Solid grey car colours

motthomas

Hi all,

Im wondering if anyone here knows of any car models that come in a solid, dark grey, non-metallic colour as standard?

I'm respraying a motorbike and need to get the paint code to be able to get the paint mixed up. Im looking to get something along the lines of the dark grey on an MV Agusta F4 Senna like this. Though I want to steer clear of metallic from a cost/simplicity point of view and the most car colours Ive come across that closely match that colour are metallic.

If ye know of any cars with stock paintwork that comes anyway close to the above description that would be great!

Any factors that mixes paint can show you flick charts of soild greys they can mix. Spraying solid colours can be quite difficult for the DIY chap as many solid paints require an over to harden. Single pack cellulose paint is now not available too I believe.

Owen

There's no reason to stay away from either solids, or metallics. Most places, it not all places are using water based paint now, which dries pretty quickly, and then lacquer over that. I work with both paints every day and have no issues.

It's nearly identical to the MINI Royal Grey colour, which is a dark gunmetal grey.

Matt Simis

OP: Platinum Grey on VW cars seems to be a flat looking grey.

@Paintdoctor, now that you are on the topic, how come none of the lacquers in Halfords actually give a glossy finish? Ive been getting the colour mixed just right (I dont think there is a problem with their colour mixing), perfectly matching the car paints, sprays on fine but once I put on their Gloss Lacquer I end up with either a dull finish or no change...!?

Tried W/D Sanding and buffing beforehand too, didnt make any diff.

Owen

Porsche Seal Grey is another good option for you OP.

Matt Simis wrote: »

@Paintdoctor, now that you are on the topic, how come none of the lacquers in Halfords actually give a glossy finish? Ive been getting the colour mixed just right (I dont think there is a problem with their colour mixing), perfectly matching the car paints, sprays on fine but once I put on their Gloss Lacquer I end up with either a dull finish or no change...!?

Cause you can't get glossy lacquer out of can. That, and Halfords are numpties when it comes to paint.

Lacquer has two components, lacquer and hardener - it's a 2 pack mix. The problem with just using those two is that you need to have a lot of air pressure to atomise it enough for it to sit smoothly on a panel as it dries. So anyone using compressors tends to add thinners to the lacquer specifically for making lacquer smooth. And an aerosol sure as hell won't have that kind of air pressure.

If you've got the right gun setup, and the right air source with enough pressure it's possible to get a glass finish directly from the gun without using any thinner. Here's a 2010 landcruiser I painted the bumper on last week, straight out of the gun:

Matt Simis wrote: »

Tried W/D Sanding and buffing beforehand too, didnt make any diff.

You can't wet sand beforehand, only after the lacquer has been applied. If it does screw up on you, the best thing you can do is flat the hell out of it when it's dry with some 2000 grade paper and a bucket of very soapy water, and then polish it to death with some G3/Meguiars Diamond Cut (Anything but T Cut) and plenty of water - being careful not to take too much of the lacquer off in the process. But you're better off getting it right first time.

Owen

Should also add for DIY painters, I'm more than happy to answer any tech questions you have over PM's if you don't want to ask in threads. I can't always guarantee to have the answer, but I'll do what I can.

Matt Simis

Cool, thanks for the info. Given that I have an Air Compressor, Air Paint Gun, Air/Water inline Filter, I guess I should use them! Where can one get lacquer for Paint gun then? Halfords will sell the paint in little bottles for it, but not the Lacquer.

Owen

Your gun will need to have the correct needle size. If you take the needle out it should say the size on the shaft (That's what she said!). It'll need to be around 1.4-1.5 mm to be capable of atomising the lacquer.

I'd ask a local bodyshop if you could buy some of their lacquer, hardener and thinners. If you were in Cork I'd sort you out. About 1/3 of a mug would do you grand.

Seperate

Try these for the painting materials Alan, http://www.vinnybyrnestore.com/index.php

I've dealt with them a few times and service has been excellent.

motthomas

Cheers for the replies lads! That "Royal Grey" and "Platinum Grey" are pretty damn close alright by the looks of things. It looks like I might go metallic after all. After trawling through paint codes for the last few hours there doesnt seem to be much choice when it comes to non-metallic grey colours.:rolleyes: The metallic obviously looks better.

The reason I was steering clear of metallics was I thought it might be harder to get as good a finish on them as with a gloss colour, seeing as Im only starting out.

Two other colours I liked the look of were BMW Anthracite:


And Ford Dark Shadow Grey:


Ill have red wheels and minimalistic red & white decals (manufacturers name & logo)

Edit: fixed photo size