Multi-Colour Paint Layering

[LacrosseBoss]

I'm not entirely sure what the technique is called, but what I want to do is paint a car with a couple different colours such that when you look at it from different angles, you see a different colour.

This is what I mean:

(this is not my image. I found it online as an example of what I am trying to do)

I THOUGHT this was done by putting down a base coat of darker paint, and then using a lighter colour, or a lighter coat or even a transparent colour over top.

What I tried was a single coat of copper paint from a can on my plastic spoon. I waited a few hours for it to dry and I added a light coat of transparent candy green overtop. I believe there's three light coats on here, but it looks more like dinosaur hide than it does this effect.

It's not the best picture, but does anyone know why it looks like this and not the effect I'm looking for?

And how do you get that effect?

Thanks!

[wisdonm]

Most people buy flip flop, color shifting, or chameleon paint. They're not that rare anymore. Alcad sells some. Also look at fingernail polish.

Edited February 16, 2013 by wisdonm

[azers]

Spatz paints make chameleon paints as well as flip flops and candy paints. They also make chrome paints. They look real nice.

Edited February 16, 2013 by azers

[LacrosseBoss]

well, whaddayaknow.

Here I thought it was a technique. Time to raid my wife's nail polish bin while she's sleeping!

Thanks for the tips. I have a Callaway Corvette BEGGING for a wicked paint job. I was hoping for this effect. I guess it's back to the hobby store I go!

Thanks again all!

[CadillacPat]

You can easily obtain very similar color changing chameleon effects by using my Pearl Additives Technique.

See my Painting With Pearl Additives thread.

I've never cared for the flip flop chameleon paints. In my opinion they detract rom the lines of a car and look garish.

However, Pearl Powder Additives used either to compliment or contrast Candies and Basecoats can result in rather remarkable color changing effects with the right comnbination of Base, Candy, Clear and Pearl Powders.

CadillacPat

[wisdonm]

Could you post a link Pat? I did about 5 unsuccessful searches for it.

[LacrosseBoss]

Pat:

I think someone else might have suggested that, may have even been yourself. But I am still unclear as to how this works etc. As Don said, are you able to link to the tutorial?

Thanks

[CadillacPat]

Here's a copy of it,

I have it up on the AirBrush sites I belong to because the interest for mixing paints and techniques is very active there.

" Powdered Pearl Paint Additives "

There's been a little dialogue here recently concerning the use of Pearl Powders in AirBrushing.

I use two sources for my Powdered Pearls,

My first and original source is Pearl-Ex Powders by Jacquard and my other source is PaintWithPearl.com

Here's the Jacquard Pearl-Ex site,

http://www.jacquardproducts.com/pearl-ex-pigments.html

With a list of places around the country to buy the Pearl-Ex Powders,

http://www.jacquardproducts.com/storelocator/index.php?PrId=pgPXP

And PaintWithPearl.com,

http://www.paintwithpearl.com/candystore.htm

Back around 2000 I began showing other scale DieCast Customizers the benefits of House Of Kolor paints.

At that time DieCast Customizing consisted largely of people dipping their HotWheels into Easter Egg Dye.

Nobody else was using Decals or Graphics back then.

HOK has their own line of Powdered Pearls but my needs for painting 1/64 DieCast did not quite require the large size amounts that they offered.

I looked around for other sources and found Pearl-Ex Powders by Jacquard in my local Texas Art Supply Stores could be purchased in small jars for less than $4, about 3/4 dry ounce quantity.

For $4 apiece I have every color they make and some they no longer issue.

Needing only a BB sized portion of Pearl-Ex Powder for my 1/64 scale paintjobs it was evident that these jars would last me years and years.

Pearl-Ex Powders by Jacquard also offer a kit of several colors in small amounts that still would last anyone a very long time.

http://www.jacquardproducts.com/pearl-ex-sets.html

I prefer to buy individual colors as I need them.

I started taking the Pearl-Ex Powders to DieCast Shows and Conventions to introduce them to other Customizers and today, like many of the products I use, they have caught on to enhance the paint on these tiny 3" cars.

