Paint with Pearls

[czm]

Hi there
Looking at spray some alloy wheel for my project.

Only ever sprayed metallic and standard 2 stage coatings. ie primer then colour then lacquer.

When painting with Pearls I understand it is a lot more trickier however I am willing to give it ago.

I have seen a colour I like called Solid Rich Gold Pearl
So could somebody give me a rough idea on the process of spraying pearls?

I believe it is:

Primer
Then a coloured base coat such as silver or black (dependant on the effect required)
Then the pearl colour ie the Solid Rich Gold Pearl
Then the lacquer to finish

Any help or tips would be great

Thanks

PS also
Quick question

The alloys are brand new in silver with lacquer do I need to rub down all the way and then re-prime before spraying the new base coat and lacquer or can I just scotch bright and go straight onto the base coat?

 

[steveo3002]

thats about it

no harder to use other than the extra coats involved , the hard bit is trying spot repair parts on a car so it all matches

 

[norsa]

most are what used to be called 3 coat as you rightly assumed but some (Honda supersonic blue for instance) is a single colour pearl coat. Its success secret lies in the consistency of final base colour/drop coat than anything else. I tend to do pearls and micas with my suction fed gun with a ball bearing dropped in. A quick swirl action at the end of each pass stops the heavy contents settling and thus clumping on big panels.
Nick

 

[MG David]

Interesting tip.

 

[Mee]

I do something similar Norsa, I drop a brass nut in the gun.

 

[Arc Tourist]

For best effect, shoot it in the clear coats.

 

[steveo3002]

shoot what in the clear coat ?

shoot it just like the manf says so in my opinion....dont be making up your own rules

 

[Arc Tourist]

Sorry about my California slang, let me reiterate... "Mix the pearls in the clear coat before spraying". Not making up my own rules, just sharing my experience from painting a few custom bikes and several boats in the past; including my own pictured here. The photo isn't great, but some of the blue pearlessense can be seen on the wet part of the deck by my graphic design.

 

[langy]

shoot what in the clear coat ?

shoot it just like the manf says so in my opinion....dont be making up your own rules

I reckon arc is meaning the custom pearls you buy, these are applied suspended in clear like flake

 

[langy]

most are what used to be called 3 coat as you rightly assumed but some (Honda supersonic blue for instance) is a single colour pearl coat. Its success secret lies in the consistency of final base colour/drop coat than anything else. I tend to do pearls and micas with my suction fed gun with a ball bearing dropped in. A quick swirl action at the end of each pass stops the heavy contents settling and thus clumping on big panels.
Nick

Makes me laugh when people try and apply flake with a gravity gun, pretty obvious really

 

[steveo3002]

I reckon arc is meaning the custom pearls you buy, these are applied suspended in clear like flake

yeah custom paints vs factory paint finishes , dont be mixing regualr stuff in with the clear

 

[Arc Tourist]

I reckon arc is meaning the custom pearls you buy, these are applied suspended in clear like flake

Yeah, this is what I meant. You can add small quantities to the pot, shoot it onto a sample board, and add more if required to get the desired finish.