Choosing black paint - assistance please?

canuckerjay

canuckerjay

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Have to paint the v-star. It's stock Yamaha black right now, but went down last summer. . .

I wanted to paint everything black again, but without flake or anything. Just a very rich, deep, black. . .something that looks like you could drown in it.

But trying to nail down what black paint to buy is proving frustrating. Went to the supplier, who gave me the catalogue of paint chips for major car manufacturers. The chips are quite small; so while it may be easy to choose a brighter colour of say, blue/red/taupe, it's really difficult to see the subtle differences of black paint. I also have never really noticed an OEM black on a car that stood out as being really rich.

I asked if there were higher end/custom colours I could look at/would be a good fit for what I'm looking for. They were nice, but essentially told me the best thing is to go look at cars and see what black appeals and then come back. That will take quite a while; and there has to be a custom black beyond OEM that would work.

So:

1 -- Seen any cars that have such a shade of black that I should check out? Can you help narrow my search?

2 -- know of any higher end/custom colours I should ask about?

Any help appreciated!
 
I'm the furthest thing from a paint guy you could imagine so please take my input with a grain of salt.
I have a couple set if race bodywork painted in imron black a week and send customer bike parts out fir paint, that's the extent of my knowledge.

I was always told that black was black for the most part (unless you are going with flake/metallic or anything).
The trick with black is to make sure it a perfect prep job, and to get the deep finish you are looking for (like a custom show bike) it's all in how much and what quality of clear you put on... Then lots of wet sanding and polishing.

You can check out House Of Kolor paints if you haven't already for some ideas.


canuckerjay said:
Have to paint the v-star. It's stock Yamaha black right now, but went down last summer. . .

I wanted to paint everything black again, but without flake or anything. Just a very rich, deep, black. . .something that looks like you could drown in it.

But trying to nail down what black paint to buy is proving frustrating. Went to the supplier, who gave me the catalogue of paint chips for major car manufacturers. The chips are quite small; so while it may be easy to choose a brighter colour of say, blue/red/taupe, it's really difficult to see the subtle differences of black paint. I also have never really noticed an OEM black on a car that stood out as being really rich.

I asked if there were higher end/custom colours I could look at/would be a good fit for what I'm looking for. They were nice, but essentially told me the best thing is to go look at cars and see what black appeals and then come back. That will take quite a while; and there has to be a custom black beyond OEM that would work.

So:

1 -- Seen any cars that have such a shade of black that I should check out? Can you help narrow my search?

2 -- know of any higher end/custom colours I should ask about?

Any help appreciated!
Click to expand...
 
Any black with clear is going to look good. The OEMs always seem to have a bit of flake to make things more interesting. Have a look at the Dodge Challenger black, it has some flake but still looks basic black from a distance. House of Kolors is really nice stuff, if you choose that and get a few coats of clear on top it will look good too. Talk to a good painter and see what he suggests.
 
car colors blacks are mixed with other colors like blue, red, white, there not a true black.
the only true black is the black toner on my mixing station. go to a bodyshop and ask for a quart of paint in straight black.
 
Off the top of my head the truest "black" (no flake etc.) would be from a Buick Grand National (1984-1987).
It's straight up black.
Both cars in pic have factory paint.
 

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Mini said:
Off the top of my head the truest "black" (no flake etc.) would be from a Buick Grand National (1984-1987).
It's straight up black.
Both cars in pic have factory paint.
Click to expand...

Just our of curiosity, do you own them (or one of them)?
You just don't see them around anymore in that condition.
 
Mini said:
Off the top of my head the truest "black" (no flake etc.) would be from a Buick Grand National (1984-1987).
It's straight up black.
Both cars in pic have factory paint.
Click to expand...

Thats what I was going to say.

One of my fave cars.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk
 
Mini said:
Off the top of my head the truest "black" (no flake etc.) would be from a Buick Grand National (1984-1987).
It's straight up black.
Both cars in pic have factory paint.
Click to expand...

that code brings up this

black -62g
white -1.8
yellow- .08

see what I mean? its not a true black.

use this code, its the only paint code that brings up a mix for black only
41U.
the mix is black only with reducer.
 
Thanks.
Mines the one to the rear.
There's actually a pretty good following of the them in GTA.
We were the "specialty" car invite at Autofest, Oshawa last year.
Also had an informal get together in Whitby as well with 36 Buicks showing up
(GN and T-types).
 
Let's get back on topic. I've used a black urethane and covered with a few coats of clear. Came out really black and looks wet. Carboncat is correct, most of the "car" colours have some other colours in them and are not really black.
 
To give it a really deep look afterwards, use lemon pledge furniture polish and rub it in by hand before buffing with a soft dry cloth. Paint will look about 4 feet thick...
used to do this on my 84 KZ 750..... It really worked better than anything else at the time.
 
kirbster said:
To give it a really deep look afterwards, use lemon pledge furniture polish and rub it in by hand before buffing with a soft dry cloth. Paint will look about 4 feet thick...
used to do this on my 84 KZ 750..... It really worked better than anything else at the time.
Click to expand...

Srsly pledge is my wd40. I used it from fog proofing my sunglasses to using it inside out my civic when I sold it.


Sent from the future using my GOLDEN iPhone 30 SS
 
I'm also wanting to get my vstar painted. This info I extremely helpful since I'm also looking to color it black. However, I'm planning to get some "pearls" added to the paint. Would it matter what shade of black I used? The guy painting suggested Tuxedo Black with metallic pearls. See this to get an idea -- m.youtube.com/watch?v=WvDDHZKWDn0


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I can confirm that carboncat's black is really deep deep black. It looks great on my tank and plastics.

Jim
 
BMW's "Schwarz 2" is great. It's nice and deep without the metallic finish.

It was the "non-premium" black, back when I got mine. Not sure if it's still around. Might be worth a look.
 
So in your opinion, will the 41U color mixed with metallic pearls take away from the blacks deepness?


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"deepness" is in the clear coat. by wetsanding the clear to a smooth finish and polishing the shine back up, the base color has nothing to do with that look.
any bodyshop should have color alternate books this will include every single car color every mixed, sprayed onto small color chips.
you can use these to pick a color you like.
 
Black is Black........ anything you add (pearls, flakes, metallics, etc) makes black "less black" , depending on the quantity, size of flake etc...... the toner is the darkest, purest black you will find..... the rest of the "final look" is in the clearcoat....... and lots of polishing...... Cheers, Les
 
As someone who has owned a black car and probably never will again, I can tell you that you better not be someone who cares about look or is otherwise OCD.

Black will show every white to grey fleck of dirt and/or smudge.

It looks nice indoors on a podium.

Not so much on the road.

White is a similar problem but not as bad in some ways. Both white and black are extremes. Mid-tones are easier to work with in some ways because dirt is a mid-tone.
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