the finish you want on body panels with a can. If you are going to the trouble of painting it yourself you would be better investing in a small compressor and gravity feed spray gun.