planning winter 2011 bike paint job....looking for advice on HOK vrs. "others"

[gtc73]

planning winter 2011 bike paint job....looking for advice on HOK vrs. "others"

Hi everyone!
So it's that time of year where I start planning on my paint job for my bike for next spring. Wondered if I could get some advice and some info.....

1. considering going with HOK paints this winter? I would appreciate your input regarding quality , over priced for what I am getting? others that are less expensive and get just as good results (obviously the "painter" has a lot to do with that)

2. my choice of color is candy brandywhine, over a black base, with plans of some black ghosted hot rod flames or racing stripes or something in black or shades of black.

Is HOK just one of those well advertised products that seem to get all kinds of attention, or is it truly top shelf stuff....

Lastly, any particular vendor or website I should consider for best prices, service and shipping. My hopes is to do a 1 stop and shop for all my supplies including color sanding, taping and masking needs, reducer and clears.....this way I can work up a good price on the total job.

thanks for your input everyone!, much appreciated in advance!!!!

g

 

[Wydir]

Im not going to say HOK is topshelf stuff but it is very nice and not to badly priced if compared to PPG vibrance , BASF Glasurit, or some Sikkens paint.

I would not hesitate to Use HOK stuff matter of fact Im also looking at getting some HOK stuff for myself to try out

I think TCP global has some good prices on HOK stuff they even got some on ebay and so does stevensons paint and supply. I have not bought any from either place so this is just a suggestion.

 

[scapegoat]

I use alot of HOK , Sikkens , and Dupont . For the $$$ HOK and Sikkens are better . Just my 2 cents worth . A new paint company in my area .. Kirker Automotive . I have been playing with their custom colors . They are limited to color selection , but offer quality and esay on the wallet . They have their own website if you would like to check them out .

 

[chopolds]

I'm a BIG supporter of HOK paint, been using it since the early 80's. Always delivers. As for price, I was pricing out a Tricoat red paint job for a 66 GTO i did a frame-up on. Using Dupont Chroma paints, I got a price of over 1000$ just for the paint materials. I thought it was a bit high, so I went and priced out a Candy red over Orion silver paint from HOK, same suppier....it was almost 200$ LESS! And we all know how much better REAL candy paint looks compared with factory tricoat. More work, and harder to do, but worth it.
I've done a few projects in Candy Brandywine, it's one of the nicest colors IMHO. But I need to caution you about putting it over black....it will look black in most light, and have a reddish reflection when brighter lights hit it, light a street light. In the sun it will look extremely dark red, almost black. It's not a color to attract attention, if that's what you want, and it's also not a great use of candy paint. by that I mean, the extra effort and material to shoot the candy, when the final color effect is close to a straight black with a coat or 2 of red pearl over it, or even a factory black paint with red pearl in it.
If you want it to look a bit more "red" put it over a base of Galaxy Grey, or a mix of the Galaxy with about 25% black, if you want it darker. It will look more like candy, and still have nice metallics showing through.
I use smartshoppers.com for my HOK materials, except reducers (too heavy to economically ship). Very good prices. They also carry regular shop supplies (tape, paper, fillers). But I usually buy from my local bodyshop supplier. They are close, and there when I need them, and even give good advice (once in a while)

 

[gtc73]

SUPER INPUT RIGHT HERE!!!!!

Absolutely appreciate your input in the BLACK BASE, as apposed to a lighter color like silver metalic. Funny thing, there was a time....still in my mind.....about wanting to have a BLACK BASE with RED shimmers in the light. Also funny, my current paint works the way you describe the red over black. I have a black base with green ghost pearl. Looks black cept when you walk around and any kind of light hits it....it's then green metalic....cool but seen it's time.

Time for a big change....Now from what you described, whereas I want black hot rod flames, this will add another layer of art work....no big deal!!!!....I'm super psyched about getting started....

As for prices, I noticed on TCPglobal's website, that the HOK is twice the price roughly as the Kustom SHop paints. So I am considering going Kustom Shop for my paints....

anyone with any bad experiences with Kustom Shop paints?

again perfect input....thanks so much!

I'm a BIG supporter of HOK paint, been using it since the early 80's. Always delivers. As for price, I was pricing out a Tricoat red paint job for a 66 GTO i did a frame-up on. Using Dupont Chroma paints, I got a price of over 1000$ just for the paint materials. I thought it was a bit high, so I went and priced out a Candy red over Orion silver paint from HOK, same suppier....it was almost 200$ LESS! And we all know how much better REAL candy paint looks compared with factory tricoat. More work, and harder to do, but worth it.
I've done a few projects in Candy Brandywine, it's one of the nicest colors IMHO. But I need to caution you about putting it over black....it will look black in most light, and have a reddish reflection when brighter lights hit it, light a street light. In the sun it will look extremely dark red, almost black. It's not a color to attract attention, if that's what you want, and it's also not a great use of candy paint. by that I mean, the extra effort and material to shoot the candy, when the final color effect is close to a straight black with a coat or 2 of red pearl over it, or even a factory black paint with red pearl in it.
If you want it to look a bit more "red" put it over a base of Galaxy Grey, or a mix of the Galaxy with about 25% black, if you want it darker. It will look more like candy, and still have nice metallics showing through.
I use smartshoppers.com for my HOK materials, except reducers (too heavy to economically ship). Very good prices. They also carry regular shop supplies (tape, paper, fillers). But I usually buy from my local bodyshop supplier. They are close, and there when I need them, and even give good advice (once in a while)

 

[gtc73]

I want the color to be darker as apposed to lighter.....I mean candy brandywine out of the "can" should be adequate....examples.....dark vrs light...certainly the base (black? silver? whatever....) impacts the end tone....

vrs......

