Painting my car

[Sid_RallyX_82]

I am going to paint my car black and I like the idea of painting it a factory color, code Y4, but I'd like some feedback first.

First, is this a metallic color? Does it use any flake? And what kind of paint is it? Does it use clear coat?

Next, anyone who has this color, can you post pictures? I'd like to see how the black and grey play together.

Finally, how are you satisfied with this color? How was it spraying it? Any tips?

TIA

[F3BZ]

this is a sales pic from 88 and actually dark charcoal met. but the low resolution gives an idea. now just mentally ad a spoiler. maybe delete the red stripes. i'm tempted to do a black stiva but having had black cars, it's extra work to keep spotless. maybe not an issue for a rallye car.
i don't think the Y4 black is metallic or cleared.

[reddragon]

this is a sales pic from 88 and actually dark charcoal met. but the low resolution gives an idea. now just mentally ad a spoiler. maybe delete the red stripes. i'm tempted to do a black stiva but having had black cars, it's extra work to keep spotless. maybe not an issue for a rallye car.
i don't think the Y4 black is metallic or cleared.

Low resolution dark charcoal and less work? That would be matte black.

[fastivaca]

According to this chart the Y4 black does not require clearcoat but the B1 Dark Charcoal does

[william]

Just because the car came with single stage dosnt mean you can't base clear it .
I just searched y4 threw our ppg mixing system to see if it had any metallic and I come up with a vw color a porsche and a hyundai color but not ford are yiu sure that's the coad?

[w4rkry]

Just because the car came with single stage dosnt mean you can't base clear it .
I just searched y4 threw our ppg mixing system to see if it had any metallic and I come up with a vw color a porsche and a hyundai color but not ford are yiu sure that's the coad?

Y4 is correct, here are some cross references (Ignore the results for Probes)

http://paintref.com/cgi-bin/colorcodedisplay.cgi?code=Y4&manuf=Ford&rows=50

[Studebaker]

I suggest a clear coat with black. Base coat black will show spider webs as it ages. Clear coat will not.

[Rick the Quick]

If I lived in California and wanted a black car I would strongly consider single stage enamal. Sun and black = high temperatures that destroy even the best clear coats here in sunny New Mexico within a few short years. Of course we are also a mile above sea level which contributes to the problem. Less atmosphere = more UV damage. Over the years I have bought many a faded vehicle from the 60's or 70's with enamal finishes. The finishes looked terrible until I took the time to buff the oxidation off. After buffing the oxidation off you were looking at a very presentable finish. The newer base/clear urethane does not hold up as well and when the hood, trunk and roof are turning white from the clear drying out you can not fix it with a buffer. Black cars are beautiful when they are clean and around here that is for a few minutes after you wash and dry it. We don't get snow and hardly get any rain but we sure have a lot of dust in the air. B1 dark charcoal (as in the sales ad posted by F3BZ) is a good color to hide dirt. I had that color on my '88 and it was easy to keep it looking clean. I repainted mine and had a guy mix the color to the factory code and then had him throw in a bunch of pearls. It made a nice subtle change. When in the shade or at night it looked no different then stock. In direct sunlight it made the color pop in a way words can't describe. The best part was that under the hood, hatch and the door jambs all looked like an exact match to what the outside body was. When I do complete color changes I take the car down to where I can paint everything. It makes for a much better finished project although it sure does ad a lot more hours of labor to your job. Your blue car looks sharp. If you don't like the shade of blue, you might want to consider jazzing up the stock color with pearls or maybe doing some contrasting stripes or graphics. Color changes done right are a bitch.
Good luck!

[william]

^ I agree , nothing worse then mix matching jambs. That's the only reason I didn't paint my silver car a different color. I disagree with the not clearing black tho.
Today's high end clear coats are very uv resistant, along with a good wax this should be a one time deal.
The car should rust away before the paint looks bad. And also expected to pay the price for the good paint and clear.

[Dragonhealer]

Highest quality Sikens clear coat was failing in only 7 years out here on a mineral blue, clear coats just don't last out here, but in other places just fine. What's rust?

[Rick the Quick]

^ I agree , nothing worse then mix matching jambs. That's the only reason I didn't paint my silver car a different color. I disagree with the not clearing black tho.
Today's high end clear coats are very uv resistant, along with a good wax this should be a one time deal.
The car should rust away before the paint looks bad. And also expected to pay the price for the good paint and clear.

William, you need to come visit New Mexico. I don't care what brand of car you look at, you will find most all have clear coat problems within 5 years or less. As for them rusting before the paint fades that depends on where you are located. I worked in Ohio and Pennsylvania several times last year and never seen so many nice looking late model rust buckets. Nice looking as far as paint and interiors anyway. Here in the desert the paints go bad way before a car gets rusty. California is about the same way, lots of sun and in most areas no road salt. Temecula will be harder on paint then it will be on body rust. My '93 with original single stage Aqua still shines like new (too bad the po. put lots of dents on it). When I look around me I see plenty of 5-10 year old cars with paint issues. I have put test panels on my roof in an attempt to evaluate the longevity of various urethane paints, both colors (Nason vs. Chromabase) and clears from the low end $55 a gallon Pure Reflections to the $325 a gallon Chroma Clear, with Nason @ $129 a gallon and Five Star Extreme @ $95 a gallon in between. While I always recommend buying the best you can afford be it parts, paint or property, I have noticed the improved quality of the low end clears in recent years. Whenever you buy high end paints like PPG you need to consider that you are also paying for the race cars they sponsor not to mention advertising and sales reps, etc. just something to consider. Again....just my .02$

[Rick the Quick]

Highest quality Sikens clear coat was failing in only 7 years out here on a mineral blue, clear coats just don't last out here, but in other places just fine. What's rust?

Seven years?.....that's a pretty impressive life span for a clear in Tucson....,LOL.

[ryanprins13]

Just need to go thicker with the clear for UV protection. Been a problem ever since base clear cane out. Manufacturers try to calculate how little paint they can get away with. Plenty of Recalls, tsb's and ignored problems even here in Canada with clearcoats not being thick enough for the sun we dont get...
3-4 medium-heavy coats of name brand clear, cut and polish 3 months later when its finished curing. Youll have the best looking festiva and it shoukd be fine for UV protection.
You can use a film thickness gauge on the masking paper if your worried about not getting it thick enough.
Shop i was at used solvent paint till it was illegal, i got out shortly after. Not sure how well the water based holds up.

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[william]

I'm sure it's totally different down south didn't think about how much sun you guys get vs us.
I guess I've never experienced good quality single stage here most is faded and chalky in a year or less. I spray ppg waterborne paint here and love it! Color match is insanity good. It's almost impossible to screw up, heavy pearls and metallics come out perfectly every time.


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[Rick the Quick]

Hey RallyX, I forgot to take into consideration you live in California. California, where you can come live illegally and the authorities don't have the authority to ask you about your status....and you can not paint a car with solvent based paint. I don't know much about water based paint that as I understand is now the mandate. I hope that the water based paint is not found down the road to be more harmful then what it has replaced, like the catalyzed urethanes that replaced the dangerous nitro cellulose lacquers....Hahaha. I guess all the changes both good and bad originate in the Golden State. I am sure it will be here in New Mexico) before we know it and BTW I have nothing against using a product that is more environmentally friendly as well as user friendly. I have known some old school painters that were seriously effected by the years of exposure to the poisons of solvent based paint. Unfortunately I have plenty of it in me and I do suspect I will someday pay the price for my careless behavior. Sorry if I am guilty of hijacking this thread.