how can I best paint metal flakes over original paint

trilex

New member
Painted a few cars but never painted flakes. Wondering if I should 600 grid my original (ford transit) paint and flake over that, or 400/600 grid everything, paint a sealer, black base and then my flake coat. My original paint is in good shape, but a few small rust spots on the roof and some hood chips. Appreciate any input before I do the work. Thanks a bunch. Alex
 

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chopolds

Member
Good plan, but add putting many coats of clear over the flake, Might even put on 3-5 coats, sand and do another 3-5 coats to be sure the flake is completely buried in the clear.
Only problem will be excessive paint thickness. The original paint + a thick 'flake job will probably lead to paint failure. Stripping to bare will help, but mostly, 'flake jobs were for pampered show cars, not exposed to the weather much.
 

trilex

New member
Thanks Chopolds. that helps. Is there anyway to ‘safely’ knock down flakes,so to avoid flakes standing up and thus requiring excessive clearcoat layers?? Thanks
 

chopolds

Member
You can use the slowest reducer for the temperature you're spraying at. If the clear takes longer to cry, the flakes 'may' settle down a bit, but the larger the flake, the less likely it will happen. They will just lay on top of each other, sticking up. In your case, the smaller the flake, the better!
 

trilex

New member
Thanks. The good part is I am only doing a light flake coat, just to crete a sparkle effect, rather than a flake base for candy or so. Planned a slow reducer with a 0.008 flake. Looks like you know your stuff.
 
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