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Hey guys, I'm looking for an incredible looking silver paint for my 59 I'm gonna do a restomod on. I've seen some really nice ones but no one ever says what the paint is. Does anyone have any suggestions?
I know some of the new Mercedes and BMW look pretty awesome!
Real 1963 Sebring Silver is incredible, but the original paint is no longer available and the substitutes can't hold a candle to it. Someone here once said that's because the original had actual fish scales ground up in it, though I don't think that's ever been verified by a paint supplier...
Bart,
There are no doubt others here who know far more about car paints than me. But like you I've been looking for something special to put on my Cheetah project and here's what I've learned. Getting a special look to the finished paint job is more than picking the right color. First, the basic paint job today consists of a color coat topped by one or more clear coats for shine and protection. Special paint jobs can have a base coat of one color, a top coat of a different color that lets the base coat show through, a clear coat that is tinted, and/or more clear coats. The top coat may have additives like metal flakes (many different sizes and colors) or pearl (tiny glass beads), or some really special stuff that gives that color changing irridescent look. Obviously, more coats means more labor and more paint and that means higher cost. One of the paints I liked turned out to cost $2,300 per gallon.
I'd like to get by with a base coat / clear coat paint job both for lower cost and to make it easier to touch up should that become necessary later. And I'm considering a base coat with pearl additive to do that. I'll have to see a sample sprayed before I make a final decision. My bottom line is that I don't want a car with a very shiny but ordinary color. You may find that some of the really good looking factory silver paint jobs have some of the additives I mentioned. And I know that the current Ford ruby red paint on some of their vehicles has a tinted clear coat. So when you find a "color" you like, be sure to find out the whole story of how it was applied. And get a sample sprayed to be sure its what you want. Good luck.
Find a good body shop and see if they will spray some test panels in different variations. See if they will put a silver or white base before the top coat color. Also remember even the psi, angle of spray and distance to shoot will affect how a color will appear.
Think specifically about what kind of silver you want. Light, dark, more white in it, or more brown, A gun metal style or an early Audi race car like....
Also, the manufacturer of the paint can also make a big difference, as well as the style of paint, as many today are waterbased too...
Also, to me, silver more than most other colors, if sprayed on incorrectly can look either cloudy or splotchy
Take the time, find a good shop that paints with custom paint. You are in Cali, there are tons of them
Go to the PPG custom color charts (radiance?) they have a beautiful high metallic silver. I used it on my formula car and it just popped in the sunlight.
Silver is silver maybe a few shades difference. The brilliance you're talking about is the size and amount of mica. I'm going with silver also but I've got to get the cove thing figured out. Just my taste but I don't like a darker cove that the body. I've still got a long way to go before that decision.
I have always liked the original C3 Cortez silver. You can eliminate a lot of the color variants by doing the car in single stage enamel AND it will be much less expensive and easier to match if there is a mishap down the road.
Awesome info guys. But I don't know if I'm more confused than ever, LOL. But a lot of good info on the subject. I guess it's time to hit the car lots, lol.
As you know, once the color is on it's ON.
Maybe I will hit up my body/paint guy. GTS Customs in Simi Valley, ca. He has painted a ton of custom vettes and really knows his stuff.
Thanks guys, much appreciated.
Oh and my delivery date for my Art Morrison Chassis is February 2019, I'm excited!! My stroked LS7 is being built by CBM motorsports as we speak!
Quick story, my mother passed away 25 years ago and left me a beautiful sterling silverware set. She use to tell me that it was worth 25K but my wife didn't want it and I could never get an offer over 3K for it so I just stashed it away. Well about 6 years ago silver hit about $50 an ounce and my Vette needed a paint job so I sold the silverware set for 8K. All my friends told me to paint my car sterling silver but I wanted it black. I regret it now and should have painted it sterling silver!
You have your car at a premier paint shop and pure asking here what color to use. I'm pretty sure I'd ask him
I saw your car year (59) in Steel Cities Gray 2 summers ago - it looked fantastic... have the shop paint a test panel / sheet like they do when matching colors.. Then you can see the colors.. The under coat / base can make a huge difference...
12-17-2018, 11:07 PM
Looking for incredible "silver" paint
