Painted my first full panel match in 3 years and it felt great

Last Wednesday I finally matched a metallic silver door panel on a 2019 Ford Explorer. It took me 4 tries over 2 days to get the blend right. I had a customer reject my first attempt and that pushed me to practice more. I used a DeVilbiss spray gun and mixed the color by hand with a scale. The final coat came out smooth with no tiger stripes, which was a huge win for me. Does anyone else struggle with metallic flakes or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jennifer1mo ago

Stick with hand mixing for metallic flakes. The scale gives you control that premixed cans can't match. Four tries is rough but now you know exactly how that silver lays down for next time.

evannelson1mo ago

Oh gosh, I gotta disagree with you there. I've tried hand mixing metallic flakes and it's a nightmare for consistency - you're praying that stir was thorough enough every single time. Those premixed cans are engineered to have the flakes suspended evenly, and they save you from the headache of wondering if you got the ratio right when the light hits it wrong later. Four tries might be you learning the paint, but with premix you could have been done painting and happy with the result after one.