Car Paint Blending Tips & Techniques

Blending car paint can be a challenging task for painters, especially with today’s range of colors. It’s important to blend the paint on a repair job to ensure that the panels on the customer’s vehicle match perfectly. However, there are situations where blending may not be necessary, such as when painting a bumper that has a poor color match to begin with. It’s important to consider what will be best for the customer and the specific job.

To make blending easier, there are a few techniques that can be useful. One is to use an orientation coat, which will fill in small scratches and provide a flatter surface for the base coat to be blended on. This can be achieved by using an over-reduced clearcoat or a transparent tint. Another option is to apply the orientation coat again before the final blend coat, and apply the blend coat while it is still flashing to avoid dry spray and eliminate a halo effect.

It’s also important to avoid cranking up the pressure too high on the spray gun, as this can result in overspray on the rest of the panel. Instead, try increasing the distance between the gun and the surface being painted. Another technique is the injection method, which involves making the base coat more transparent on the blending coats by adding clear basecoat (binder) from the paint line. It’s important to not exceed a 1:1 ratio and to reduce the binder accordingly to avoid problems.

The reverse blend technique can also be effective, involving spraying the first coat as the blend and fanning it out as usual, then bringing each subsequent coat in a little bit more until full coverage is achieved. This technique works by never painting over the previous coat’s overspray, allowing each coat to land on a smooth surface.

Finally, a drop coat can be used to combat difficult colors by lowering the air pressure for the final coat. This allows the paint to land wet, avoiding a dry edge that reflects the metallics differently and causing a visible blend. It’s important to keep in mind that a drop coat will darken the color, so it may not be the best choice for certain silvers and golds.

In addition to these techniques, it’s important to use recommended spray equipment and ensure that the color being used is blendable before applying it to the vehicle. Taking the time to spray out cards can save time and effort in the long run.