DIY Metal Flake Paint - Custom Metalflake Paint

Here is a tech tip from Santini. Tape off the driprail so it doesn't get shot with the metalflake topcoat. The paint is thick, making it nearly impossible to get the molding back on without mangling it.

Big paint companies like House of Kolor offer an assortment of flake sizes and colors that are actually made of plastic, not metal. There are grades from extrafine to what people like to call "speed boat" to stuff so thick that you just blow it on from a pile in your hand. Santini prefers to use silver instead of colored flake. The reason is that if you cut through to the colored flake while finish-sanding, you will saw off any corners that might be poking through the clear. The result will be silver chips that you will be able to see.

For the purposes of this story, Santini picked up a brand-new SATAjet 3000 RP gun to try out. Normally a good flake gun will have a fluid tip that is large enough (1.8-2.0 mm) to pass the flake in suspension without clogging and will have a hanging cup with a ball bearing to constantly mix the flake while spraying. The SATA gun had a 1.4mm tip and a gravity-feed cup with a large neck to avoid clogging. Santini noted that the gun worked well for a job like this one where he was shooting fast and not allowing the gun to sit. The gravity feed also allowed the flake to stay in suspension and go on the car instead of to the bottom of the feed cup.