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Tabcon

Tabcon

Jedi Warrior
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I brought all of the body panels to a local body shop a few weeks ago and I'm now ready to get this thing painted and bolted to the chassis.

I'm going with black, but there are so many variations of black that I'm looking for suggestions. I'm too far outside of the box now to worry about originality issues although the color designation for this car was originally black.

I'm going with a clear coat but no metallic. I think black looks better and richer without any flakes in it, but there are so many blacks out there I'm having a hard time deciding.
Going on memory alone, I remember really liking the early E-Type black (PPG 9000?) and I've seen a few early Rolls Royce's with a deep rich black as well (Tuxedo?).

I've also tossed around the idea of a center racing stripe in a contrasting dark silver gray. I like the idea of a stripe, but I think I'd rather have a tone on tone type thing then something too contrasting. Ford has a nice black and silver color combo for the new Shelby GT 500's, but I'd like the stripe to blend a little more. They also have a flat black stripe, but this is a little too muscle car like for me.

Any suggestions???
 
A trick I learned model building years ago - black base with transparent blue clear coat. The resulting "black" is amazing!! In the same idea, do your black, then paint the stripe in a gun metal, silver, etc. then clear coat everything with a black tinted clear. That can look really sharp too. If you have doubts, try your ideas out on model car bodies first.....cheaper that way! :smile:
 
tab,

first off, i'm new here, but i am a custom painter & sheetmetal fabricator by trade. i love the idea of the black with a subtle charcoal stripe (i've done this numerous times on custom bikes over the years). first thing to remember when choosing a black is there are "blue" blacks & "brown" blacks. it's hard to tell any difference looking at color chips in a book, so my advice is walk the new car lots & find something you like on a car where you can see it on large panels. if you are interested, i have found a black that is the blackest black of any black i've seen. i use it on all of my personal projects & it makes the previous black i used look like motor oil with water in it. it's a custom PPG mix, but i can get you the mix formula. also when looking at blacks, always go on a bright sunny day & look in direct sunlight, it will pull all of the added pigments & tones out so you can see the true color.

as far as the charcoal stripe, i usually start with silver & add black until it darkens to the desired tone. i've done a few silver flame jobs over black where i darkened the silver in stages to shade the tips etc. let me know if you have any other questions...
 
TR4 V*, welcome it's always nice to get a body guy here.
Hey Mick, new neighbor for ya
 
TR4v8 said:
tab,

first off, i'm new here, but i am a custom painter & sheetmetal fabricator by trade. i love the idea of the black with a subtle charcoal stripe (i've done this numerous times on custom bikes over the years). first thing to remember when choosing a black is there are "blue" blacks & "brown" blacks. it's hard to tell any difference looking at color chips in a book, so my advice is walk the new car lots & find something you like on a car where you can see it on large panels. if you are interested, i have found a black that is the blackest black of any black i've seen. i use it on all of my personal projects & it makes the previous black i used look like motor oil with water in it. it's a custom PPG mix, but i can get you the mix formula. also when looking at blacks, always go on a bright sunny day & look in direct sunlight, it will pull all of the added pigments & tones out so you can see the true color.

as far as the charcoal stripe, i usually start with silver & add black until it darkens to the desired tone. i've done a few silver flame jobs over black where i darkened the silver in stages to shade the tips etc. let me know if you have any other questions...
Click to expand...

Great info...thanks!

If you don't mind, yes I would like to get the information for the black you came up with. I was recently looking at some new cars and liked the black I found on the Audi S-5, which is named "Brilliant Black" and I also looked at a BMW X-6 that was painted "Black". I could not compare the two vehicles side by side, but both blacks seemed pretty nice to me. I don't like the black on the Shelby GT 500, but I do like the stripe and color combination.

Great idea on the model cars too! I used to build model airplanes when I was a kid and always wanted a little airbrush kit to paint them with instead of a brush. Now that I can afford an airbrush kit, I'm going to start experimenting! I had considered painting the car myself, but after applying some two part primer to the tub, I've decided that I will live longer if I do not have to inhale fumes like this again! This stuff stinks to high heaven and the odor seems to linger forever. My neighbors I'm sure will be thankful for this.
 
DNK said:
TR4 V*, welcome it's always nice to get a body guy here.
Hey Mick, new neighbor for ya
Click to expand...

Yup - welcome indeed! Just up the road from you in Clarksville.

:cheers:
Mickey
 
Tab,

Before you shut out the metallic, take a look at the 2010 Lincoln MKZ Black Metallic. I have it on mine and the different looks under different lighting make sit look great, IMHO, of course.
 
Mickey Richaud said:
DNK said:
TR4 V*, welcome it's always nice to get a body guy here.
Hey Mick, new neighbor for ya
Click to expand...

Yup - welcome indeed! Just up the road from you in Clarksville.

:cheers:
Mickey
Click to expand...

thanks guys! after 25 yrs of working for "the man" i'm working in a shop behind my house on a referral basis & couldn't be happier. whats not to like about building cars & bikes all day long??

mickey, i'll shoot you a p.m. with my ph#. if you get down my way stop in for a visit.

tabcon, i'll dig that code up & shoot it to you.
 
When I was picking black for my 1958 TR3A, I went with the painter who was going to do the job and we looked at different blacks in a book. I figured I couldn't be wrong with "Black for Ferrari". This was in 1990.

In 2007 after driving my TR 94,000 miles, I had it re-sprayed by a different painter. He picked the black for me and I trusted him.

BTW, all the touch-up tubes I bought to cover the stone chips during those 17 years were not the same black. They were all Gray-black and every spot I touched up looked a tiny bit greyer that the rest of the Ferrari Black.

Here is my TR3A in 2007 at VTR, Valley Forge, after the re-spray. They awarded me 2nd in the early TR3A class with 384 points out of 400.
 

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Brosky said:
Tab,

Before you shut out the metallic, take a look at the 2010 Lincoln MKZ Black Metallic. I have it on mine and the different looks under different lighting make sit look great, IMHO, of course.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of a metallic for the stripe if I do one, but I'll take a look.

Thanks
 
Tab
Had mine done in PPG 9700 base/clear. My body man asked if I wanted an original looking finish (slight orange peel) or a newlooking one (right slick) !
I selected right slick and it looks great altho it does show EVERYTHING. In the end the decision is really up to you
Gordon
 
sorry i haven't got that mix formula up yet. my shop burned to the ground yesterday & was a total loss including two 36 fords, approx. 40K worth of collectibles & antiques along with every tool & piece of equipment i had. as soon as things settle down a bit, i'll go thru my files in the house & see if i can find the info. i'm pretty sure i have a copy in there somewhere.
 
TR4v8 said:
sorry i haven't got that mix formula up yet. my shop burned to the ground yesterday & was a total loss including two 36 fords, approx. 40K worth of collectibles & antiques along with every tool & piece of equipment i had. as soon as things settle down a bit, i'll go thru my files in the house & see if i can find the info. i'm pretty sure i have a copy in there somewhere.
Click to expand...

Oh no! Very soryr to hear this.
 
Yes, sorry to hear! :frown:
 
TR4v8 said:
i'm working in a shop behind my house
Click to expand...
Too bad about the shop! I hope you had insurance to cover the loss. At least it sounds like you did not loose the house.

Welcome aboard. :savewave:
It is always nice to have a pro around that is willing to share. There is a lot of knowledge here, but there is never too much.
 
OUCH!!! I'm very sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope that this turns out better for you than it started.
 
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