Paint Reproduction

Well, here we go again.  It's all about that base.  (Painter time!)  As an FYI, for the uninformed, here are the criteria for reproducing a paint color if there is transparency involved.

• Air pressure and the nozzle size - these variables control how much paint and how quickly it's thrown onto whatever you are painting
• Viscosity of the paint - viscosity is how "thick" the paint is - it's a result of how much paint thinner you are using, and if you get it too thick, you get blobs of paint, which is BAD, but not enough and you don't get any coverage
• Primer - if you are using the candy paints or tri-coat systems, your paint is going to be transparent, and in that case, the color of the primer underneath it all has a direct impact on the resulting look
• Base Color - when you buy the paint, you must be aware that the brand of the paint is critical - if it's not the same, the base coat is going to be a different color, resulting in a different finish
• Top and Clear Coats - you should probably be aware that "clear" coats are not always "clear" - they can come with color tints, which do effect the end look, and a top coat is designed to change the end look through tinting

With so many variables, it's hard to reproduce a paint color without knowing a few variables.

So, when I heard back that the new painter couldn't reproduce the paint color, that was some bad news.  He couldn't make the color work right.

Let me translate that.

I have to take the headlight units back to the original painter.  He hasn't taken my phone calls, yet.  I could be doing this on my own, and it could be an expensive learning curve.  Here's hoping.