Pearl-Ex Powders are colorfast and weather resistant but not UV resistant.

PaintWithPearl Powders however are of automotive quality and are UV resistant.

This slight difference in craft quality and automotive quality Pearl Powders is not much consequence to us airbrushing scale DieCast or Models since our builds do not see extended stays in direct sunlight.

However,

Anything you paint with Pearl Powders, regardless of the brand, needs to be seen in full direct sunlight to appreciate what Pearl Powders do. You will never see the full effect of Pearl Powders unless you view them in bright direct sunlight.

The same Model that looks great displayed indoors becomes an entirely different and sparkling piece when taken outside. The intensity of difference is phenomenal. It actually explodes in bright color.

PaintWithPearl Powders are a bit smaller in size (microns) than Pearl-Ex and come in many different colors.

Either can be shot through a .3 AirBrush needle.

Quantity of powder doubles with PaintWithPearl and so does the price per unit, about $10, but shipping is very cheap, about $3 combined shipping.

The benefits and ways to use Pearl Powders, either of the two brands, are numerous.

Needle sizes as small as .3 will adequately disperse either brand. These are very fine Powders and not Flakes.

I'll list a few random uses and results,

You can mix Pearl Powders into your colorcoat but they will most often sink below the surface unless used in large ratios to the amount of paint.

The full effects of Pearl Powders are best achieved with the Pearl floating in the Clear or Candy and not just laying on the surface of a colorcoat.

Pearl Powders, as minute as they are, are actually individual platelets with two sides.

Just like tiny broken pieces of a mirror, but in powdered form.

You always want to use a lighter color of Powdered Pearl than the underlying ColorCoat.

Using a Pearl Powder that contrasts with the underlying color allows the Pearl to peek in and out of the color.

Pink Pearl on top of a Black ColorCoat, Blue ColorCoat or underlying Blue Candy, shifts to Purples and Lavenders.

If you want to use a dark Pearl on top of White or even Yellow you need to test because the Powder might show up as very tiny specs and you don't want that.

But, you can use a Brilliant Gold Pearl Powder over White as I do often, to make your job explode in direct sunlight.

The uses and combination of colors is endless.

Interference Pearls are available from both links listed that give a White background the chameleon effect of shifting from White to Iridescent Pink, Blue, Lavender, Gold, etc.

Using any Pearl Powder on top of a Gloss Black Colorcoat will always give you fantastic color changing effects.

The amount of Pearl you use can slightly enhance or completely change underlying colors.

You can very nearly create the same color shifting effects of expensive chameleon paints by using contrasting Pearls on top of Candies or in your ClearCoat.

You can simply mix a little Pearl Powder with Reducer alone and dust a Satin effect directly onto a colorcoat.

This method is applied directly on top of a ColorCoat and changes the color dramatically.

But,

You need the thickness, as minimal as it is, of a ClearCoat to allow the Pearl Powder platelets to disperse at different levels within the thin layer of Clear.

Picture this, the game Plinko where a ball is dropped down through multiple pegs and bounces all around, up and down, till it hits the bottom, like on The Price Is Right Show.

The ball represents particles of Light and the Pegs are the Powdered Pearl Platelets within the ClearCoat. You get omni-directional reflection of Light, trapped within the Clear, resulting in a burst of electric color.

Again, the amount of Pearl used can slightly enhance or completely change the underlying color.

Here's a Black car with some of my Flame Decals that is ClearCoated using a little Emerald Green Pearl.

The Decals are hardly affected but the Black background suddenly changes completely to an Electric Emerald Green.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/CadillacPat/EBay%20Pictures/PICT0006-7.jpg[/IMG]

Here with the Purple version using Lavender Pearl Powder over a Black background,

And another Emerald Green Convention car I created,

A little Pink Flamingo Pearl in the Clear over Purple,

Shimrin Gold Pearl in Clear over HOK Tangelo Pearl,

You can see how the Pearl show more intense at different light angles,

The same Gold Pearl in Clear over Tangelo Pearl combination showing how the colors shift,

HOK Zenith Gold and Limetime Pearl ClearCoated with a drop or two of Pagan Gold Intensifier and Aztec Gold Pearl Powder,

Silver Competition Stripes and HOK Strato Blue, Cleared with a couple of drops of Oriental Blue Intensifier and Electric Blue Pearl Powder.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v483/CadillacPat/Custom%20Outlaws/BlueVelvet.jpg[/IMG]

So you see, you can use these Pearl Powder Additives in countless ways obtaining an infinite number of color results.