Now my head is spinning with different base colors....like blues, or purples, or orange etc etc.....man this could get crazy!!!!

 

[TAZ]

You could go with a darker charcoal metallic with some silver flames and this will pretty much get you the dark and light of the pics you attached.
If you spray the brandywine over a straight black, this really doesn't do anything. You'll need some 'metallic' to it to get a good effect from it.

As for as the House of Kolor paint, I agree with everyone, you can't beat the price. Normally you get a quart for about $75, whereas a pint of PPG is $75+.

You can compare with a local job on price differences. Don't forget, you'll have to pay shipping over the internet (no tax or unless they are in the same state you are), but if you go local, you'll have to pay tax.

 

[gtc73]

right on Taz!

lookin like some sort of shade of metalic grey will get the nod for the base paint. Gun metal grey, orion silver, galaxy grey....all good choices, I'll start putting them side by side....and make a final choice. going from light to dark , and prolly pick something smack dab in the middle..../dark side... I dig what is being said about the black. Will prolly avoid that for this year.......just watched a guy spraying candy on youtube.....I see that all the important mechanics become doubly important to avoid issues....not overlapping enough can cause tiger striping....stuff like that....

You could go with a darker charcoal metallic with some silver flames and this will pretty much get you the dark and light of the pics you attached.
If you spray the brandywine over a straight black, this really doesn't do anything. You'll need some 'metallic' to it to get a good effect from it.

As for as the House of Kolor paint, I agree with everyone, you can't beat the price. Normally you get a quart for about $75, whereas a pint of PPG is $75+.

You can compare with a local job on price differences. Don't forget, you'll have to pay shipping over the internet (no tax or unless they are in the same state you are), but if you go local, you'll have to pay tax.

 

[gtc73]

thanks so far for your input.
So after having done some pricing on tcpglobal, I think I am going with the Kustom Shop paints to save some $. My wife will appreciate this when I go to sell her on my plans.

Now, colors ....
Considering I will be attempting my 1st set of ghost flames on this job, so I need to consider this.

I am torn between the Diablo Red and the Black Cherry. Obviously the black cherry is a darker color and well, I want my ghost flames to come and go with the light....I'm thinking the darker the candy, the more ghosty it will be depending on how many coats of pearl on my flames.

I'm thinking the Diablo Red would allow more light through....just cause it's a lighter shade of red then the black cherry.

Now for the BASE~~~~~ I'm gonna continue to ask for opinions on this critical piece. So far based on your feedback I am considering a shade of siler or grey metalic. But wanted to ask about other colors keeping in mind the darker the base....the DARKER the candy will be again depending on # of candy coats.

So I am looking at Kustom Shop urethane metalic base colors, like Egyptian Gold or Copper Fire Metalics.....on top of which I would lay my ghost flames. I would then highlight the edges and tips of the ghost flames with some pearls (colors to be determined) but probably in some shades of purples or blues.

Seems to me that in order to be "ghosty" I wouldn't want to put a red pearl flame on a silver base? wouldn't that kill the whole ghost affect and have the flame be more visable most of the time? shouldn't the ghost flame be a different shade of the same color...ish....

So, fire away folks, throw some of your thoughts at me on this would ya....

Once I get all the colors finalized in terms of plans, I'm gonna double check with you on the prep work and flash considerations, intercoat over the base before laying down the ghost flames etc etc....

 

[gtc73]

Just watched Ed Hubbs on youtube do some ghost flames.....very helpful......tryin to get this all in my head, but I know, once I start taping and spraying,,....things can change in a hurry....

 

[chopolds]

Not sure what you're up to with the Kustom shop paints here. I'm guessing the diablo and Black Cherry are the candy colors?
Anyhow, don't get all caught up with the differetn colors under the candy. with a color like red, and going pretty dark, it almost doesn't matter about the color...it's how DARK the base is that affects the final outcome, more than the actual color. I pretty much work in neutrals., white, silver, greys, black, and sometimes gold, to add some warmth to certain colors. Let the candy dictate the color, not the base.
As for ghost paint, I've seen lots of different version of this...1. different colors of base, with candy over them, 2. tinting a base color with silver or black to do flames and 3. using an interference pearl to do the flames. If you want a flame that comes and goes with the light, #3 is the way to go, it is also the one that will flip to a different color than the rest of the paint.
On a red, you would want to avoid using a red pearl, it might not show up. Gold, blue, purple look best on red. Green, not so much. I buy it in a powder, and mix it with intercoat clear. You HAVE to do a test panel to be sure you use the right amount of pearl to clear, and the number of coats you do, to get the effect you want! Too much pearl, it looks milky and you see it all the time. Not enough, and you miss the effect.
Contrary to what you think, the darker colors will show the flip flop effect more than lighter ones. so you use a lot less pearl over black, than you do over white.
I had pics of a Trans Am bird I painted on a Candy Apple Red TA for a guy, did the bird in 3 different colors of flip flop pearl. Really looked great, much better than putting a vinyl sticker on the car. Don't know if I can find the pic easily.

 

[gtc73]

Yes, diablo red and the black cherry are the candies.....i'm leaning towards some sort of grey, silver, to gun metal grey metalic as the base...I know what you mean about the "milky affect" of using too much pearl....as I learned the hard way doing some checkered flags back a few years ago.