Long Shot--Any Way to "De-Sparkle" or "De-Flake" Paint?

[Snake45]

On a lark I bought a can of Krylon "Sparkle" Green figgering I can use it on SOMETHING. The stuff turns out to be a near-perfect color match for 1972 Chevy Spring Green/Pontiac Julep Green, which I just happen to need, BUT the stuff has WAY too much "sparkle" for a factory metallic paint job. Any way to take some (but not all) of the "sparkle" out of it?

Thinking of maybe decanting some, thinning it WAY down with lacquer thinner, and running it through something like a coffee filter. Anyone ever tried anything like that?

It won't go to waste. I'm gonna paint my Meyers Manx with the stuff. It'll be just about perfect for the molded-in, "bass boat" metalflake look for that. Might use it on a '60s custom Vette I have in mind, too.

[Mike_G]

Let the can sit until all the solids are at the bottom, then carefully cut the top off the can without disturbing the contents, then pour off the liquid and use a spoon to remove as much of the pigment as you want- the metalflakes should have settled to the bottom.

[Brett Barrow]

Decant it, let the flake settle, then draw off the liquid with a pipette. You can suck up a little flake if you want it. I used to do it with Testors Metallics to get transparent candy colors back in the day.

Edited September 13, 2014 by Brett Barrow

[Snake45]

Interesting ideas about letting the flakes settle. I once did that with a "little bottle" of Testor blue metalflake just so I could get the clear blue off the top to tint a model airplane canopy. Worked great for that. Maybe it'll work again.

[JollySipper]

You do not Puncture an aerosol can!

Decant it through the nozzle, then separate it from the flake......

[Mike_G]

You do not Puncture an aerosol can!

Decant it through the nozzle, then separate it from the flake......

I do puncture aerosol cans... after draining the propellant

[o-man]

I think Cruz or one of the other guys on here used several coats of flat clear before using gloss to knock down the flake content. I'v used it and it does appear to work

[Snake45]

I think Cruz or one of the other guys on here used several coats of flat clear before using gloss to knock down the flake content. I'v used it and it does appear to work

Now THAT is an interesting idea! Being a military modeler as well, I have all kinds of flat coats around here. I do believe I'm going to give that a try. Thanks much!

[Guest]

I think Cruz or one of the other guys on here used several coats of flat clear before using gloss to knock down the flake content. I'v used it and it does appear to work

I can't see how spraying a flat clear over any paint is going to make the metal specks smaller.

[o-man]

I can't see how spraying a flat clear over any paint is going to make the metal specks smaller.

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/?showtopic=79120

I don't understand why/how. but it does work.

[Snake45]

I can't see how spraying a flat clear over any paint is going to make the metal specks smaller.

I don't understand it either but it wont cost me anything to try it on a spoon or something, and if it works, it's just what I need.

[Snake45]

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/?showtopic=79120

I don't understand why/how. but it does work.

Impressive pics in that thread. I know that photos can be deceiving about this stuff--I have a Monogram Corvette painted with a decent metallic blue that looks like Bass Boat Flake in photos for some unknown reason. But I'm going to give this a try. Thanks again for the idea!

[Monty]

Impressive pics in that thread. I know that photos can be deceiving about this stuff--I have a Monogram Corvette painted with a decent metallic blue that looks like Bass Boat Flake in photos for some unknown reason. But I'm going to give this a try. Thanks again for the idea!

Even if you just end up doing a spoon test, please post pics of your results. If it's not too much of a hassle, it'd be great if we could see your results in inside and outside lighting.

Thanks!

[Snake45]

Even if you just end up doing a spoon test, please post pics of your results. If it's not too much of a hassle, it'd be great if we could see your results in inside and outside lighting.

Thanks!

I'm planning to do just that, maybe as soon as tomorrow. I already have a spoon painted with the paint. I'll mask off half of it, airbrush it with Testor Dullcoat off my military paint bench, then hit it with a quick coat of Testor Wet Look. Hope to have pics up in a day or two.

[Guest]

The only way to truly see if the clear flat makes a difference would be to paint a hood with your paint. Then spray one side with flat clear and the other with gloss clear. Then, the whole hood with gloss clear and polish. That will give you a true side by side comparison.

[Snake45]

The only way to truly see if the clear flat makes a difference would be to paint a hood with your paint. Then spray one side with flat clear and the other with gloss clear. Then, the whole hood with gloss clear and polish. That will give you a true side by side comparison.

Why a whole hood? I think I can get everything I need from the spoon.

I think I like your idea about clear on everything, and polish both sides. I might do that after doing what I planned. This stuff is darned shiny as is. If it comes out this well on my Manx body, I'm just going to leave it alone as fiberglass gelcoat, that's how shiny it is.

BTW, here's a shot of that blue Vette I mentioned above. Paint is a Rustoleum metallic blue (giant can, cheap!). Now in real life it looks just a bit too "flaky" and "sparkly" but not obnoxiously or obviously so. But boy does it look flaky in the pics! This Krylon sparkle green looks even more sparkly than THIS in real life! WAY too much so for anything approximating factory paint. It'll look great on a custom, though.

[Snake45]

Okay, I've now tried the flat-coating trick.

Masked off half the spoon. Airbrushed three or four light coats of Testor Dullcote cut with lacquer thinner (I use this stuff all the time on my model airplanes and have learned how to work it). After one hour, it had dried very flat (the stuff dries pretty fast), and the sparkle was noticeably reduced--down to about like the Model Master Car Colors enamels. Very encouraging! The color also seemed to have been lightened just a hair, but not a deal-killer.

Then I hit the flat side of the spoon with one coat of Testor One Coat Wet Look Clear. Let that dry an hour. Unmasked the other half of the spoon.

The sparkle is back. In sunlight, there is virtually no difference at all in the two halves of the spoon. If I handed it to you and you didn't know what you were looking at/for, you'd never see it. Even knowing the two halves are "different," you'd have to look VERY hard and close to see it.

Under indoor light, the flat-coated side seems to have a very slight reduction in sparkle. In shadow (light not directly falling on it), the difference is slightly more visible. But even so, there's still way too much sparkle to pass as a factory paint job.

No photos--the difference isn't worth photographing and uploading. I'm not sure it would show up in a photo at all.

I might try the decanting and settling thing, but it's more likely I'll just break down and buy MCW paint for the jobs I have in mind.

I do appreciate the idea. It was a fun experiment and I learned stuff, and that's not a bad thing.

And I'll still find several things to use this paint on, I'm sure.

Edited September 15, 2014 by Snake45

[Ace-Garageguy]

The filtering media in a car oil-filter will most likely be fine enough to trap the flakes but allow the carrier pigmented-clear to pass through. Not too hard to open up a cheapo oil filter and get the filtering media.

[Guest]

Have you tried your original idea of filtering it through a coffee filter? It may just work.

[Snake45]

I'm gonna paint the Manx body, and then maybe play around with whatever's left.

[mnwildpunk]

Did you think the dullcote reduces the reflectiveness by dulling it down unless its in bright light?

[Snake45]

Did you think the dullcote reduces the reflectiveness by dulling it down unless its in bright light?

Not sure what was going on but the Dullcote definitely brought down the sparkle, and then the glosscoat brought it ALL back.