Spray a little Pearl Powder directly onto a colorcoat and change the underlying color dramatically.

Or,

Mix it into your layers of Candy and/or Clear and get beautiful subtle or color shifting effects.

Always begin your mix with tiny amounts of Pearl Powder because you can always add more, but to reduce an amount of Pearl in a mixed ClearCoat you will have to dilute it with more Clear.

When the subject of using Pearl Powders in an InterCoat Clear comes up, just remember,

InterCoat Clears are not durable ClearCoats.

They are not meant for build up and should only be applied in very light 2 or 3 layers.

As I mentioned above, if you just want to spray some Pearl directly onto a ColorCoat, you can mix some Pearl in some Reducer and maybe a few drops of InterCoat Clear for Binder and Stick.

For me, mixing paint is a very important part of the job. Very enjoyable.

There are so many ways you can come up with a unique combination ending up in a totally unique paintjob.

The indoor pics I have shown let you see subtle color shifting effects of this technique, but, taking your finished jobs out into direct sunlight will blow your mind.

You can see more examples of my color shifting Pearl Powders at my sites below,

CadillacPat

http://route66customs.com/

http://purplepassioncustoms.com/

Edited February 16, 2013 by CadillacPat

[Blown03SVT]

Pat, I searched all over for info on pearl ex... thank you! This article would make a good sticky

[Edsel-Dan]

Dupont first showed off their "Chrome-Illusion" Paint on Jeff Gordon's #24 at the "Winston" Allstar race

a few yews ago.

It changed colors showing 5 different colors depending on direction of light hitting it.

There is a Pick-up here in town painted with it!!.

Looks Gold, Blue, Purple, Red, Green, depending on angle of sight/Sun light on it

Michael's Use to carry that "Pearl-X" powdered Paint mix, but I have not seen it

in the past several times I have been there.

I have not looked for it at the Larger Hobby Lobby yet.

Edited February 17, 2013 by Edsel-Dan

[CadillacPat]

Dan, Pearl-Ex is not a powdered Paint.

It's dry powdered pearl.

CadillacPat

[Edsel-Dan]

Yea. You mix it into a Clear paint carrier.

[CadillacPat]

There ya go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You mix it into a ClearCoat, Intercoat Clear or Candies.

CadillacPat

Edited February 17, 2013 by CadillacPat

[Edsel-Dan]

But, Like I said. Last time I looked for it at Michael's they no longer had it.

Not sure if H-L has it.

Due to no credit card (No Job!!!), I can not order on-line either!!

[Blown03SVT]

Micheals has it in the scrap booking section. They used to have flocking too... but no more.

[DPNM]

DupliColor offers a 3 step lacquer system with (black) primer, color shifting paint (base coat) and clear.

It is what they call Mirage and there are a few color choices. You can find these kits in some auto parts stores that carry DupliColor. DC is the only brand of paint I use but I also use (and recommend) finger nail polish. Lotta nice pearls with finger nail polish.

[Edsel-Dan]

I remember seeing this, or a similar 2 color "flip-flop" paint in wal-mart a few years ago.

Wish I had bought a set or 2. but it was not cheap. $20 or so for 2 spray cans in a box.

Color & clear top coat I think.

[DPNM]

I just got some off feeBay. It was a discontinued Dupli-Color color combo. Check their website, it is still available. A number of local auto parts stores carry Dupli-Color and if they don't stock it, they may be able to order it?

The kit comes with black primer as that is what you have to use so it will "work".

I painted a pinewood derby car mixed with the Blue/Green and the Magenta/Gold and you could see all 4 colors at different angles.